{"product_id":"dangerous-rhythms-jazz-and-the-underworld","title":"Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom T. J. English, the New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne, comes the epic, scintillating narrative of the interconnected worlds of jazz and organized crime in 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e century America.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"[A] brilliant and courageous book.\" --Dr. Cornel West\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDangerous Rhythms tells the symbiotic story of jazz and the underworld: a relationship fostered in some of 20th century America's most notorious vice districts. For the first half of the century mobsters and musicians enjoyed a mutually beneficial partnership. By offering artists like Louis Armstrong, Earl \"Fatha\" Hines, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, and Ella Fitzgerald a stage, the mob, including major players Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, and Charlie \"Lucky\" Luciano, provided opportunities that would not otherwise have existed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEven so, at the heart of this relationship was a festering racial inequity. The musicians were mostly African American, and the clubs and means of production were owned by white men. It was a glorified plantation system that, over time, would find itself out of tune with an emerging Civil Rights movement. Some artists, including Louis Armstrong, believed they were safer and more likely to be paid fairly if they worked in \"protected\" joints. Others believed that playing in venues outside mob rule would make it easier to have control over their careers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrough English's voluminous research and keen narrative skills, Dangerous Rhythms reveals this deeply fascinating slice of American history in all its sordid glory.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut was this partnership a golden opportunity or a gilded cage?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMobsters and Musicians: \u003c\/b\u003e Discover how mobsters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano gave stage time to legends like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, creating opportunities that wouldn't have otherwise existed.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eRacial Inequity: \u003c\/b\u003e Uncover the festering inequity at the heart of the partnership--a glorified plantation system where Black musicians performed in clubs owned and controlled by white men.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eProhibition Era Speakeasies: \u003c\/b\u003e Explore the vice districts and mob-run speakeasies from New Orleans to Chicago that became the proving grounds for America's most iconic art form.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe Civil Rights Collision: \u003c\/b\u003e Witness how the relationship became out of tune with an emerging Civil Rights movement, forcing artists to choose between mob protection and control over their own careers.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"William Morrow \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51936977748199,"sku":"9780063031425","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0449\/4075\/5096\/files\/imageloader_319faf22-b664-48d5-a05a-4918abd70a0f.jpg?v=1774995459","url":"https:\/\/arvidabookco.com\/products\/dangerous-rhythms-jazz-and-the-underworld","provider":"Arvida Book Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}