This is a history of the affiliation between jazz music and organized crime from the inception of the music style up until the time when its popularity began to wane. Big names in the mob and jazz worlds can be found here and the thorough nature of the book makes it clear why talented artists who would later go on to become stars teamed up with shifty characters: mob-owned clubs were often safer (who's going to cause trouble in a place crawling with mafia members?), they offered protection for Black artists during extremely racist days, and, of course, the money of it all.

This was really illuminating and packed full of fascinating stories, but I think it jumped around too much to be truly effective in its storytelling. I appreciate the author wanted to go in depth and give every example possible, but, for example, the section on Pittsburgh (where I live) is so short, not even a few pages long, so it's merely a drop in this massive pond, to the point where I wish he wouldn't have included it at all. A tighter focus and a willingness on the part of the author to sacrifice some of the research in favor of the flow of the book would have boosted this up another star for me.

Do you listen to jazz music? Especially older jazz such as from the 1920-1940's? Or are you a fan of tales of the Mob? Maybe you grew up reading/watching about Al Capone, Pretty Boy Floyd, or Mo Lansky, the Valentine's Day Massacre and the Untouchables. In either case, you owe yourself a read of Dangerous Rhythms to see how organized crime and jazz grew up and became entwined though early 20th century America.

T. J. English opens Dangerous Rhythms in New Orleans focusing on the early interactions of jazz with organized crime. Both were in their infancy and both profited from the growth of the other. Then jazz spread around the county to Kansas City, Chicago, New York and Los Angles. Early on jazz was played in bars and speakeasies which were owned by local crime bosses. Organized crime provided the venue and the booze for the customers while the jazz bands drew in the crowds. Both jazz musicians and organized crime organizations profited even if organized crime profited more. All the early and great jazz musicians played in mob controlled venues such as the Cotton Cub, The Plantation, or Cuban Garden. This pattern continued with stars such as Bing Crosby, the McGuire Sisters, Carmen Mcrea, and especially Frank Sinatra. Frank Sinatra was quite helpful in the 1950s by carrying money into Cuba for the Mob in their bid to turn the island into a gangster playground awash in jazz music. Then when a bunch of bearded guerillas chased the gangsters off the island, Las Vegas, the Mississippi of the West, took over as the playground of the Mob and as a venue of some jazz music. T.J. English also intertwines the role of the mob in promoting jazz music via jukeboxes, radio plays, and record companies that were controlled by organized crime.

In Dangerous Rhythms, T. J. English provides a very readable account of both jazz music and organized crime. This book provides an interesting lens to view both of these facets of American history and shed light on both. A very worthwhile read!

T..J. English is tackling two niche topics, organized crime and the history of Black music, and braiding them together in a risky union. Both subjects have avid fans, few of whom seem to agree with one another, and English begins his book, bravely, with an introduction telling the reader, basically, to come along for the ride. Pointing out that this isn't a book ABOUT jazz, or ABOUT the mob; rather, it's the story of how desperate people in desperate times (and ruthless in ruthless) made the best of their situations, their talents, and their community.

1920s histories are surprisingly few, and DANGEROUS RHYTHM's first half, using Louis Armstrong as its avatar for exploring the world of organized crime, is one of the most colorful and accessible. The latter half, about Sinatra's continuation of that legacy, is more about its character than its Era, but still entertaining. A chronicle of scandal that doesn't lick its fingers.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher William Morrow for an advanced copy of this book on the often one- sided alliance between jazz and the underworld.

Degenerate. Low- class. Immoral. A threat to public decency. Drug users and threats to women and children. All of this and more was said about the music and lifestyle that was sweeping the nation, infesting the kids with rhythm and making the young ladies scream and faint, and that members of the underworld were making a lot of scratch on, jazz. The same arguments later used on rock, soul, disco and rap were used on music started by black entertainers and refined by Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton and others. Soon white culture was paying attention with singers like Louis Prima and the Chairman of the Board himself Frank Sinatra who freely mixed and did favors for members of the underworld, and unlike other artists, made money on their deals. Eminent crime writer and historian T. J. English in his book Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld writes about this intersection of music and crime, its effects on music and society at the time, and the legacy of jazz today.

The book starts with a quick origin of jazz or jass music, how it started, and grew popular as both way for African Americans to let loose and enjoy themselves as they labored under the strictures of Jim Crow America. Almost immediately there was a criminal element, owning the clubs and bordellos that jazz players honed their craft, and later with the huge mistake that was Prohibition, musicians, good musicians were needed to play to the thousands of speakeasies that suddenly existed when the banning of alcohol by the government, made criminals the only suppliers. With the demand for talent, came the demand for keeping that talent, no matter how little they paid or how many bones they had to break to keep the talent playing for them. All the big names in jazz are featured, as are the big names in crime and mob history. From clubs, to jukeboxes, to music labels and casinos jazz and underworld had quite a history together.

Being a book by Mr. English the book is really well written and sourced. Mr. English is not shy on the research, nor on naming names and telling stories. If the story has two different ways of being told, Mr. English tells them both, as time, many lies and a lot of alcohol and drugs have made the truth a little hazy. And a lot of bragging. The story is smooth, and never drags and is very clear with no doubts about who is being discussed. People are introduced, and reintroduced where needed and never becomes just a series of names and events. Music facts and underworld information fill every page, with a lot of oh wow moments. Politics, Cuba, drugs, cabaret laws, murders, threats, everything is covered and covered well.

I've long enjoyed the books that Mr. English has written and this one I feel is one of his best. Maybe it is the jazz history, music that I have always enjoyed since I started listening with my father and got back into in college. Just a very interesting story, that makes one wonder while reading what the history of jazz would have been without Prohibition, would the jazz age been called the Crooners Age. A really good book perfect for music and crime lovers with a great soundtrack to jive to.

This is another in T. J. English's fascinating list of books. Exploring the history of jazz and its links to organized crime makes for an exciting and very interesting trip through the last century. It is well written and well organized. I enjoyed it immensely.