The Jazz Palace is an atmospheric novel that literally takes you back in time to Chicago (1915-1929) with its underground jazz clubs, gangsters, and the struggles faced by African Americans. The novel opens with a part of history that this reviewer did not know about. The SS Eastland was a ship docked on the shores of Chicago getting ready to take employees of Western Electric and their families on a picnic.
Tragedy struck when too many people crowded the top decks and the ship began to list. There was a huge loss of life with 884 souls perishing from being trapped below the deck or drowning in the cold waters. Of those killed are three brothers of one of the main characters Pearl. Benny is the true main character who saw it happening in real time. He jumps in the water trying to rescue people only to see what death looks like up close. Throughout the novel this incident affects both people and ultimately brings them together.
Benny also has to deal with another tragedy that befell him when he was younger. He and his brothers were sent off to school during a blizzard with Benny leading the group by walking together and holding a piece of rope to keep them close. When they arrived at school the brother at the end of the rope, Harold, was not there. He was declared missing and was later found frozen to death when the snow began to melt. His parents blamed him for the loss of his brother and he sometimes feels that they should never have been sent to school during a blizzard.
Benny is a delivery boy in his father’s company, Lehrman’s Caps. He discovers jazz while walking in a part of town not meant for him. He instantly feels he belongs there and jazz music begins to take over his every waking moment. He lies to his parents when he tells them he is going to piano lessons when he is fact going to jazz clubs where he way too young to get in.
He meets up with a musician named Napoleon who takes him under his wing and shows him the way of jazz. Pearl opens up a jazz club named The Jazz Palace where Napoleon plays. We also get to meet the gangster Al Capone who falls for one of Pearl’s sisters who are called the gem sisters because they are all named after gems. The story closes where it began with Pearl and Benny coming together in an ending that was meant to be.
What makes The Jazz Palace such a great read is the way Ms. Morris mixes history with a compelling story about how jazz came to be without watering it down or making it trite which easily could have been in done telling this story. Pearl, Benny, and Napoleon are such beautifully drawn characters that they almost seem like musical notes written on sheet music to create a song that will live you for a very long time.
I started this book and then put it down. Your review made me want to finish it!