The Jazz Palace

by Mary Morris

Acclaimed author Mary Morris returns to her Chicago roots in this sweeping novel that brilliantly captures the dynamic atmosphere and the dazzling music of the Jazz Age.

In the midst of boomtown Chicago, two Jewish families have suffered terrible blows. The Lehrmans, who run a small hat factory, lost their beloved son Harold in a blizzard. The Chimbrovas, who run a saloon, lost three of their boys on the SS Eastland when it sank in 1915. Each family holds out hope that one of their remaining children will rise to carry on the family business. But Benny Lehrman has no interest in making hats. His true passion is piano—especially jazz.

At night he sneaks down to the South Side, slipping into predominantly black clubs to hear jazz groups play. Along the way he meets a black trumpeter, a man named Napoleon who becomes Benny’s close friend and musical collaborator. Their adventures together take Benny far from the life he knew as a delivery boy. Pearl Chimbrova recognizes their talent and invites them to start playing at her family’s saloon, which Napoleon dubs The Jazz Palace. Even as the novel charts the story of its characters, it also tells the tale of the city where they live. It is a world of gangsters, musicians, and clubs, in which black musicians are no freer than they were before the Civil War, white youths head down to the South Side to “slum,” and Al Capone and Louis Armstrong become legends. As The Jazz Palace steams through the 1920s, Benny, Pearl, and Napoleon forge a bond that is as memorable as it is lasting.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Music, Jazz, Jewish, Historical, Book Club

245 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2015

About the author

I was born in Chicago and, though I have lived in New York for many years, my roots are still in the Midwest and many of my stories are set there. As a writer my closest influences are Willa Cather and F. Scott Fitzgerald. I travel as much as I can and travel fuels everything I do. When I travel, I keep extensive journals which are handwritten and include watercolors, collage as well as text. All my writing begins in these journals. I tend to move between fiction and nonfiction. I spent seventeen years working on my last novel, The Jazz Palace. I think I learned a lot writing that book because the next one only took three years., Gateway to the Moon. Gateway which will be out in March 2018 is historical fiction about the secret Jews of New Mexico. I am also working on my fifth travel memoir about my travels alone. This one is about looking for tigers.

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew after the first couple of pages that I was going to love this book. It probably helped that, like the author, I lived for over twenty years in Chicago. The book open in 1915 and covers so much history, from the sinking of the Eastland, prohibition and bath tub gin, Al Capone and his hold on the city, the depression and so much more. In fact, each chapter opens with historical facts, many which I didn't know.

Wonders of wonders I loved the story as much as the history. Loved the characters, some real, some not, the advent of Jazz or Jass as it was sometimes called and the amazing colored musicians that livened up the city, playing in clubs on the South side, a few venturing North.
The characters and their stories were heart breaking and heart warming, the book exceedingly well written. This is a must read for those who know Chicago, or those who just like the music and history.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Jazz Palace by Mary Morris literally pulses with the rhythm of jazz throughout the pages as the dazzling and vibrant period of the Jazz Age comes to life in Chicago at the start of the twentieth century in this sweeping and unforgettable novel. This is a beautiful book with unforgettable characters as seen through the eyes of immigrants, blacks and whites, gangsters, and those with a dream and a passion. There are setbacks and heartbreaks, but just like the unforgettable and freeing sounds of the music, there is hope.

The tale begins as two Jewish families cross paths, both suffering heartbreaking losses in different ways, but become intertwined in some way throughout this narrative. Unforgettable is Benny Lehrman with a musical talent at the piano, resisting his training in classical music and sneaking off to the south side of Chicago to hear the sounds of jazz during the time when Al Capone and Louis Armstrong became legends. There are the "Gem Sisters" of the Chimbrova family, Ruby, Pearl and Opal, who operate the Jazz Palace with their brothers during the times of Prohibition. Mary Morris is such a wonderful writer that can bring history to life. This is a beautiful piece of history that I loved.

Benny stood. Not moving, repeating the word. "Jass." "You know, son, this is the devil's music. The demon dwells here. It's Negro music, boy. Whorehouse stomping. Coon shouting." The man was taunting him now. "It's what your mama told you to stay away from. So you better do that. Now you get outta here."

"People came just to hear the Black Butterfly jam. Men in zoot suits and girls in flapper dresses and fox shawls, wearing cloche hats and strands of pearls, stopped perfect strangers in the street. 'Do you know where the Black Butterfly is playing tonight?' they'd ask."

[La Tonya Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benny Lehrman was hit with the jazz music of the early 1900's which was played on the south side of Chicago. He was a young Jewish teenager who wanted to learn jazz. At that time, it was called "Negro Music". With his ear for music and knowing how to play the piano, he was a quick learner. He learned the rhythm and his own style. With his back hunched over the keys and his tongue wagging to the beat, he produced music that earned him the respect of Honey Boy, Napoleon Hill, and many others. From the speakeasies and clubs on the Stroll, Benny Lehrman, who was now called Moon, had a repution.

Benny learned life lessons and hardships that shaped his view of people and the world. He would count his age by telling people he was as old as the century and for Benny and Pearl the century unfolded a lifetime of learning. A good read with alot of historical facts on the early years of jazz in Chicago.

Quote
The police claimed he was drunk and stumbled in front of an oncoming car, but Anne swore he never touched a drop. Few Jewish randars did. That's what made Jews good saloonkeepers.

In the cold and turbulent waters of Lake Michigan, Pearl discovered the absence of sound.

He vomited into the bucket she placed by his bed until she thought he'd spew his guts out. "He's drunk," Leo said.

They'd been married that morning in a simple ceremony. When the judge pronounced them man and wife, a shock rippled through Pearl.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!Full disclosure: I am married to the author. But don't let that stop you from reading on. The Jazz Palace is the kind of novel that grabs you by the shirt collar (or flapper dress fringe) from the opening page and never lets go. Reads like a dream, keeping all nightmares at bay until the final page is turned and the book is placed gently down on the nightstand. Oh, and do yourself a favor. Buy a "physical" book, as they say in publishing. It is so amazingly beautiful you'll want to have this object on a coffee table all year long.

[Holly R W · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Jazz Palace" is all about 1920's Chicago and music. The author did a superb job of describing this era. Speakeasies, Al Capone, European immigrant life, sweat shops, and the Black migration to the North were all detailed. Where the book fell down for me was the plot.

The book opens with three boys from the same family (Pearl's family) drowning aboard a steamship called the "Eastland" in Lake Michigan. Historically, 844 people did die that day. We quickly learn that another family also chronicled in the book (Benny's family) lost a young son in a Chicago blizzard the winter before. As a reader, I wondered why the book opened that way.

In watching a video with the author, Morris explained that "The Jazz Palace" was 17 years in the making. It had originally been sent to publishers as a 700+ page book - filled with characters and spanning 50 years. Each rejection letter advised that the book was too lengthy and had too many characters. So, Morris decided to radically edit her book. I think this necessitated her lopping off characters. She also ended the book in the 1930's instead of 1968 as originally planned.

I read books for many reasons. This one will stand out for me due to its portrayal of Chicago in the 1920's. Among the many historical details, I learned that Jazz was originally called "Jass" (due to the jasmine scented perfumes worn by the women in New Orleans' brothels) and that Louie Armstrong was called "Dipper-mouth" (due to his wide smile) and that he also wore a star of David, due to the kindness of a Jewish family towards him.

I liked the three main characters (but wished for better things to happen in their lives):

Benny - Dreamy, gentle and misunderstood by his immigrant Jewish family, he lived and breathed for Jazz. He had a true talent for playing piano.

Pearl - As a young girl, she had witnessed her three brothers drown. Pearl grew up to find comfort in swimming. She also ran a speakeasy with her sibs, fronted by a candy shop.

Napoleon - From early childhood on, his entire life had been difficult. He grew up to be a proud black musician. His special talent was playing the trumpet. What an imaginative scene this was: When Napoleon's lips were cruelly cut by the mob and Benny couldn't find a doctor willing to help him, Benny took him to one of the women he knew in his father's sweatshop, who was a master seamstress. She was able to stitch Napoleon's lips back together. Wow!

*** 3.8 stars

[Caroline Leavitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in a while, there is a novel so rich, so moving, so alive, that you feel like you are inhabiting the pages. The Jazz Palace is truly a masterpiece. Written like a jazz piece, it introduces you to characters so stunning, you feel them just behind you. Richly cinematic (Chicago is its own character, and so is Jazz), it follows the tragedies and hopes of a group of people--Benny, who plays jazz piano, Napoleon, a black trumpet player, and Pearl, who has a family saloon. This is a world full of gangsters (Al Capone!), hopes, dreams and like nothing you have read before. Grab this one up.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something intriguing in reading books set in familiar places, particularly when history is well researched and presented. Although I've never lived in Chicago, I am a frequent visitor, and never tire of having this city illuminated. The development of what came to be known as the Chicago Sound provides a source of delight, but it is the city itself that provides the best characterization. The tragic capsizing of the Eastland, meticulously chronicled in the early pages, sets the narrative in motion. As recorded elsewhere, the characters at the center of the fiction never really come to life. What kept me reading here was the effect of progress on the city itself, its growth and change, the personalities of the North and South sides and their interaction.

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Chicago and it's 1915 and Mary Morris brings you there . There is so much going on in this book but then there was so much going on in Chicago in 1915. You can hear the music from the street and teenaged Benny can't stop moving his fingers as if everything he touched was a piano .

The Eastland Disaster, the passenger boat that tipped with the loss of hundreds of lives sets the stage for this novel and introduces us to a few of the characters whose lives we'll follow . Benny and Pearl meet on this fateful day and the story of two immigrant Jewish families begins to unfold.

It's about these two families but it is also about unexpected friendships , hopes and dreams , loss of loved ones , racial prejudice , the mob and of course the music , that "jass" - these were the things that defined these times .

Black musicians moved north because the racial prejudice in the south but musicians like Napoleon Hill , feel owned by the mob making them feel not free - punishing them for "playing music at another club ."

There are people we have heard of , Al Capone, Louis Armstrong , Rudolph Valentino but the real story is about these two families , these musicians and Chicago.

The writing is so good that we come to know these people and this place as if we lived there at that time .

Thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley .

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Chicagoan, I’m naturally attracted to my city’s rich and diverse history and this portrait of Chicago at the turn of the 20th century promised to entice.

Indeed, Mary Morris, a native of Chicago herself, sparkles when she turns her lens onto Chicago. The novel begins with the tragic sinking of the steamship Eastland – so close to shore – killing 844 Western Electric employees and setting a fortuitous fiction meeting into motion (Benny Lehrman, a Jewish jazz player and Pearl Chimbrova, who lost three brothers that day.)

It’s obvious that this author has done her homework and it’s fun to read about the nigthclubs – Slim Betty, The Charleston, the Lincoln Gardens, the Red Rooster – and Jazz Palace (“more a listening kind of place with a gambling room off to the side.”) Famous Chicago personages – most notably, Alphonse (Al) Capone – make appearances and there are references to Leopold and Loeb, Louis Armstrong and others who have long been a famous (or in some cases, infamous) part of Chicago’s tapestry.

The sense of time and place is worth the read. Mary Morris gets so much right: the Chicago geography and grittiness, the personages, the ambiance (“of crumbling plaster and mildew, of cat piss and back-alley trash, of stale popcorn and spilled ginger ale”) and most of all, the sounds of a bygone era.

Less successful is the fictional story. Much of it is derivative: Napoleon Hill, a black jazz trumpeter whose actions are often too predictable for readers and the aforementioned Benny with his head in the clouds who is compelled to leave his life as a delivery boy and sit in with the jazz group players. We learn about the mob ownership of the speak-easies and the musicians (“It’s just like slavery,” says Nathaniel.” I’m not free.”)

The history is all woven in – prohibition, mob rule, machine guns, the stock market crash – coinciding with the rise and fall of live time jazz. That’s the true driver of this novel and it’s done so well that I wish it had been enough for me. This is a 3.75-star.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not love it. I really wanted to love it - its been on my TBR for a while. It had all the notes I would have thought would have been a beautiful song. It had Historical Fiction Set in the Jazz Agee, in New York. It had Jewish families, trying to make it in the Jazz Age, where African Americans exclusively took over the scene. It even had Al Capone. I thought about what didn't work for me. All the life in the book was in the music, and even that ebbed away for the characters - leaving them lifeless. None of the characters had any life to them, each were all marked for or haunted by death, and waited inexorably for more pain, loss, and sadness to emerge. None of the characters had life. Each were haunted by death, and searched for something achingly in music.

The one part I did like - is when the music was related to experiences of God or divinity, and I appreciated the one passage, where a music teacher equates music and the experience of it, as likened to the experience of learning Kabbalah. I thought that was both thought provoking and soulful.

I must say, that one of the reasons the book caught my attention, is that I read and greatly enjoyed last year, Mary Morris's Gateway to the Moon. That was in my top 20 or 25. This had a similar feeling in the quality of the writing, but somehow in the other book, I did;t find the characters lifeless. There was a spirituality strung through it, in a way I couldn't quite capture here. That was just my experience, but I wouldn't give up on this author, and I would suggest you shouldn't either.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book. First off, this is one of the very very few novels about jazz to get the music and the musicians right. And, although it takes place in Chicago in the early 20th century, it is in no way dependent on 'cameos' by historical personages to advance the story. This was a novel that I really did not want to end, having said that, it was the perfect length, and ended very well. I was enjoying the ride. Highly recommended.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Jazz Palace by Mary Morris is a work of historical fiction, which is deeply atmospheric and character driven. Morris effortless takes the reader deep into the emergence of the jazz scene in Chicago and in so doing brings the early days of jazz to life for her readers and through the development and growth of Benny, Napoleon, Pearl, and Opal the reader sees the expansion of jazz from 1915 through the 1930s. The Jazz Palace is a wonderful work of literary and historical fiction and definitely brings to life the jazz scene in Chicago, racial division, speakeasies, the mob, family relationships, friendship, and passion. Three main characters come from two immigrant families, the Lehrmans, who own a small hat factory, and the Chimbrovas who run a saloon, each family lost sons to tragedies and have pinned the hopes of the family businesses on their remaining children. Benny Lehrman does not want to make hats, his passion lies in playing the piano and jazz music, which he listens to whenever he can sneak out, and when he finally gets a chance to play he is found to have talent and is befriended by Napoleon, a black jazz trumpeter, who becomes Benny’s musical collaborator, together they are noticed by Pearl Chimbrova invites them to play at the family’s saloon, owned by Pearl and her sister Opal and “The Jazz Palace” by Napoleon. Everything appears to be going well, but as the 20’s come to a close, life is drastically going to be altered for Benny, Napoleon, Pearl, and Opal and difficult decisions are going to be made as the next decade begins. The Jazz Palace is expertly written, well researched, with fully developed characters, rich and diverse backstories, and an intriguing cast of characters. I found I was transported to another place and time and was sad when the book ended. I would highly recommend The Jazz Palace to readers who enjoy well-written works of historical and literary fiction and to discussion groups.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Music isn’t just about sound, about pleasure and entertaining. It is about order. You need to understand how the world started.” P.62
“The musicians had their jazz slave masters, just like in the old days. Because he was under contract with the Rooster, he could not play anywhere else for profit nor could his children and nor their children and so on.” P125. “..they own us, man. Just like we used to be owned. We’re owned like the Civil War never happened.” P 126

On my TBR shelf for a while, so thought now was as a good time to pick it up. What interested me in this novel was the setting-Chicago in the early 20's. With each chapter, I felt the author provided a snapshot of historical events, the general tenor of everyday life, especially the working class and, the influence of mobsters. What was different was her focus on one genre of music- "Jass" of the African American south side and its musicians. In her hands, I could almost hear the beat of the music.
I feel that the author did a nice job interweaving real events with fictional ones that brought to life Benny, Napoleon, and Pearl as they sought to find their true identity and place in society despite cultural differences and family pressures.
Glad I finally can add this to my "Read" shelf.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Benny's story. Benny is a Jewish teenager growing up on the North side of Chicago in the early twentieth century. Benny has three younger brothers: Ira, Artie, and Harold. Benny's father, Leo Lehrman, owns a Cap factory - where caps worn by butchers, deliverymen and soda jerks are made. Benny goes to school, takes piano lessons, plays baseball with his friends on an empty lot, eats a Kosher meal every Friday night, and mostly has a pretty good life.

But Benny is carrying a crushing load of guilt. One day, when Chicago was in the throes of one of its monstrous snowstorms, Benny's father insisted that the boys go to school ["I never missed a day of school - and certainly not because of a little bit of snow"] So Benny's mother, Hannah, tied the boys together with rope looped through their belts, and reluctantly watched them disappear into the snow, Benny in the lead. The boys arrived at the school to find that it was closed because of the weather, and to find that their youngest brother, Harold, was no longer attached to the end of the tether. The boys searched and searched. The parents searched. Weeks later, when the snow melted, Harold was found. Benny, who feels responsible for Harold's death, cannot forgive himself.

Benny loses interest in school. He loses interest in Bach and Beethoven. He loses interest in baseball. One day he wanders South down State Street, and as he passes a club, music wafts out into the street and overcomes him "It sounded lonely as a boy who comes home to an empty house. A boy who's lost his rabbit foot or a China-blue marble. Sad as an orphan boy searching for his true father." This music appealed to Benny because "there was a loneliness in him that he couldn't name".

"He could name notes the way a painter could name the colors. In fact, he saw them in colors. C major came in yellow, and A major in orange. G was green and F a shade of blue. The minor notes were the muted shades of sunsets - mauve, rose, tangerine. Benny knew in what key the wind howled or crystal chimed."

"Jass" becomes his passion. His hands became an extension of his ears and his mind and he played endlessly. Music had come North, from New Orleans through St. Louis and in to Chicago.

In to Benny's world comes Napoleon Hill, a Black trumpeter. Benny and Napoleon play as one. They are two sides of the same coin. They practice together, take off on riffs together, hit the high notes and the low notes, play fast and tortuously slow. One day, Benny asks Napoleon why he never plays in North Chicago. Napoleon explains that the mob rules saloons and night clubs and musicians. When a night club is sold, the entertainment is part of the sale. "It's just like slavery," says Nathaniel. "I'm not free."

Prohibition is signed into law, saloons close only to be re-opened as speakeasies. Booze and music and dancing and crime prevail. This is the era of Al Capone. Chicago is known as a town where brothers kill brothers and friends wipe out friends with machine guns. Prohibition is followed by the fall of the stock market in 1929.

One of the speakeasies used to be a saloon named The Jazz Palace. It is owned by the Chimbrovas , a Jewish family with 12 children. Three boys named for birds [Robin, Wren and Jay]. Jonah. Three girls, called the gems [Pearl, Opal and Ruby]. The drowning deaths of the 'birds' devastates the parents, and Pearl, the oldest girl, works tirelessly to keep the saloon open.

The paths of the Lehrmans and the Chimbrovas ultimately cross, and the story of the families and the music is rocky. The coming of the jukebox, and Elliot Ness closing the cabarets, sound a death-knell for live music. But there's a certain enchantment in the story, too. Read it to the end. You'll love it. You'll want to sit down and listen to some 1920's jazz. Listen for the color. Remember Benny, and Napoleon and Pearl.

I read this e-ARC courtesy of Edelweiss.

[Meg Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the opening pages -- in which Morris's prose somehow evokes the rhythms of jazz (I'm still trying to figure out how she did this!) -- you know you are in the hands of a talented storyteller. I've been reading Morris since the mid-1990s, and have loved her prior novels, but The Jazz Palace is my new favorite. Maybe it's because I spent years in Chicago and love the city, or because I love jazz, or because I'm fascinated with the history of the 1920s. But I think I would love this story no matter when or where it was set. It opens with an extraordinary scene, and the pace never falters, and it circles back around to set you down gently in the echo of the place where it began. And through Benny, Pearl, and Napoleon, it beautifully explores the things we do for our art, and the complicated things that are friendship and love.

[Rhonda Lomazow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This magical book takes us to Chicago 1915,Chicago comes to life the rhythms of Jazz the emotional roller coaster of the people&their lives,I am a huge Mary Morris fan & she has written a book that has Chicago &each character jump off the page.Grab this book sit down& go back to another era another time.

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Where was the editor for this book? Too many characters, too many tragedies, and far too many attempts to fit in every single headline from Chicago from WWI through the depression.

[Vanessa Ehrlich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and considering it for book group. There is much to talk about although I was disappointed with the ending.

[Smoconn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three books kept coming to mind as I read The Jazz Palace, Mary Morris’s brilliant and irresistible new novel: Ragtime, by E. L. Doctorow, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, by Oscar Hijuelos, and Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Like all of these, The Jazz Palace employs beautifully observed and perfectly chosen detail to render a world that feels entirely real, yet magical at the same time. And, perhaps more to the point, like her predecessors, Morris has important things to tell us about love, obsession and sorrow—although the love and obsession in this novel primarily focus on the music and culture of jazz. The story follows the interwoven fates for four characters: Pearl and Opal, two of the three “Gem sisters” (the third is Ruby) who own the Chicago jazz club that lends the novel its title, and two musicians, Benny Lehrman, who, like the sisters, is Jewish, and Napoleon Hill, who is black and from New Orleans—though the novel also contains vivid cameo appearances by such real life figures as Louis Armstrong and, most memorably, Al Capone. Benny is a piano prodigy, and while Napoleon initially sees him as just another white man out to “steal” black music, he soon understands the depth of Benny’s talent and of his love for jazz. The two men become bandmates and friends, and they both become sexually involved with Opal—though Benny’s relationship with her is far more serious. Meanwhile, Pearl nourishes her love for Benny, but is too much of a realist to do anything but watch him and her younger sister from afar. One of the many pleasures of The Jazz Palace is the factual information that Morris scatters with consummate grace throughout its pages. The word “jazz,” she tells us, was originally pronounced “jass” and may have derived from the passion-inspiring jasmine oil used by prostitutes in New Orleans; while the word “hipster” came from the hip flasks sported by stylish young men during Prohibition. And a powerful subplot concerns the fact that, more than half a century after the end of slavery, black musicians were “owned” by Chicago’s mostly mobster club owners, and could be killed or maimed for playing at rival clubs. But in the end, this novel is primarily about the dialectic of joy and pain that love—or obsession—brings into the hearts of men and women. And in her wise and beautiful conclusion, Morris shows that while suffering can destroy some loves, it is also the forge by which others are made durable and real. The Jazz Age is the very best sort of novel, one that moves and fascinates, amazes us, makes us laugh, keeps us on the edge of our seats, and helps us understand what matters most in life.

[Shae Isaacs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Mary Morris’s new novel, The Jazz Palace! Its historically accurate and musically informed picture of Chicago circa 1930s weaves black, white, and immigrant cultures together with the rise of a new moment in music. Her deliciously imaginative prose – at times bordering on magical realism – tells the tale of an assortment of colorful characters brought together by chance and destiny. There are the gem sisters—Pearl, Opal and Ruby—whose mother named her daughters after jewels and her sons after birds—Wren, Robin, and Jay. There is Napoleon, a trumpet player know as the Black Butterfly, whose unusual bed-sharing arrangement with a woman named Maddy suits her day schedule and his music-making nights. And there is Benny, who in spite of his traditional Jewish upbringing, discovers the magic of jazz in his piano-playing fingers, and in clubs on the city’s south side. At times tragic, but always moving, a multiplicity of characters in The Jazz Palace weather an age and are tempered by time. Much like the music it describes, The Jazz Palace, is an uplifting, emotional riff on Chicago, on what creativity feels like, and the on peculiarities of life. Best enjoyed while listening to your local jazz radio station and drinking club soda.

[Caroline Bock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Morris' evocative Jazz Palace is set in Chicago — a city told in all its stormy, husky, brawling, big shoulder city-sense during the jazz age. The three main characters with distinct points of view are all connected via jazz or "jass" as Benny, the Jewish-American character, and melancholy piano player, states to his immigrant parents. The other two characters, Napoleon, the recent arrival from New Orleans, a black trumpet player, and Pearl, also Jewish, and the oldest of the three "gem" sisters who runs the Jazz Palace saloon immediately prior to Prohibition and through the the beginning of the Depression, all connect via loss in an evocative historical novel that never quite achieves the heights that it seems to be aiming for though the references to race and early feminism. The one thing I lament on, as I think back on this novel, is the character of Opal, Pearl's younger, wild (i.e. loves all the new music, the dances, men and sex) sister. I rooted for Opal—I wanted her to be free-spirited and to reach for and grab her dreams with both hands. But this isn't a novel about soaring heights or big dreams, it isn't really a novel about palaces, but about the places we find ourselves in even if we don't want to be there, and the cities we end up calling home.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appear to be in a definite minority in rating this book. I found it merely meh. While the characters and their stories, and the interspersed snippets about Chicago history, were enough to keep me listening, I never felt particularly engaged in the story. Napoleon Hill, the black jazz trumpeter, is by far the most real character, and even then you don't feel you really get to know what makes him tick. The other main characters, Bennie Lurman and Pearl Chimbrova, never really reveal themselves. In fact, by the time the book was over, I was pretty much done with Benny, who truly seemed to care about nothing and no one outside his music. Opal is such a stereotype that it's hard to consider her "real" at all. The writer definitely tried to make her prose jazz-like, but to me it just seemed over-written.

[Katherine Vaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich and wild, just like jazz; the pages really sing with history and incredible detailing. This is a love-song to Chicago when music helped invent it, stayed in tune with the city's turmoil. Benny, Pearl, and Napolean are our poignant, complicated guides through this world where life is tilting in all directions and they're attempting to create and live accordingly. I loved the discoveries I made, and real-live characters (Al Capone, for one), cross in and out, somewhat like jazz notes themselves. Benny, at the book's heart, is beleaguered, flawed, daring, and entirely credible and lovable.

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved The Jazz Palace. The story takes place in Chicago from from the sinking of the Eastland in 1915 to 1933. As a life long Chicagoan I remember stories my parents told me. Besides historical figures such as Capone,and Balaban & Katz of movie houses, the main characters are a Black musician from New Orleans, a young Jewish musician from a sewing background, and a young Jewish girl whose family runs a speakeasy. I had the great pleasure of hearing Mary Morris describe writing this book, and playing some of the Jazz that is reflected in The Jazz Palace. I read this very quickly to see what would happen, but did not want to finish and leave this world.

[PopcornReads - MkNoah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Award-winning author Mary Morris’ The Jazz Palace was in the works for almost twenty years while she went on to write a number of novels and non-fiction books. It is an ode to Chicago, a city she may have left a long time ago but one that holds a special place in her heart – and it shows. It’s also the story of two families and a story about African Americans fleeing the turbulent South who brought their own special heart-felt music that became known as jazz to Chicago. If you like historical novels, you’ll want to learn more about this one at http://popcornreads.com/?p=8303.

[Doubleday Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

"More than a decade in the writing, The Jazz Palace is a love letter to Mary Morris's hometown, Chicago. The city in the 1920s and the 1930s comes to vivid life in Mary's skilled hands: the sights, sounds, and smells; the way people lived and the way they felt. If you liked Ragtime or Boardwalk Empire, you will love The Jazz Palace." - Judy, Doubleday Marketing Department

[Michael Kimmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a marvelous read, truly recognizable and believable characters. I love how actual historical figures keep popping up, threaded through the story. I love the atmospheric elements; the weather and the water and the wind and snow are actual characters themselves. I felt like I both learned a lot about Chicago, effortlessly, and felt drawn into a story that was the quintessential American immigrant story. It's a big canvas, fitting for a city of big shoulders -- and deep hearts.

[Dosha (Bluestocking7) Beard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as an audio because I have been knitting along to audiobooks lately. It was easy enough to follow and interesting. Somehow, I was disappointed in the amount of actual growth in character development. On the whole the story was entertaining enough to finish. It had all of the elements for a good yarn: gangster Al Capone, the lives of Jewish and Black families, tragedies, nightclubs, prohibition, etc. but these elements were flat and not well flushed out.

[Cfkotula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells of 1920’s Chicago in this story that pays homage to the birth of jazz. Starting with a gripping account of the Eastland disaster, a jazz musician searches to find himself in the gritty neighborhoods as Chicago historical events unfold. Colorful appearances by Al Capone and many other early Chicago characters make it a fun read!

[Bookslut · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am nearly certain this is the worst book I've ever read. It is a sloppy crap-pile of historical facts, character fragments, and storyline snippets that the author didn't bother to link together. A giant, flaming mess masquerading as highbrow historical fiction. Terrible.