On December 7, Verve/UMe will release The Founder, a 4-CD box set in honor of Norman Granz’s centennial earlier this year (August 6, 1918).  The collection will also be available as a digital download and on streaming services. The set includes 44 tracks, some appearing on CD for the first time ever. It presents a chronological overview of the first two decades of the jazz impresario’s impressive career by way of recordings of the musicians he recorded. The booklet includes new liner notes by Tad Hershorn, author of Norman Granz: The Man Who Used Jazz For Justice which contextualize the recordings within and shed light on the man’s life and art.

A passionate jazz impresario and crusader for social justice, Norman Granz launched, promoted and popularized the careers of some of the genre’s greatest artists. Granz’s career took off with his Jazz At The Philharmonic concert series, which brought acts from clubs across the country to one of the biggest stages in America. The series helped bring the music to a broader audience and bridged the generational and racial divides that separated music at the time.

His devotion to jazz and justice was also exemplified in his work at prominent record labels. Granz created a solid jazz repertoire for Mercury Records before founding the Clef, Norgran and Verve labels. It’s on those imprints that the careers many of the most important and influential jazz acts took off, from Coleman Hawkins and Johnny Hodges to Ella Fitzgerald and Ben Webster.

With incendiary performances from the likes of Hawkins with Charlie Parker and Lester Young, Nat “King” Cole with Les Paul and Illinois Jacquet, Dexter Gordon, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, and Dizzy Gillespie, The Founder shows the lasting impact of Granz’s career and the role he played in the work of a veritable who’s-who of modern jazz.

You can find pre-order links and a full track listing below!

The Founder (Verve/UMe, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1: Mercury/Clef (1942-1948)

1. I Blowed and Gone – Dexter Gordon
2. Blues – Nat “King” Cole, Illinois Jacquet & Les Paul
3. I Got Rhythm – Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker & Lester Young
4. Picasso – Coleman Hawkins
5. Sono – Harry Carney
6. The Bloos – George Handy & His Orchestra

Disc 2: Mercury/Clef (1949-1954)

1. Tenderly – Oscar Peterson Duo with Ray Brown
2. Vignette At Verney’s – Ralph Burns Orchestra with Lee Konitz
3. Lullaby Of The Leaves – Anita O’Day
4. The New Basie Blues – Count Basie and His Orchestra
5. Con Poco Coco – Andre’s All Stars
6. Castle Rock – Johnny Hodges
7. Jeep’s Blues – Johnny Hodges
8. (Ad Lib) Slow Dance – Fred Astaire
9. No Strings (I’m Fancy Free) – Fred Astaire
10. Flamingo – Benny Carter and His Orchestra
11. With The Wind and The Rain In Your Hair – Tal Farlow
12. Easy Living – Buddy DeFranco & Oscar Peterson Quartet
13. Blues For The Count – Count Basie and His Orchestra
14. They Can’t Take That Away From Me – Buddy DeFranco & Oscar Peterson

Disc 3: Norgran/Verve (1954-1957)

1. I Thought About You – Billie Holiday
2. I Thought About You – Ella Fitzgerald
3. Like Someone In Love – Bud Powell
4. Pig Ears and Rice – Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra
5. Can’t We Be Friends – Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
6. Blue Room – Bing Crosby & Buddy Bregman
7. Taking a Chance On Love – Lester Young & Teddy Wilson
8. What a Little Moonlight Can Do – Billie Holiday
9. Falling In Love With Love – Oscar Peterson Trio
10. Yellow Rose Of Brooklyn – Harry “Sweets” Edison & Buddy Rich
11. Time After Time – Lawrence Brown

Disc 4: Verve (1957-1960)

1. Day By Day – Coleman Hawkins Newport All-Stars feat. Pete Brown
2. On The Sunny Side Of The Street – Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt & Sonny Rollins
3. It Never Entered My Mind – Stan Getz
4. I Know That You Know – Stuff Smith
5. D and E Blues – The Modern Jazz Quartet
6. Budd Johnson – Ben Webster
7. If I Were a Bell – Blossom Dearie
8. Chelsea Bridge – Gerry Mulligan & Ben Webster
9. Line For Lyons – Gerry Mulligan & Paul Desmond
10. Somp’m Outa’ Nothin’ – Lee Konitz & Jimmy Giuffre
11. Thank You Charlie Christian – Herb Ellis
12. Lonely Town – Mel Tormé & Marty Paich Orchestra
13. Evil Eyes – Terry Gibbs Big Band