The Jazz Palace by Mary Morris

Chicago is a vibrant city on the edge of the 20's. European immigrant families are trying to settle and create family legacies honoring the ways as well as the black musicians who are trying to escape prejudices in the south. It is a melting pot of new ideas and old beliefs and this is where we meet Benny, Napoleon, Opal and Pearl. Benny is a music prodigy who wants to escape the family business of selling caps and focus on this magical new type of music - jazz. Napoleon is a talented black trumpet player who sees something in Benny while Pearl opens her saloon doors to the both of them to play the music of their soul while Opal dances to unleash her soul. The author gives us all the sounds and sights of Chicago in its heyday - the neighborhoods with a mix of languages, the forbidden South Side where music flourishes and the dancing goes till dawn as well as the violence of the incoming crime lords, Al Capone and others. Pete Hamil gave us New York and Mary Morris gives us that same rich experience of Chicago.