Music Is Forever: Dizzy Gillespie, the Jazz Legend, and Me

In Music Is Forever: Dizzy Gillespie, the Jazz Legend and Me, Dave Usher, white and Jewish, tells the story of how he, at age 14, met the jazz giant, a black man who practiced the Bahá’i Faith, and forged a 50-year friendship. During those years, Dave Usher helped produce Dizzy’s records, and traveled the world with him. The book saves some important jazz history and gives us important insights into Dizzy the musician and Dizzy the man. The book is praised on the back cover by three acclaimed jazz critics, Nat Hentoff, Doug Ramsey, and Alyn Shipton. Hentoff says, “All of Dizzy is here in this book.” Shipton declares, “…Usher offers us a very personal view into the life of one of America’s best loved entertainers and jazz musicians.” Ramsey states Usher, “…tells the story with warmth, humor and detail that further illuminate not only the great trumpeter’s genius but also his humanity.”