Ballad of Tommy LiPuma

Captures seven hit-making decades during the American recording industry''sglittering, freewheeling years. Tommy LiPuma was one of America''s most successfulrecord producers whose work with seminal artists like Miles Davis, Diana Krall,Barbra Streisand, Rickie Lee Jones, George Benson, and Willie Nelson went on to sellover seventy-five million records. It is also a picaresque journey that opens withthe murder of a man on a dirt path in Sicily and concludes with five trips up theGrammy red carpet. The Ballad of Tommy LiPuma is real-life Horatio Alger adventurestoried with bootleggers, gangsters, artists, hipsters, set in a revolutionary timein music history that changed popular culture around the world. Finally, it''s adeeply personal account of how music saved one man''s life, and how he went on toaffect the lives of millions of others. "Tommy was my best friend, my creativepartner, my mentor, my confidant, and my producer for twenty-four years. As timegoes on, I realize just how special he was."—Diana Krall "Tommy was a fantasticproducer. He always had a great sense of humour . . . he would sit in the studiowith us musicians and make every session a complete joy."—Paul McCartney "Tommy wasalways looking for ways to bring authentic jazz and blues to a largeraudience."—Donald Fagen "He leaves a great legacy of great music that''s going tostand the test of time . . . . I miss him every day."—Al Schmitt "Tommy was a greatproducer and a real friend."—Willie Nelson I don''t think that it''s been noticedenough what he''s done. He''s been the most successfulperson, commercially, in thehistory of jazz."—Randy Newman