Starting in the Great Depression, Cole injected angularity, syncopation, and body isolations derived from the traditional dance forms of India, Latin America, Africa, and the Caribbean to exceed his early modern-dance roots and carve an unabashedly commercial career. One brilliant protegee was the triple-threat empress of Broadway, Gwen Verdon. Another was Blonde Bombshell Marilyn Monroe.

Jazzed leads the reader through Cole’s story: His Dickensian childhood, early verve for modern dance; foray into a commercial dance career at the height of the Depression; his surprising mash-up of Indian dance and big-band swing music; first forays to Hollywood; establishment of a resident dance company at Columbia Pictures; coaching of post-War screen bombshells; and long struggle for success on Broadway. Why was Jack Cole so rough on himself — and others? How did he prevail in homophobic work environments? Jazzed posits why this brilliant creative artist’s legacy went missing, and why the major choreographers who bore his influence and succeeded him eclipsed him in dance history. Jazzed marks the reemergence of this gone-missing man of American performing arts — a biographical journey steeped not in fandom but in deep research and facts — delivered by author Debra Levine on a no-holds-barred basis. Get Jazzed!