Tampa crime author sings praises of jazz great | TBO.com, The Tampa Tribune and The Tampa Times.
TAMPA — Michael Connelly is no stranger to crime.
After all, he is the bestselling author of 27 crime fiction books that have sold 58 million copies worldwide, most featuring detective Harry Bosch or defense attorney Mickey Haller.
A television series “Bosch” is under production by Amazon Studios, and Matthew McConaughey played Haller in the 2011 film “The Lincoln Lawyer.”
Once upon a time, Connelly also covered the crime beat for the Los Angeles Times.
Yet even Connelly admits he was uncomfortable attending a jazz concert in California’s San Quentin prison in 2012.
“Everyone in that audience was pretty much a murderer,” said Connelly, who has lived in Tampa since 2001. “The night before the concert a sergeant from the prison spoke to us about precautions and how there is a no-hostage policy.”
But once the music started, Connelly noticed a change in the room full of hardened criminals.
“You saw it in their faces — how the music affected them,” he said. “It showed that there was still humanity in them, and where there is humanity there is a possibility for redemption.”
The concert, in fact, was filmed and now is featured in the documentary “Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story.”
Connelly is executive producer.
The name Frank Morgan may ring a bell to fans of the Bosch series. His real music emerges as a character in the books, bringing solace to the troubled fictional detective.
The film tells the story of the man behind that music.
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