The Compassion of Jazz chronicles the career of Jim Cassell, a native Californian born in la Jolla, as he navigates his way from student to sailor to hippie to political activist with the United Farm Workers in their unionizing efforts in the 1970s. And from there, based on his lifelong love of music instilled in him by his mother, into a career as a promoter and manager for major jazz, latin jazz, and blues performers including Tito Puente, Poncho Sanchez, Sergio Mendes, Dizzy Gillespie, James Cotton, and others. The Compassion of Jazz provides behind the scenes observations and insights into the nature of the music business by a participant who found himself in the midst of it all propelled there almost accidentally by his good luck aided by his good work.