[4] In the 1940s, Gordon and Lion recorded the works of jazz artists such as the clarinetist Sidney Bechet and pianist Thelonious Monk.

[5] In 1949, she married Max Gordon, owner of the Village Vanguard club in New York.

[6] Established in 1935, the club gained a reputation among jazz musicians in the late 1950s and became a popular place to record live performances.

After Max Gordon's death in 1989, she assumed ownership and management of the Vanguard club.

"[5][10] The book received the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music print publishing.