Noel Pointer
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Noel Pointer (December 26, 1954 – December 19, 1994) was an American
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
ist and
record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
, whose life inspired a music foundation.


Career

Pointer made his solo debut at the age of 13, performing
Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
with the Symphony of the New World, followed by guest solo appearances with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra and
Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...
. He began playing jazz on the violin while a student at The High School of Music and Art in New York City. While attending college at
Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...
, Pointer earned a reputation as a
session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...
. By age 19, his experience as a freelance musician included the
Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...
Orchestra, the Love Unlimited Orchestra, the Westbury Music Fair Orchestra, the
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
Symphony, the Love Unlimited Orchestra (US Tour), the Dance Theater of Harlem Orchestra, the Symphony of the New World, and the pit orchestras of several Broadway shows, including ''
Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...
'' and ''
Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. It is based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, and p ...
''. (subscription required) From 1977 to 1981, Pointer recorded seven solo albums, four of which reached the top five jazz albums listed on the ''
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'' jazz chart. His debut album, ''Phantazia'', went
platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
and won the No.1 New Male Jazz Act award in ''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...
'' magazine. He was the guest soloist on Milira's ''Mercy, Mercy, Me (The Ecology)'' and Dianne Reeves's ''The Tracks of My Tears''. His albums ''All My Reasons'' (1981) and ''Direct Hit'' (1982) were nominated for
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
s. He also wrote music for the Joyce Trisler Danscompany and the Inner City Ensemble Theater and Dance Company. Pointer received special citations from the United States Congress, the US
Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is made up of Black members of the United States Congress. Representative Yvette Clarke from New York, the current chairperson, succeeded Steven Horsford from Nevada in 2025. Although most members belong ...
, and the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...
(ANC). He served as a music advisory panelist for the
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...
(NEA) and the
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(USIA) and was among the youngest people to have held those positions. In 1992 he founded the National Movement for the Preservation of the Sacred African Burial Grounds of New York City. In 1993 he released ''Never Lose Your Heart'', which turned out to be his final album; he died of a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
on December 19, 1994, at age 39.


Personal life

Pointer was married to Chinita and had two daughters and a son; he lived in Brooklyn. After his death, Chinita Pointer founded the Noel Pointer Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing string music education to inner-city students, which is located in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York.


Discography


As Leader/co-leader

* ''Phantazia'' (
Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...
, 1977) * ''Hold On'' (United Artists, 1978) * ''Feel It'' (United Artists, 1979) * ''Calling'' (United Artists, 1980) * ''All My Reasons'' (Liberty, 1981) * ''Direct Hit'' (Liberty, 1982) – rec. 1981 * ''Never Lose Your Heart'' (Shanachie, 1993) * ''The Voice....The Violin'' with Kuh Ledesma (Universal, 1994)


Singles

* 1977: "Living for the City" * 1978: "Stardust Lady" * 1979: "For You (A Disco Concerto) Part 1" / "For You (A Disco Concerto) Part 2" * 1981: "Classy Lady" * 1981: "All the Reasons Why" (released in the Philippines) * 1981: "East St. Louie Melody" (released in the Philippines) * 1982: "Direct Hit"


References


External links

* Noel Pointerat
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pointer, Noel 1954 births 1994 deaths American jazz violinists American male violinists Musicians from Brooklyn Jazz musicians from New York City GRP Records artists 20th-century American violinists The High School of Music & Art alumni 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians