Norman Salant is a songwriter, saxophonist, composer and producer.

Biography

Early life and career

Salant was born in 1953 and raised in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York.Michael Snyder, "Two Local Saxmen Shoot For the Big Apple," ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' (''Datebook''), September 14, 1986. As a youth, he studied guitar and

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

, before teaching himself to play the saxophone as a teen.Derk Richardson, "Talking Sax: A classic mismatch,” ''

San Francisco Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. Parts of the paper were relaunched online in February 2016. History The ''Bay Guar ...

'', March 5, 1986. In 1973, while attending college at

SUNY Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public research university in Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. The university was founded in 1846 as ...

, Salant joined experimental free-form rock group Charles Octet, originated by

Chuck Hammer Chuck Hammer is an American guitarist and soundtrack composer, known for textural guitar work with Lou Reed, David Bowie, and Guitarchitecture. As an artist, Hammer is best known for his Guitarchitecture recordings, though he is also widely rega ...

.Interview With Norman Salant, ''Another Room'', June 3, 1982. The band had difficulty finding an audience, and when the group disbanded, Salant returned to New York City, where he briefly joined a disco band. He quit and moved to San Francisco in 1977. During the late 1970s, Salant contributed saxophone to a variety of jazz, rock and avant-garde projects.Alan K. Lipton, "Norman Salant's Futuresax," '' BAM'', May 7, 1982.

'' Demonstrations''

Officially released in December 1981, his first solo album ''Saxaphone Demonstrations'' was named one of ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

s Ten Best Records of 1982. The album features "experiments with massed, minimalist-riff saxes," and the single "Accidents" (an adaptation of Blondie's "Accidents Never Happen"). Heavy with multi-tracked and electronically altered saxophones, ''Saxaphone Demonstrations'' has been described as being influenced by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's ''

Low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...

'', and in general being difficult to classify.Robert James Lauriston, "Reinventing the Sax," ''Artbeat'', Winter '83, Number 12. The album's title contains a deliberate misspelling of the word "saxophone" in an attempt to emphasize Salant's different approach.

''Sax Talk''

In January 1982, shortly after the release of ''Saxaphone Demonstrations'', Salant put together the Norman Salant Group, "an appealing and talented band that… hit the Bay Area club circuit out of thin air." Along with Salant on saxophone, the six-piece band was composed of Jeff Nathanson (guitar, synthesizer), Jeff Kaplan (guitar), Morey Goldstein (saxophone/clarinet), Steve Ashman (bass) and

Bruce Slesinger Bruce Slesinger, better known by his stage name Ted, is an American musician and architect who was the first drummer for Dead Kennedys. Dead Kennedys Slesinger drummed for the San Francisco punk band, the Dead Kennedys, from July 1978 to Febru ...

of the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

(drums). The band earned quick success in the local club scene, headlining shows and opening for

Mike Oldfield Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English retired musician, songwriter and producer best known for his debut studio album ''Tubular Bells'' (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a gu ...

and X. 1984 saw the release of Salant's LP ''Sax Talk''. Recorded with some members of the Norman Salant Group, along with electronic musicians Gregory Jones and Roy Sablosky,Eddy Larkin, "Norman Salant: On the forefront of innovation,” KUSF Wave Sector, Fall 1982, Number Eleven. the album has Middle Eastern, funk, new wave, dance and electronic influences. Two members of

Romeo Void Romeo Void was an American new wave and post-punk band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. The band primarily consisted of saxophonist Benjamin Bossi, vocalist Debora Iyall, guitarist Peter Woods, and bassist Frank Zincavage. The ...

also make appearances. In March 1985, ''Sax Talk'' was featured on the cover of ''

CMJ New Music Report CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

''.

Saxophone Duo

Salant began collaborating with Benjamin Bossi following the dissolution of Bossi's band

in 1984. Working as an unaccompanied duet, often without amplification, the two saxophonists created tightly structured improvisational music with elements of jazz, country, doo-wop and minimalism. After finding success performing in the Bay Area, playing clubs and opening for acts like

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist), Mick Jones, former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of th ...

and

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") is a Mexican American rock group, rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional ...

at the

Fillmore West The Fillmore West was a historic rock and roll music venue in San Francisco, California, US which became famous under the direction of concert promoter Bill Graham from 1968 to 1971. Named after The Fillmore at the intersection of Fillmore ...

, Salant and Bossi moved to New York in 1986 in search of further opportunities, occasionally returning to play in San Francisco.

40-Saxophone Orchestra

Salant's minimalist jazz piece for 40 saxophones was created for and had its world premiere at the New York Festival of the Arts'

Fête de la Musique The Fête de la Musique, also known in English as Music Day, Make Music Day, or World Music Day, is an annual music celebration that takes place on 21 June. On Music Day, citizens and residents are urged to play music outside in their neighborho ...

in 1989, in celebration of France's bicentennial. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called it "the most striking" event of the festival.

Other notable saxophone work

In the 1980s, Salant played on albums by

('' Benefactor'') and

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vid ...

(''

The Tunes of Two Cities ''The Tunes of Two Cities'' is the ninth studio album by American art rock group The Residents, released in 1982. It is part two of the ''Mole Trilogy''. Rather than forwarding the story of the battle between the Mole People and the Chubs, the r ...

'' ); wrote and arranged dance-pop songs with singer

Lynn Mabry Lynn Mabry (born March 21, 1958) is an American singer. Early life Born in Vallejo, California, Mabry's mother enjoyed playing piano and her father was a choir director and radio DJ. They divorced when she was 3 years old. Career She got her ...

; and acted in a Japanese television commercial for Schick. In the late '80s and early '90s he was active in New York's East Village downtown arts scene. He scored dance performances for various choreographers and performance artists, including Alyson Pou, William Douglas, Mary Abrams, Laura Schandelmeier, and Jody Oberfelder's Overfoot Dance Company. In 1991, he put together The Moving Planet Orchestra, a minimalist improvisational middle-eastern jazz group featuring saxophone, middle-eastern strings and percussion, synthesizer and bass. The following year he began performing "Saxophone Stories," an improvised solo soprano saxophone accompanied only by an electronic tamboura, at venues such as the

Danspace Project Danspace Project is a performance venue for contemporary dance. Its performances are held in St. Mark's Church in the East Village area of the Manhattan borough of New York City. History Founded in 1974 by Barbara Dilley, Mary Overlie, and Larr ...

at St. Mark's Church in the East Village and other venues around New York City. His music has been featured on John Schaeffer's New Sounds program on

WNYC WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC- ...

.“New Sounds: Episode #142,”

, October 16, 1988.

Influences

Salant has said that his main influences as a saxophonist were

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

("he could play so beautifully that my heart would stop") and

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

(for his overall mastery).

Discography

Saxophone Recordings

* ''Saxaphone Demonstrations'' (1981,

Alive Records Alive Naturalsound Records (also known as Alive Records) is an independent record label formed in 1993 in Los Angeles, California by Patrick Boissel, specializing in garage rock, punk rock, punk, psychedelic rock, psychedelic, and blues rock. It ...

) *''Accidents (Single)'' (1981,

) * ''Sax Talk'' (1984,

CD Presents David Ferguson was an American international outsider-culture impresario, activist, music producer and concert promoter. Over his career, most of which has been spent on the West Coast, he worked with musical acts such as the Avengers, John Ly ...

) *''Sax Talk / No Night Remixes 12"'' (1984,

) Saxophone Archive Series: *''Saxophone Duo: Norman Salant & Benjamin Bossi, San Francisco and New York 1986-1989'' (2011, Northcove) *''The 40-Saxophone Orchestra, New York 1989'' (2012, Northcove) *''Saxaphone Demonstrations II: Bad Loops – Love Letter, New York 1991'' (2012, Northcove) *''Sax/Off: Dance Scores, New York'' ''1991-1992'' (2012, Northcove) *''Sax/On: Live Saxophone Recordings, New York, featuring The Moving Planet Orchestra and Saxophone Stories 1991-1993'' (2018, Northcove) *''Late Night In The Loft: Saxophone Trio, San Francisco, featuring Gregory Jones and Dave Scheff'' ''1983'' (2018, Northcove) *''Norman Salant Group: Golden Arm, San Francisco 1982 (2022, Northcove)''

Songwriter Recordings

4-Song EPs and Singles *''Postcards From the Hanging'' (Dec 2011, Northcove) *''Tag'' (Aug 2012, Northcove) *''Wong Gar-Ku'' (Jan 2013, Northcove) *''Grace (single)'' (Jul 2013, Northcove) *''Nebraska (single)'' (Sept 2013, Northcove) *''Nebraska'' (Nov 2013, Northcove) *''Yodeling Goodbye'' (Dec 2013, Northcove) *''harrisonbergeron'' (Mar 2014, Northcove) *''Light (''Apr 2014, Northcove) *''Home'' (Jul 2014, Northcove) Albums * ''Greatest Hits'' (Feb 2013, Northcove) *''Yodeling Goodbye'' (May 2018, Northcove) *''Always All Around You (Nov'' 2018, Northcove)

Featured on

– '' Benefactor'' (1982,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

) *

– ''

'' (1982,

Ralph Records Ralph Records was an independent record label active between 1972 and 1989, best known for being initially run by avant-garde art collective, '' The Residents''. The name arose from the slang phrase for vomiting, "calling Ralph on the porcelain tel ...

) * Peter Miller – ''Pre C.B.S.'' (1981, .22 Records)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salant, Norman American rock saxophonists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American experimental musicians American rock songwriters American rock singers 1953 births Living people 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians American male singer-songwriters