Ray Norris (1916 – December 21, 1958) was a Canadian guitarist and bandleader, known for his performances on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

radio and television in the 1940s and 1950s.

Background

Born in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Norris played in country-swing bands on Vancouver Radio in the 1930s. In 1941, he formed the Ray Norris Quintet, originally based in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

but later

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The quintet included

Fraser MacPherson John Fraser MacPherson CM (10 April 1928 – 27 September 1993) was a Canadian jazz musician from Saint Boniface, Manitoba. MacPherson moved to Victoria, British Columbia, as a child. He learned piano, clarinet, and alto and tenor saxophone ...

and

Phil Nimmons Phillip Rista Nimmons (June 3, 1923 – April 5, 2024) was a Canadian jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader, and educator. Nimmons played "free jazz" and mainstream styles, and other genres including classical music. He composed more than 400 ...

early in their careers, and had its own

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

program, ''Serenade in Rhythm'', until 1950. In 1949, they recorded four original titles. During the 1950s, Norris continued to work on the CBC radio and television from Vancouver. He moved to Toronto with a country group, the Rhythm Pals, just before his death in 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Ray 1916 births 1958 deaths Canadian bandleaders Canadian jazz guitarists Canadian male guitarists Musicians from Saskatoon 20th-century Canadian guitarists 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian male jazz musicians