Walter Norris (December 27, 1931 – October 29, 2011) was an American pianist and composer.

Biography

Early life and career

Born in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, on December 27, 1931, Norris first studied piano at home with his mother, then with John Summers, a local church organist. His first professional performances were with the Howard Williams Band in and around Little Rock during his junior high and high school years. After graduating from high school, Norris played briefly with

Mose Allison Mose John Allison Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano. After moving to N ...

, then did a two-year tour in the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. After his time in the Air Force, Norris played with Jimmy Ford in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, then moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

where he became an integral part of the

West Coast Jazz West Coast jazz refers to styles of jazz that developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a subgenre of cool jazz, which consisted of a calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music relied rel ...

scene. While in Los Angeles, he played on

Jack Sheldon Beryl Cyril "Jack" Sheldon Jr. (November 30, 1931 – December 27, 2019) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He performed on ''The Merv Griffin Show'' and participated in episodes of the educational music television series ''Scho ...

's first album and on

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

's first album, '' Something Else! The Music of Ornette Coleman'' (1958) for

Contemporary Records Contemporary Records was a jazz record company and label founded by Lester Koenig in Los Angeles in 1951. Contemporary produced music from a variety of jazz styles and players. West Coast players Contemporary became identified with a style of ja ...

. In 1960, Norris relocated to New York City and formed a trio with guitarist

Billy Bean William Daro Bean (May 11, 1964 – August 6, 2024) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the Detroit Tigers (1987–1989), Los Angeles Dodgers (1989), and San Diego Padres ...

and bassist Hal Gaylor, and the group made one album. Norris took a job at the New York City Playboy Club in 1963 and in time became the club's director of entertainment, remaining there until 1970. From 1970 to 1974, Norris was a freelance performer and taught in the New York area. In 1974, he replaced

Roland Hanna Roland Pembroke Hanna (February 10, 1932 – November 13, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher. Biography Hanna studied classical piano from the age of 11, but was strongly interested in jazz, having been introduced to i ...

in the

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Early life, family and education Thad Jones was born i ...

Mel Lewis Melvin Sokoloff (May 10, 1929 – February 2, 1990), known professionally as Mel Lewis, was an American jazz drummer, session musician, professor, and author. He received fourteen Grammy Award nominations. Biography Early years Lewis was ...

Band. After a tour of Scandinavia, he remained in Europe to record a duo album with double bass player

George Mraz George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 – 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stepha ...

, titled ''Drifting''. Returning to the states, Norris joined the

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

Quintet in 1976. In the dressing room prior to a performance, according to Norris, he made the mistake of calling the temperamental Mingus "Charlie" instead of "Charles," which angered Mingus. At that moment, the stage manager entered the room and told the musicians they were needed onstage immediately, which provided a temporary escape from confrontation. Norris quit the band and accepted a job in

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

, as pianist with the

Sender Freies Berlin Sender Freies Berlin (; abbreviated SFB ; ) was the ARD public radio and television service for Berlin from 1 June 1954 until 30 April 2003. On 1 January 1992, SFB became the public broadcaster for the whole of reunited Berlin. However, SFB had ...

-Orchestra. He moved to Berlin in January 1977 and lived there from that point. He insisted that his fear of Mingus was the primary cause of the move to Europe.

Later career

In 1990, Norris signed a five-album contract with

Concord Records Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists ha ...

. The resulting recordings were all significant, but especially ''Sunburst'' (with saxophonist

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and very occasional flute player. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day an ...

), ''Hues of Blues'' (with George Mraz), and the '' Live at Maybeck Recital Hall'' solo piano album. In 1998, without a record contract, Norris self-financed the album ''From Another Star'', made in New York with bassist Mike Richmond, pressing 1,000 copies. A documentary film directed by Chuck Dodson, ''Walter Norris, a documentary'', was completed in 2010.biography at ''All About Jazz''
/ref> In 2005 an autobiography, "In Search of Musical Perfection" and method book "Essentials for Pianist Improvisers" were released. In July 2006, Norris recorded at his home in Berlin with Los Angeles bassist

Putter Smith Patrick Verne "Putter" Smith (born January 19, 1941) is an American jazz bassist, music teacher, author, and actor. Early life Smith was born in Bell, California, near Los Angeles, and began playing the bass at the age of eight, inspired by his ...

. He died on October 29, 2011, at his home in Berlin, Germany, and is survived by his wife, Kirsten. His other descendants were two daughters from his previous marriage to Mandy, Dinah and Delia (deceased), and two granddaughters, Emily and Holly.

Discography

As leader

*''The Trio''With bassist Hal Gaylor, Walter Norris on acoustic piano, and Billy Bean on electric guitar( Riverside)1961 *''Drifting'' (

Enja Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Jap ...

, 1974) with

*''Synchronicity'' (Enja, 1978) with Aladár Pege *''Stepping on Cracks'' ( Progressive, 1978) with George Mraz, Ronnie Bedford *''Winter Rose'' (Enja, 1980) with Aladár Pege *''Lush Life'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

) with Neil Swainson, Harold Jones *''

Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Four ''Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Four'' is an album of solo performances by jazz pianist Walter Norris, recorded in 1990. Overview The album was recorded in 1990 at the Maybeck Recital Hall in Berkeley, California. "Scrambled" is "a radic ...

'' (Concord, 1990) *''Sunburst'' (Concord, 1991) with

Larry Grenadier Larry Grenadier (born February 6, 1966, in San Francisco) is an American jazz double bassist. Early life Grenadier's father was a trumpet player in World War II army bands and later in Europe but stopped playing professionally before his chi ...

, Mike Hyman *''Love Every Moment'' (Concord, 1992) with

Larance Marable Larance Norman Marable (May 21, 1929 – July 4, 2012) was a jazz drummer from Los Angeles, California. Early life Marable was born in Los Angeles on May 21, 1929. His family was musical, but he was largely self-taught. Later life and career In ...

*''Hues of Blues'' (Concord, 1995) *''From Another Star'' (Sunburst, 1998) with Mike Richmond *''The Last Set Live at the A-Trane'' (ACT, 2012) with

Leszek Możdżer Leszek Możdżer (Polish pronunciation: born Lesław Henryk Możdżer, 23 March 1971, Gdańsk) is a Polish jazz pianist, music producer and film score composer. Life and career Możdżer was born on 23 March 1971 in Gdańsk. He began to play t ...

As sideman

With

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...

*'' Julian'' (Enja, 1976) *'' Twelfth & Pingree'' (Enja, 1976) With The Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra *'' New Life'' (1975) With

*''

Something Else!!!! ''Something Else!!!!'' (subtitled ''The Music of Ornette Coleman'') is the debut album by jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman. It was released by Contemporary Records in September 1958. According to AllMusic, the album "shook up the jazz world", rev ...

'' (1958)

References

External links

Walter Norris' own websiteDocumentary film about Walter Norris.
*http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2928 {{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Walter 1931 births 2011 deaths American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Avant-garde jazz musicians Enja Records artists Little Rock Central High School alumni Musicians from Little Rock, Arkansas Riverside Records artists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Arkansas 20th-century American male musicians