aldo vigorito, putter smith, mads vinding, mike richmond, george mraz, larance marable, joe henderson, mike heyman, larry grenadier, neil swainson, harold jones, joe pass, chet baker, aladar pege, ronnie bedford, charles mingus, danny richmond, ricky ford, jack walrath, red mitchell, dexter gordon, red rodney, thad jones, jerry dodgion, lee katzman, pepper adams, makaya ntshoko, billy bean, hal gaylor, johnny griffin, louie bellson, harry ’sweets’ edison, stan getz, scott lafarro, ornette coleman, don cherry, don payne, billy higgins, clifford brown, max roach, shelly manne, shorty rodgers, eric dolphy, bill holman, gary frommer, morris edwards, sonny criss, teddy edwards, buddy woodson, gene gammage, vido musso, zoot sims, frank rosolino, charlie mariano, max bennett, mel lewis, herb geller, jack sheldon, ralph pena, bob whitlock, george duvivier, chico hamilton, carson smith, buddy colette, jimmy ford, mose allison, bitsy mullins, billy scarlett, howard williams and many others.
Influences
art tatum, beethoven, bud powell, charlie parker, chopin, dizzy gillespie, errol garner, frank fernandez, heida hermanns, j s bach, jimmy ford, john summers, lester young, nat cole, noel lee, rachmaninoff, sonny stitt, sviatoslav richter, teddy wilson, thad jones, tony d’amore.
Walter Norris is one of the world’s great pianists. Though he’s most known inside the jazz world, having performed and recorded with many leading artists, the most fascinating thing about Walter is how his work has continued to evolve. He has blurred the line between jazz and classical music, joining the ideas of Bach, Mozart and Chopin to those of Louie Armstrong, Art Tatum and Charlie Parker, building on the past to make a music that is very much of the present, even of the future.
“…Norris has moved beyond his bebop beginnings.” ~ Leonard Feather, Los Angeles Times
Walter Norris was born Dec. 27, 1931, in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the United States. He began studying the piano when he was a child and was playing professionally by the age of 12. In the 1950s he lived in Los Angeles and was part of the West Coast scene, working with a long list of artists including Art Pepper, Buddy DeFranco, Frank Rosolino, Charlie Mariano, Jack Sheldon, Teddy Edwards, Eric Dolphy, Zoot Sims, Herb Geller, Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, Stan Getz, Johnny Griffin, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Leroy Vinnegar and Louie Bellson.
In 1960 Walter moved to New York City and formed The Trio with guitarist Billy Bean and bassist Hal Gaylor and recorded the album "The Trio." He was musical director of the New York City Playboy Club from 1963 until 1970 and during that time studied classical piano with Heida Hermanns at the Manhattan School of Music.
In 1974 Walter recorded the album "Drifting" with bassists Aladar Pege and George Mraz, his first album under his own name. The same year he joined the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra.
In 1976 he performed in Europe with Dexter Gordon, Zoot Sims, Red Rodney and Red Mitchell, then returned to the states and became a member of the Charles Mingus Quintet.
In January of 1977 Walter left the United States and moved to Berlin, Germany, to perform with the Sender-Fries Radio Orchestra. He continued to record, releasing "Synchronicity" (1978, w/Aladar Pege), "Stepping on Cracks" (1978, w/George Mraz and Ronnie Bedford) and "Winter Rose" (1980, w/Aladar Pege). In 1988 he began the jazz program at Berlin’s Hochschule der Kunste and taught there until 94.
In 1990 Walter signed a 5-album contract with the Concord label and released "Live at Maybeck Recital Hall" (1990), "Lush Life" (1990, with Neil Swainson and Harold Jones), "Sunburst" (1991, w/Joe Henderson, Larry Grenadier and Mike Heyman), "Love Every Moment" (1992, w/Putter Smith and Larance Marable), and "Hues of Blues" (1995, w/George Mraz). In 1998 he formed his own label to produce the album "From Another Star" with bassist Mike Richmond.
Lately Walter has spent a great amount of time creating an autobiography (not yet released) and a book that contains his practice and performance techniques (available very soon). He is the subject of a documentary film, "From Another Star: The Life and Work of Walter Norris," which is scheduled for release in the summer of 2008.
Walter continues to practice hours a day as he has since his childhood.
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What critics have said:
“Without any doubt, Walter Norris is one of the most important solo pianists in the second half of the twentieth century. His inexhaustible wealth of ideas and outstanding pianistic mastery is not to be found in the world of jazz.” ~ Jorg Engels, Jazz Podium
“Walter Norris is a brilliant pianist, a virtuoso…..” ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
“…..it is no exaggeration to call him one of a kind. Many pianists have distinctive styles and sounds, Norris, however, goes beyond any classification, either as a pianist-composer or a visionary. ~ Francesca Nemko, Jazz Now
“Possessed of a demonic technique and a rare harmonic imagination, he divides his time between the original works, mocked by the ever-shifting iridescence of his chordal concepts, and versions of standard tunes that he elevates to new levels of sophistication. ~ Leonard Feather, Los Angeles Times
“Walter Norris makes music with a staggering facility…..great and vivacious piano-playing, somewhere between Mozart and Bartok.” ~ Baldur Bockhoff, Suddeutsche Zeitung
“This is inebriating music, music which celebrates the piano both as an instrument and as a concept.” ~ Gary Giddins, The Village Voice
“If classical keyboardists were still expected to improvise as in previous centuries, there might be more pianists like Walter Norris.” ~ Jon Pareles, New York Times
“Walter Norris is a consummate pianist and deep rhapsodist whom the Japanese, in their reverence for artistry, would call a living national treasure.” ~ Fred Bouchard, DownBeat
“Walter Norris is one of the elder statesmen of the jazz piano.” ~ Jorg Knobloch, All About Jazz
“…Walter Norris has been and continues to be one of my favorite pianists.” ~ Fred Jung, Jazz Weekly
“Walter Norris is the Art Tatum of the 90’s.” ~ Zan Stewart, Los Angeles Times
“In many ways, I think Walter may be unparalleled at this particular time. Well, for all time. I can’t think of anybody in the past that does the things that he does.” ~ Whitney Balliett
Dear Walter, thanks for your friendship. You are a wonderful musician and a great pianist. Here's an easy song to make you smile: Selena Best wishes Andrea Bartelucci
oh boy .... waaaaaalter...... for more than 20 years i hear his music and have him as a teacher. and its like hearing music, which is there, but not constant. like moving. like always being at some other place. like astrophysics with parts having no concrete place. like walter. he is everywhere at the same time. here, there, today, yesterday, tomorrow. no time limits. time traveller..... all the best for the new recording .... actually done with my two neumann mikes and me turning pages.... lieben gruss andreas myspace. com/slowmotionemotion
Dear M°Norris, I'm so glad you contacted me it's wonderful to hear you in these tracks! Thanks for the invitation and perhaps our paths will cross sometime. All the best, Pier
