Norris, Walter

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Norris, Walter

Norris, Walter, free-jazz pianist; b. Little Rock, Ark., Dec. 27, 1931. He played on the West Coast and performed briefly with Omette Coleman during the 1950s. He came to N.Y. in 1960, where he lead the orch. at the Playboy Club from 1963–70. In the early 1970s, he toured with The Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orch. He went to Europe in 1976, and has been living and teaching in Berlin at the Hochschule fur Musik since 1984. He gained new attention in the 1990s thanks to a series of albums for Concord Jazz. His rhythmic creativity is deceptive; in fact his beat is quite sure.

Discography

Drifting (1974); Winter Rose (1978); Synchronicity (1978); Stepping on Cracks (1978); Live at Maybeck Recital Hall IV (1990); Lush Life (1990); Sunburst (1991); Love Every Moment (1992); Hues of Blues (1995); From Another Star (1998).