- Red Norvo
Infobox musical artist
Name = Red Norvo
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Img_capt = Norvo in "The Screaming Mimi (1958)"
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Kenneth Norville
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Born =31 March 1908
Died =6 April 1999
Origin = flagicon|USABeardstown ,Illinois .
Instrument =Vibraphone ,Marimba ,Xylophone
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Genre =Jazz
Occupation =Vibraphonist
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Associated_acts =Paul Whiteman ,Benny Goodman ,Charlie Barnet ,Woody Herman
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Notable_instruments =Red Norvo (
31 March 1908 –6 April 1999 ) was one ofjazz 's early vibraphonists. He helped establish the xylophone and later the vibraphone as viable jazz instruments.Norvo was born Kenneth Norville in
Beardstown, Illinois . The story goes that he sold his pet pony to help pay for his firstmarimba . Norvo's career began inChicago with a band called "The Collegians", in 1925. He played with many other bands, including an all-marimba band on thevaudeville circuit, and the bands ofPaul Whiteman ,Benny Goodman ,Charlie Barnet , andWoody Herman . Norvo recorded withMildred Bailey (his wife),Billie Holiday ,Dinah Shore andFrank Sinatra , among others. Together, Red and Mildred were known as "Mr. and Mrs. Swing." He also appeared in the film "Screaming Mimi" (1958), playing himself.In 1933 he recorded two sessions for Brunswick under his own name. The first "Knockin' On Wood" and "Hole In The Wall" pleased Brunswick's recording director
Jack Kapp and he was booked for another session. This time, Kapp was out of town and Norvo went ahead and recorded two of the earliest, most modern pieces ofchamber jazz yet recorded;Bix Beiderbecke 's "In A Mist" and Norvo's own "Dance Of The Octopus", accompanied byBenny Goodman in a rare performance playing a bass clarinet,Dick McDonough on guitar andArtie Bernstein on slap bass. Kapp was outraged when he heard them and tore up Norvo's contract and threw him out. (Interestingly, this modern record remained in print all through the 1930s!)Norvo recorded 8 modern swing sides for Columbia in 1934–1935, and 15 sides of Decca and their short-lived
Champion label series in 1936 (strangely enough, Jack Kapp ran Decca, so they must've patched things up by then).Starting in 1936 through 1942, Norvo formed a Swing Orchestra and recorded for
ARC first on their Brunswick label, thenVocalion and finally Columbia, after CBS bought out the ARC company. Featuring the brilliant arrangements ofEddie Sauter and often featuringMildred Bailey as vocalist, this series of recordings were among the more sophisticated and elegant swing records of the era.In June 1945, while a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet, he recorded a session for Comet records using a Sextet which featured members of the Goodman group and also
Charlie Parker andDizzy Gillespie . He said: "Bird and Diz were dirty words for musicians of my generation. But jazz had always gone through changes and in 1945 we were in the middle of another one. Bird and Diz were saying new things in an exciting way. I had a free hand so I gambled". [Quoted in sleevesnotes for "Red Norvo's Fabulous Jam Session", Spotlite SPJ127]In 1949, while trying to find work near home on the West Coast and running into difficulties with large groups, Norvo formed a trio with the novel combination of vibes, guitar, and bass. When the original guitarist and bassist quit (
Mundell Lowe andRed Kelly ), he brought in two previously little-known players.Tal Farlow became one of the most important of the post-War generation of guitarists, in part because the demands of the trio led him to explore new levels of both speed and harmonic richness on the instrument. Farlow left the group in 1953 and guitaristJimmy Raney took his place.Charles Mingus 's prominence as a bass player increased through this group, though its reportoire did not reflect the major career he would develop as a composer. Mingus left in 1951 andRed Mitchell replaced him. The Norvo, Farlow and Mingus trio recorded two LPs for Savoy.In 1959 Norvo's group played concerts in Australia with Frank Sinatra;
Blue Note released in 1997. Red Norvo and his group also made several appearances onThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show in the late 1950s and early '60s.Norvo recorded and toured throughout his career until a
stroke in the mid-1980s forced him into retirement (although he developed hearing problems long before his stroke). He died at a convalescent home inSanta Monica, California at the age of 91.References
External links
* [http://www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/Red%20Norvo_1.htm Three interviews from Jazz Professional]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15570289 Red Norvo: 'Mr. Swing'--NPR Jazz Profiles]
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