Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Alex Norris: A New Beginning

186

Alex Norris: A New Beginning

By

View read count
Alex Norris: A New Beginning
Norris’ first date as a leader is indebted to the spectrum of hard bop sounds of the 50s and 60s. Within the wide parameters of this genre, the trumpeter’s compositions are showing signs of individuality, such as “Ontology,” a funk-jazz tune, which stays in the groove despite the absence of an obvious back beat. A cunning improviser who occasionally reveals the influence of Miles Davis, Norris never struggles with the instrument, and forsakes long, complicated phrases in favor of short, syncopated lines which leave plenty of space for the rhythm section to react. His front line partner, tenor saxophonist Greg Tardy provides an interesting contrast with somewhat convoluted lines which frequently turn raw and emotional.

The middle of the disc offers a change of pace with two tracks featuring the vocals of Claudia Acuna. “You Go To My Head” begins as a conventional ballad with Acuna singing the words in a beautifully relaxed manner and pianist George Colligan providing accompaniment that is both sensitive and, at times, daring. The band comes in, accelerates to a camelwalk tempo and, after Norris’ muted solo, Acuna sings the words again, so assertively that she doesn’t even seem to take a breath.

Colligan (who has played with the trumpeter since middle school), bassist Dwayne Burno, and drummer Joe Strasser are an ideal rhythm section for Norris’ designs. They meet the challenges of his varied material, and contribute strong solos. In particular, regardless of the nature of the tune or the tempo, Strasser’s dry, precise sounding drums and cymbals constantly keep the music in the pocket.

Track List:New Beginning; Ontology; Night Bus; You Go To My Head; Ze Kol Ma Sheyesh; Good Addiction; Ugly Beauty; Delta; Sympathy; Blues for the Guardian Angels.

Personnel

Alex Norris
trumpet

Alex Norris

Album information

Title: A New Beginning | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Blue Moon

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Alex Norris Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.