Dwarsliggers & Buitenbeentjes

(text: Peter Smids)

I can remember how I embraced this music as a rebellious adolescent of 16. Especially the smooth and catchy themes of Ornette Coleman attracted me – Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman, both of the wind section, were highly unpredictable and capricious: they were clearly heralds of a new age. The pianist Walter Norris however, didn’t match this revolutionary ambitious style of the duo Coleman + Cherry. In his piano accompaniment, Walter adds distinct, clear chords and elegant single note lines, but as a soloist he remains part of the Art Tatum-Bud Powell-Tommy Flanagan school.

The Down Beat-critic John A. Tynan felt that Walter Norris was a whole lot more balanced than the soulmates of the wind section:

“Pianist Norris is the most satisfying soloist on the album and should certainly record a set of his own. His comping is always sympathetic to the hornmen, and his creation and development of original solo lines show why he is so highly regarded by musicians in the Los Angeles area.” 

Yet, the nonconformists Coleman and Cherry released more than half a dozen albums between 1958 and 1961 that all achieved an iconic status in jazz history, but Walter Norris had to wait until August 1974 before he finally could record a set of his own.

PLAYLIST

*Ornette Coleman Quintet: Don Cherry (trumpet), Ornette Coleman (alto sax), Walter Norris (piano), Don Payne (bass), Billy Higgins (drums)

#   1.   When Will The Blues Leave? (Ornette Coleman) (4:58)

#   2.   Jayne (Coleman) (7:17)

#   3.   The Blessing (Coleman)

#   4.   Chippie (Coleman) (5:37)

Source: The Music of Ornette Coleman: Something Else!!!! (Contemporary C.D.)

Recording: Los Angeles, February/March 1958

**Walter Norris (piano) & George Mraz (bass)

#   6.   Drifting (Walter Norris) (5:52)

#   7.   Nota Cambiata (Norris) (4:23)

#   8.   Space Maker (Norris) (7:24)

#   9.   Rose Waltz (Norris) (4:00)

# 10.   Thumbs Up (Norris) (6:13)

Source: Walter Norris & George Mraz: Drifting (ENJA C.D.)

Recording: München, 18 August 1974

“I EVEN SUGGESTED TO ORNETTE THAT HE RECORD WITHOUT PIANO”

It must have been a memorable experience for Walter Norris to have been a member of such a quintet that shook the foundations to the entire jazz world – being an intelligent, eloquent man himself. In his autobiography, In search of musical aesthetics-A pianist’s life in jazz (2005), he didn’t spend many words on his involvement with the Ornette Coleman quintet:

“Ornette Coleman telephoned; he was scheduled to record with his quintet for Contemporary Records (a quite conservative West Coast-label; P.S.) and wanted me on the date. Although I found Ornette most compatible, I had to say that I was not the pianist for him because my perception is based on well-tempered tuning and Ornette bends the tonality, but I didn’t know who else to suggest; Monk would surely not fit. I even suggested to Ornette that he record without piano. He argued, so we began rehearsing three times every week for five months. On each occasion as we played, he made changes in the music and I made these notations on manuscript. Then at the recording date in the studio he again made slight alterations and because of these many changes the musical phrases sound molded; his compositions were actually shaped organically. I enjoyed the rhythm section and was stimulated by the support of Billy Higgins and Don Payne. Ornette moans, cries and groans within his own conception of tonality in a most soul disturbing way but since pianos and pianists belong to the well-tempered world of tuning, I don’t share or identify with Ornette’s emotional suffering in the way other listeners experience his music. I’ll phrase in that Don Cherry was the true musical brother for Ornette.”  

Honestly, I can imagine the reserved tone of Walter Norris: with his Wohltemperiertes Gedankengut he was an odd duck in this quintet; in the end, no matter how fresh and dazzling Ornette’s compositions seemed, both Coleman and Cherry would wound up after a promising start in an alley, grumbling a bit in a daze.

But both of them had a lot going for them and after a year managed to master the art of purposeful yet erratic improvisation, as you can hear on the first Atlantic album: The Shape of Jazz To Come (May 1959).

Still, Walter Norris can pride himself in having contributed as a soloist to a series of balanced miniature masterpieces on the debut LP of one of the biggest troublemakers in the history of jazz.

PRODUCTION DRIFTING NO SMOOTH SAILING

As a member of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, Walter Norris did an extensive tour in Europa in June 1974, starting in Amsterdam and ending in Perugia. After a series of very successful concerts by this highly acclaimed big band, the pianist and bass player headed off to Munich, where they had a booking at The Domicile. The sharp-eyed managers of the ENJA-label (started in Munich 1971) – Matthias Wickelmann and Horst Weber – needed only one night of Norris & Mraz to know: this duo should sign a contract right away!

In his autobiography, Walter Norris talks extensively about the disaster that came with the production of his debut LP:

“During our second night in The Domicile (a legendary jazz club, that had to close in November 1981: P.S.) Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber of ENJA Records asked to meet me the following afternoon; they offered a duo recording with Mraz for the coming Sunday.  A few years before I had thought that I’ll probably never record again; and now after thirteen years I might get back on the map with a new vinyl LP. But not without a momentary set-back; Matthias phoned my room from the reception desk: “Well, I have bad news; the recording studio burned completely in the early morning hours.” My gut contracted, the heart sank. “But don’t worry, we’ll get another studio.”, and he did. Trixi Studio had one of the most sensitive instruments, a small Steinway [ M ] with a beautiful regulation. Herbert Klimt immediately became my favorite engineer; I felt he understood how to record my playing. Baldur Bockhoff, critic for Süddeutsche Zeitung, was present and he had already written an outstanding review of my solo evening in The Domicile. But by the third hour, the engineer warned that an electrical storm was approaching and if there was thunder, it would sound like a hand clap in the studio; we had to hurry and the moment after I finished “Thumbs Up” we heard a muffled boom. The recording date of “Drifting” was finished by the fourth hour and we headed directly to a restaurant. Later in the hotel I packed my suitcase but couldn’t sleep, so I had a few drinks and walked the streets with my adrenaline rush until the morning sun rose. As the taxi took me to the airport for the flight to JFK, I contemplated my next steps; something had to happen with this LP. Next week in New Jersey Matthias phoned and told me to sit down: “I have bad news; there was an erasure in the studio just after your solo on “Space Maker” . He continued explaining that since Mraz was still in München, and if I had no objection, he could record the bass solo alone; then they could splice (copy & paste) the opening melodic section for the closing chorus. I responded enthusiastically: “Great! I’ll have an unaccompanied solo by Mraz. This is better than finding baskets of gold at the end of the rainbow!”

In the studio Mraz suggested that they play the last eight-measure phrase of the piano solo through his earphones plus the opening four measures of his solo and he would then begin improvising what would be used for the recorded insert. “But, when will I know to stop playing?” Matthias answering from inside the recording booth: “We will wave our hands.” Of course, the splice within the first four-measures of his solo is perfect and no musician could ever notice where it took place. Mraz occasionally glanced at the window of the recording booth while playing, but Matthias and the engineer were so mesmerized by what they heard that they forgot to wave their arms. After four minutes and some seconds Mraz ended what I consider to be the best improvised bass solo I’ll probably ever hear. Once again, my wish came true!