Norman Connors

Norman Connors is best known for his major R & B records, however, his roots are steeped in jazz music.



As a child, Norman lived in the same neighbourhood as Bill Cosby and became interested in jazz at an early age.



At elementary school, he was exposed to jazz extensively, influenced by the drummer Lex Humphries and the younger brother of bassist and Jazz-Messenger, Spanky De Brest.



Norman was in junior high when he began getting into jazz clubs and sat in for Elvin Jones at a John Coltrane gig.



At the age of 13, he first got to meet his idol, Miles Davis.



Norman went on to study music at Philly's Temple University and the Juilliard School of Music in New York.



Gigs with Jackie McLean, Jack McDuff and Sam Rivers followed, and he was first recorded as a sideman when Archie Shepp employed him on his 1967 Impulse! session Magic of JuJu.



After touring with Pharoah Sanders and playing on several of his albums, he signed with Buddah's Cobblestone label in 1972 and recorded his first album as a leader, 'Dance of Magic'.



A few more jazz-oriented Cobblestone and Buddah dates followed, and it was in 1975 that Norman made R & B his main priority with 'Saturday Night Special' (which included the number 10 soul hit 'Valentine Love').



The rest of the 1970's found Connors featuring R & B singers prominently (including Michael Henderson, Jean Carn and the late Phyllis Hyman) and scoring such R & B hits as 'We Both Need Each Other,' 'Once I've Been There' and the atmospheric 'You Are My Starship.'



Norman, who signed with Arista in 1977, took more of a back seat in the 1980's, although in the 1990's, he would make a comeback by signing with Motown's MoJazz label and focusing on both urban contemporary and smooth jazz.