Tumbling Tumbleweeds

To say Phil Norman's relationship with the world of music has a unique trajectory would be an understatement. He began studying music as a 3rd grader, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his main instrument. As a teenager, he fell in love with the sounds of such West Coast jazz masters as Dave Pell, Marty Paich and Gerry Mulligan. Although he gigged a bit in high school and college around his native Oakland, California, he eventually pursued a career in finance, putting his horn down for over 30 years. After some friendly prodding from drummer Frank Capp, Norman picked up his saxophone again in the early 1990s with the goal of assembling a band that would continue on in the style of the jazz giants of his childhood. When it comes to musicians, the Norman Tentet regularly features some of the finest players the modern West Coast scene has to offer. Over the years, the band's ranks have included saxophonists Rusty Higgins, Roger Neumann and Brian Williams, trumpeters Carl Saunders and Ron Stout, trombonists Andy Martin and Scott Whitfield, guitarist Larry Koonse, pianists Bob Florence and Christian Jacob, and drummers Frank Capp and Dick Weller. Just as notable as the performers are the arrangers who have written for the band. In addition to retaining ties to the past by featuring works penned by Florence and Med Flory, they regularly perform arrangements bu more recent writers such as Neumann, Tom Kubis and Kim Richmond. Despite having followed an atypical path in the world of music, Phil Norman has solidified himself as one of the most important bandleaders of his time. His group continues to perfectly balance the art of recreating the sound and atmosphere of the classics while looking ahead in more contemporary musical directions, all while offering performances and recordings of the highest musical level. Recorded on the Totally Live at the Catalina Jazz Club album, this Kim Richmond arrangement of the Bob Nolan country song features solos for alto saxophone and trumpet.