Biography
Al Norris began his professional career in 1927 as a banjoist working in upstate New York, yet devoted nearly all of his subsequent working life to the role of rhythm guitarist in Jimmie Lunceford's Orchestra. He entered the Lunceford ranks in 1932 and, within a year, exchanged the banjo for guitar while also appearing on violin from time to time. Except for a stretch of military service, Norris stayed with the band through 1949, remaining two years past the leader's death even while the ensemble continued as an ailing ghost band. Once that unit disbanded, he performed and recorded with Eddie Wilcox, Lunceford's pianist, inside a short-lived group before leaving music entirely and taking employment with the post office. In the 1930s Norris occasionally contributed brief solos during his tenure with Lunceford, although he never headed a recording session issued under his own name.
Albums