Biography
Born on 22 January 1922 in Brooklyn, New York, USA, and passing away on 2 November 2015 in Hollywood, California, USA, Gene Norman established himself in the Golden State during the latter half of the 1940s and throughout the 1950s. There he worked simultaneously as a disc jockey, a record producer, and a concert promoter. At one point he cautioned his staff member Norman Granz against devoting effort to "these senseless jazz presentations if you want to stay with me," yet he soon adopted the same approach and began staging his own all-star jazz events. He branded these presentations Just Jazz; among them was the landmark 1947 date at which Lionel Hampton's All Stars laid down 'Star Dust,' a performance that has stayed continuously available ever since. He likewise captured the 1949 Woody Herman orchestra on stage. Complementing the mainstream-to-modern scope of Just Jazz, Norman instituted yearly Dixieland Jubilee and Blues Jubilee concerts; the former showcased players such as Teddy Buckner, while the latter highlighted vocalists of the first rank, among them Dinah Washington, Jimmy Witherspoon, Helen Humes, and 'Big' Joe Turner. Selected Just Jazz dates as well as portions of the Dixieland and Blues programs appeared on his own imprint, Gene Norman Presents (GNP), with some later licensed to Modern Records. Throughout the 1950s the same label also documented further major figures, among them Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Paul Bley, and the Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet.