Norman Connors life and biography

Norman Connors is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, producer, and headliner, who has led some influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads.

A formally trained jazz improviser turned platinum-selling recording artist, drummer/composer Norman Connors was a pioneer in the convergence of progressive R&B and jazz, thereby creating a fusion that appealed to intellectuals and romantics alike. He is best known for his long list of classic hits, among them "You Are My Starship," "Valentine Love," "This Is Your Life," "Betcha By Golly Wow," "Invitation," and "I'm Your Melody." Throughout the 1970s, he encouraged many renowned jazz and neo-jazz players to also perform his style, including saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and bassist Stanley Clarke.

In addition, Connors proved himself an influential force behind the scenes as a major studio wizard, mastering tracks for a variety of different performers. Connors, sometimes called the "jazzy Quincy Jones," discovered and nurtured the career of the late Phyllis Hyman, transforming the caramel-voiced singer into a signature diva during the 1980s. That same decade also saw a string of hits from another Connors protégé, Michael Henderson, namely the seminal "In the Nighttime" and the radio funk staple "Wide Receiver." Working mainly as a producer throughout this period, Connors became more visible again in the 1990s, though primarily as an adult contemporary/crossover artist.

Connors developed an interest in music, particularly jazz, at a young age. At five years old, he took up drums and was already writing his own music. In elementary school, Connors received extensive exposure to jazz through such schoolmates as Lex Humphries, also a drummer and the younger brother of bassist/future Jazz Messenger member Spanky De Brest. Then as a junior high student, the promising young percussionist started sneaking into jazz clubs, one night landing the opportunity to sit in for Elvin Jones at a John Coltrane gig. His idol, however, was Miles Davis, for whom he expressed his admiration by dressing like the legendary trumpeter and promptly adopting his style. One of the most exciting moments of Connors' childhood occurred when, at age 13, he met Davis in person.

Without question, Connors intended to pursue music as a profession and his sights upon the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. After graduating, he began his career as a sideman, working with Billy Paul, Jackie McLean, Jack McDuff, Charles Earland, Sam Rivers, and Archie Shepp, who employed Connors for his 1967 Impulse! session Magic of Julu, the drummer's first recording. In 1971, Connors settled in New York. By now a reputable player, he was soon hired by Pharoah Sanders, touring the world and participating on five of the bandleader's albums.

In 1972, Connors signed as solo artist with the Buddah Records subsidiary Cobblestone. He recorded and released his debut as a leader, Dance of Magic, that same year. Produced by Skip Drinkwater and Dennis Wilen, the album featured such players as Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, Gary Bartz, Carlos Garnett, and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Dance of Magic "sounds like a funkier version of Chick Corea's as-yet unformed Return to Forever," described Nicky Baster in Metro. "And the 'vibe' is as luxuriant as the Brazilian rain forest before the cutters came: drums and percussion are both burning low, while plangent keyboards (Herbie Hancock) dance and shimmer." Connor's 1973 follow-up, Dark of Light, also produced by Drinkwater and Wilen, became a critical favorite as well. Both are considered his standout recordings.

When Cobblestone folded after the release of Dark of Light, Connors moved to Buddah for several more dates. His next two albums, 1974's Love from the Sun and Slewfoot, both again with Drinkwater, further enhanced his reputation in the world of jazz fusion. From there, however, Connors found greater successes on the R&B charts, thanks in large part to the talents of vocalists like Michael Henderson, Jean Carn and Phyllis Hyman. The drummer's mainstream popularity first took an upward swing with his 1975 album Saturday Night Special. It featured the Top 100/number 10 soul hit "Valentine Love," a collaboration with singer/songwriter Henderson.

In 1976, Connors broke into the Top 30 with the Grammy-nominated "You Are My Starship," sung by Bridgewater, from the platinum-selling album of the same name produced by Drinkwater and Jerry Schoenbaum. As a side note, the boat featured on the album cover belonged to Western film star John Wayne. Romantic Journey, this time boasting actor Henry Fonda's airplane on the cover as well as the memorable track "Once I've Been There," followed in 1977, giving Connors yet another jazz-infused R&B success, though none of the songs made the pop charts. Connors continued in much the same R&B vein through the remainder of the 1970s and less visibly in the 1980s with stints for the Arista and Capitol record labels.

Meanwhile, Connors also embarked on a career as an outside producer, forming and guiding the Starship Orchestra and producing for Aquarian Dream, Sanders, Al Johnson, and more. He is also credited with not only producing for, but also discovering and nurturing the careers of Hyman, Henderson, Carn, Bridgewater, Angela Bofill, Glenn Jones, Norman Brown, Marion Meadows, Gabriel Goodman, Duke Jones, Eleanor Mill, Ada Dyer, Denise Stewart, and Spencer Harrison.

Connors continued to record, tour, and introduce new talent well into the 1990s and beyond, making a comeback of sorts after signing with and spearheading Motown's Mojazz label, for whom he recorded 1993's Remember Who You Are and 1996's Easy Living. Both records were popular among urban contemporary and crossover audiences.

In 2000, Connor launched his own Starship Records, a joint venture with The Right Stuff/EMI, with a new album entitled Eternity, featuring many of the songwriter's previous guests on vocals. "I call the musicians and artists I work with the Starship family," Connors explained, as quoted by Gail Mitchell in Billboard. "So this album was a matter of getting together with great people and putting them together with new people and new sounds. My favorite songs are classics now, so the title Eternity came to mind. I wanted to do another record that's going to be out here forever. I used the old and the new, and it came out beautifully." Critics overwhelmingly agreed. Lynn Norment of Ebony, for one, concluded that with Eternity, Connors "shows he is still a master producer with the golden touch."

His recent work, "Star Power", has seen him operating more in the vein of smooth jazz and urban crossover music, featuring Howard Hewett, Bobby Lyle, Ray Parker, Jr., Peabo Bryson, Michael Henderson, and Antoinette.

Selected discography
Albums:
-Dance of Magic , Cobblestone CST 9024, 1972; reissued, Buddah BDS 5674, 1976.
-Dark of Light , Cobblestone CST 9035, 1973; reissued Buddah BDS 5675, 1976.
-Love from the Sun , Buddah 5142, 1974.
-Slewfoot , Buddah 5611, 1974.
-Saturday Night Special , Buddah 5643, 1975.
-You Are My Starship , Buddah 5655, 1976.
-Romantic Journey , Buddah 5682, 1977.
-This Is Your Life , Buddah/Arista, 1978.
-Invitation , Buddah/Arista, 1979.
-Take It to the Limit , Arista 9534, 1980.
-Mr. C , Arista 9575, 1981.
-Passion , Capitol 48515, 1988.
-Remember Who You Are , Mojazz 530 202, 1993.
-Easy Living , Mojazz, 1996.
-Eternity , Starship/The Right Stuff 24722, 2000.
-Star Power,Shanachie Records, 2009

Compilations:
-The Best of Norman Connors , Sequel NEX LP 118, 1990.
-Norman Connors--Encore Collection , BMG Special BMI 44529, 1997.
-Best of Norman Connors & Friends , Capitol CAP59784, 1997.
-Melancholy Fire--The Best of Norman Connors , Razor & Tie 7930182194, 1999.

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