THE FIRESIDE CHAT!
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THE FIRESIDE CHAT! |
Sounds Unlimited: I've heard you jam on the sax man, and you are great! How long have
you been composing?
Norman: I've been composing seriously for about thirty years. I remember
that I used to try and compose music when I was very young—I tried to
write music that sounded like the stuff I was practicing—but I never
could get it just the way I thought I heard it in my mind. So, the
majority of my early musical activities revolved around intense
practicing, first on clarinet and then eventually I added the saxophones. When, after some years,
I finally took my first formal theory lessons, all the ideas I was trying to formulate in composition
suddenly became clear. I was overwhelmed. Literally, after about ten
minutes of my first theory class, I saw so much and I began to compose
all the time.
Sounds Unlimited: You are a composer and a performer living in Ardmore, PA. Are you a
native of the area?
Norman: I was born and raised in Montreal. I moved to Boston in the mid 1970s.
I stayed there for about twelve years. I then spent about two years in
central Maine before moving to Pennsylvania in 1989.
Sounds Unlimited: How would you describe your style of music?
Norman: I can compose in many idioms. All my degrees are in "classical"
composition, but I listened to and also pursued intense studies of jazz
and contemporary music. The line between jazz and classical, especially
in composition, has become much dimmer over the past few decades. I've
composed art music pieces with many elements of jazz and, vice versa,
I've composed many pieces for jazz ensembles that are filled with
principles from the art music world. I always remember a composer at
the New England Conservatory, a composer I respected very much, asking
me about a particular jazz piece of mine: "Norman, you wrote this jazz
composition using twelve-tone principles, but you want the musicians to
improvise freely after playing the head. How does such free soloing
reflect the very structured nature of the composition?" It was
a great
question. I told him that the soloing should be based on the spirit of
the written music, that the written lines should be used as a
springboard for the improvised ideas. I don't know if he was satisfied
with my answer, but that really is how I approach the issue.
Sounds Unlimited: Is there really a difference
in writing jazz and classical music?
Norman: There are sounds that one would definitely associate with only classical or only
jazz music. They can't be described until they are written, but they
become apparent when one hears them. It's a matter of experience and
informed perspective. There's no room for musical elitism. If a
so-called jazz musician composes a so-called "serious" work, don't
assume that the music cannot have equal substance and impact as music
by a so-called "classical" composer. Do you like the music or not? Can
you get something out of it? I know for sure, without any doubt, that
there are great jazz composers who have the same technical prowess and
inventiveness as art music composers—but the opposite is extremely
rare, perhaps non-existent. If you can compose, you can compose. The
difference is how people hear. "Hipness" cannot be taught. We listen,
and we listen, and we study, and we study, and we play, and we play,
and we compose, and we compose. Being hip—knowing what is inherently
substantial, entertaining, moving, talented, technically sound, etc.—is
determined by our own self-assuredness, the confidence and assertiveness to know what we know and let other people know what we
think.
Sounds Unlimited: Who and/or what inspires you to write?
Norman: I have a lot of confidence in my ideas. I can't expect everyone to
like my stuff, but I would rather have someone tell me they are not
crazy about a certain composition than to have not listened to it at
all. The bottom line is that I, like the other composers I admire, have
the confidence to feel good about what I'm writing. Any sincere
musician or appreciator of music should know what I mean. This is not
snobbery. I simply don't have the time or inclination for fluff,
lightweight music. We are so oppressed and trapped within the confines
of commercialism and the pop culture. I'm tired of hearing about or
being told about so-called geniuses and great performers, who in
reality are amateurs at best and almost always lousy musicians.
Some of my primary heroes (not in any particular chronology); Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy, Louis Armstrong, Charles Ives, George
Gershwin,
Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, Duke Ellington, Bela
Bartok, Alban Berg, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Anthony
Braxton, Steve Lacy.
Sounds Unlimited: What do you love about composing?
Norman: Supposedly, Stravinsky (or some famous composer) said that he he
hated composing, but he loved to have composed. Composers will
understand that statement, but we essentially all have the capacity to
sit for long stretches by ourselves, with only our thoughts as company,
and to write what we feel and hear. It's an intense emotional and
creative experience. I love it when I hear a piece of mine, or perform
a piece of mine with one of my own ensembles, and the audience
genuinely shows their enthusiasm and appreciation for the
music—especially if it's an audience that i initially perceived to
include people who did not already know of me, or that potentially did
not share the same musical interests as me. This happens a lot in jazz
clubs, especially in Philadelphia, where the annoying and inconsiderate
norm is to talk while the musicians play. When you can grab the
attention of a noisy audience and make them listen, that's very
fulfilling.
Sounds Unlimited: Do you have a particular instrument you like writing for?
Norman: Sorry—I like them all.
Sounds Unlimited: What about all of them?
Norman: Anything is possible.
Sounds Unlimited: Who do you prefer, Charles Ives or John
Coltrane?
Norman: Love them both—two genuine geniuses—in this case, the word "genius"
is not thrown around indiscriminately.
Sounds Unlimited: Ella or Sarah?
Norman: Ella Fitzgerald is the greatest singer of the twentieth century—and
the twenty-first century to date. She's the only singer I listen to
regularly. But I like Sarah Vaughan too, and a few others. I love going
to the opera when I can. There are a few operatic singers that I admire
very much. But Ella was, and is, the best.
Sounds Unlimited: What is something else that people should know about you?
Norman: I love to write words also. I have two books published by top-level
publishing houses. My creative endeavors will continue to include
writing books.
Sounds Unlimited: What would Norman's "idea world of music" look like.
Norman: (1) The audience would not talk at jazz clubs or other jazz venues.
Now I'm not saying that people should not voice their enthusiasm, or
that I'm looking for absolute silence. Just shut up with the useless
conversation and small talk when sincere artists are trying to
entertain you. Try listening. You might find that you actually enjoy
it. (2) There would be no MTV (3) People at symphony concerts would
accept the fact that there was a twentieth century (even a late
nineteenth century) and that we now live in the twenty-first century.
(4) It's too draining to continue answering this question.
Essentially, big business—the corporate world—has hastened the demise of creative music. I love some pop music—really, and
I sincerely enjoy
listening to some of it—but the vast majority of music out there is
terrible and lightweight, devoid of any real talent or substance. Money
continues to talk and most young listeners are being duped and
deprived. If there is only the mass of gibberish out there, young
listeners will never have the opportunity to broaden their perspectives. I can't stand the thousands of amateurs playing
out-of-tune one-chord songs, with no vocal chops or any sense of
musicality, who are being touted as stars and top-rank musicians. And
I don't care any longer if people think I'm an elitist or narrow-minded.
Thank goodness there are still some great musicians around, as well as
many devoted and talented teachers out there, who are trying to pass
the real message on. I know that when I teach, I often deal with
students who are not going to be open-minded under any circumstance.
But we persist-and I derive great joy from those people, students and
otherwise, who are open-minded. Don't wait for the corporate world to
be creative and original—it will never happen. Take a chance—then, if
you make an informed choice, I respect whatever direction you want to
take.
Sounds Unlimited: What kind of events do you perform for?
Norman: I perform at the few events where I like the music that will be
played. And I always jump at the opportunity to perform when I
can play
my own music.
Sounds Unlimited: Thanks Norman! Keep on composing bro!
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