Red Norvo

Red Norvo, born Kenneth Norville on March 31, 1908, in Beardstown, Illinois, was an American jazz musician who became one of the instrument's pioneering vibraphonists. Known by the nickname "Mr. Swing," he played a foundational role in establishing the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone as legitimate jazz instruments. He died on April 6, 1999, at a convalescent home in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 91.

Norvo's professional life began in Chicago in 1925 with a group called The Collegians. He subsequently performed with an all-marimba band on the vaudeville circuit before joining the orchestras of Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, and Woody Herman. His recording collaborators over the years included Billie Holiday, Dinah Shore, and Frank Sinatra, as well as Mildred Bailey, whom he married in 1933. Together, Norvo and Bailey were billed as "Mr. and Mrs. Swing," a pairing that lasted until their divorce in 1942.

His recording career took a notable turn in 1933 when he cut two sessions for Brunswick under his own name. The first session produced "Knockin' on Wood" and "Hole in the Wall," which satisfied Brunswick's recording director Jack Kapp. A follow-up session, conducted while Kapp was away, yielded two chamber jazz recordings — Bix Beiderbecke's "In a Mist" and Norvo's own "Dance of the Octopus" — featuring Benny Goodman on bass clarinet, Dick McDonough on guitar, and Artie Bernstein on double bass. Kapp was displeased upon his return and terminated Norvo's contract, though the recordings remained in print throughout the 1930s. Norvo went on to record eight swing sides for Columbia in 1934 and 1935, followed by fifteen sides for Decca and its Champion label in 1936. Beginning that same year and continuing through 1942, he led a swing orchestra that recorded for ARC across the Brunswick, Vocalion, and Columbia labels, with arrangements frequently provided by Eddie Sauter and vocals often contributed by Bailey. In 1938, Red Norvo and His Orchestra reached number one on the pop charts with "Please Be Kind," which held that position for two weeks, and "Says My Heart," featuring Bailey on lead vocals, which topped the charts for four weeks beginning the week of June 18, 1938.

In June 1945, while a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet, Norvo recorded a session for Comet Records that included Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie alongside members of Goodman's group. Reflecting on the session, Norvo noted that Parker and Gillespie were considered "dirty words" among musicians of his generation, but that he viewed the moment as part of jazz's ongoing evolution and chose to take the creative risk.

Norvo appeared on Broadway in 1944 in Seven Lively Arts. That same year, he also appeared in the film Screaming Mimi in 1958, playing himself, and accompanied Dean Martin on "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" in Ocean's 11. In 1959, his group toured Australia with Frank Sinatra, and Blue Note released recordings from those concerts in 1997. He and his group also made multiple appearances on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

In 1949, Norvo assembled a trio built around the unconventional combination of vibraphone, guitar, and bass. After the original guitarist Mundell Lowe and bassist Red Kelly departed, Norvo recruited Tal Farlow and Charles Mingus, both of whom were relatively unknown at the time. The trio's demanding repertoire contributed to Farlow's development as one of the leading guitarists of his generation, and Mingus honed his bass virtuosity through the group before leaving in 1951 and being replaced by Red Mitchell. Farlow departed in 1953, with Jimmy Raney taking his place. The Norvo, Farlow, and Mingus configuration recorded two albums for Savoy Records.

Among Norvo's compositions are "Dance of the Octopus," "Bughouse" (co-written with Irving Mills and Teddy Wilson), "Congo Blues," "Hole in the Wall," "Knockin' on Wood," "Seein' Red," "Blues in E Flat," "The Night is Blue," "A Cigarette and a Silhouette," "Decca Stomp," "Tomboy," and "1-2-3-4 Jump." He continued recording and touring until a stroke in the mid-1980s ended his performing career, by which point he had also been contending with hearing problems for some years.