Norman Connors

American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, producer, and artist.

Born: 1 March 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Connors was born and raised in Philadelphia, having an interest in jazz from an early age when he began playing drums. At elementary school he was exposed to jazz extensively, becoming heavily influenced by drummer Lex Humphries – the younger brother of bassist and Jazz-Messenger player, Spanky DeBrest. Once sitting-in for Elvin Jones at a John Coltrane performance he attended while in middle school, Connors went on to study music at Temple University and Juilliard.

His first recording was for Archie Shepp's "The Magic Of Ju-Ju" (1967), then continuing by playing with Pharoah Sanders for the next few years, before signing to Buddah Records sublabel Cobblestone, where he recorded his first release as a bandleader with album "Dance Of Magic" (1972). Connors began to focus more on R'n'B material in the mid-1970s after signing with Buddah Records, later becoming the label's A&R manager.

He went on to lead jazz recordings with Carlos Garnett, Gary Bartz, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Herbie Hancock. In the mid-1970s, when turning to sophisticated R'n'B and soul material, he recorded work featuring guest singers such as Michael Henderson, Jean Carn, Phyllis Hyman, Al Johnson, Jones Girls, among others, with his work becoming a main staple of jazz-fusion and jazz dance followers, with tracks including "Mother Of The Future" from album "Slew Foot" (1974), "Captain Connors" from album "This Is Your Life" (1977), et al.