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Norman Zamcheck
Birth nameNorman Zamcheck
Born(1947-02-23)February 23, 1947
Washington D.C, United States
GenresBlues, Boogie Woogie
Occupation(s)Musician, singer, songwriter, composer, educator

Norman Zamcheck (born 1947) is an American pianist and singer/songwriter, best known as bandleader of the New York-based Real Stormin’ Norman Band, and the rock/vaudeville group Stormin’ Norman and Suzy (1972-1989, 2009-present). Considered an innovator in the blues-ragtime revival, Zamcheck is known for his adept boogie-woogie blues, rag, and klezmer piano technique; his original long-form ballad songs; as well as for musicals and film soundtracks.

Life and career

Early Career

Zamcheck was born in Washington D.C, but raised in Newton, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. He attended the Roxbury Latin School and Yale University, before beginning a career in music. Zamcheck is a member of the Boston-based Zamcheck musical family. Alongside his siblings Mark and Erica (of The Make, Mother Zamcheck's Bacon Band, and “Zamcheck” ), Zamcheck was an influential member of the New England rock scene of the early 1970's.[1] [2][3]

Zamcheck's professional career began in 1969 as a songwriter and keyboardist for the rock collective Milkweed, comprised of students from Yale University. Milkweed, an orchestral folk-rock group, played with major rock acts such as the Allman Brothers, Jimmy Buffet, and John Hammond Jr., during the 1970 summer music festival season.[4] Soon after leaving Milkweed in 1971, Zamcheck began a decades-long collaboration with singer Suzy Williams of Venice, California.

Stormin' Norman and Suzy

The duo, Stormin’ Norman and Suzy, released their first LP, “Fantasy Rag”, on Perfect Crime Records, in 1975, and toured throughout New England playing clubs, saloons, hotels, and strip joints.[5] Stormin' Norman and Suzy signed to Polydor Records in 1976, and released their second LP, “Ocean of Love”.[2] With a newly formed Stormin’ Norman and Suzy Band including the musicians Mark Ribot, Mark Schulman, and Joe Dimone, they moved to New York to begin an open residency at Tramp's Cabaret, an event the New York Times called "The Hottest Act in Town".[6][7] With positive reviews from major media publications,[8] the Stormin’ Norman and Suzy Band went on to play events at Carnegie Hall, network television showcases, and toured with acts including Bette Midler and Tom Waits.[9] The band embarked on an international tour in 1979. In 1980, they began a 4-month-residency at the Ht in The Canary Islands.

During the early 1980’s, Stormin’ Norman and Suzy developed musicals[10], cabaret programs, and various collaborations, including a tour with Moses Pendleton's Pilobolus Dance Company.[11]However, by the late 1980’s, Suzy and Norman were were pursuing independent projects. In 1989, Williams moved back to Los Angeles to develop her solo career, and SN&S stopped performing.

In 2007, after a two-decade hiatus, the Stormin’ Norman and Suzy Band reunited for a tour on the east coast and released their third album, “Live at the P & G Bar”.12They have toured again in 2008[12], 2012, and 2014[13].

Real Stormin' Norman

In response to the proliferation of "Stormin' Norman's", Zamcheck initiated the moniker Real Stormin' Norman in 2006, with the release of his CD "Everyone Tells a Story" (Abaraki).[14] Ending a decade-long break from public performance, Zamcheck’s band began performing regularly in New York. They have released four albums on the Abaraki label; Matchbox Universe, Newton, 1969,[15] and The Oyster in January, 2018. 


The Real Stormin' Norman Band has been called "the longest running rock-big band gig in New York", with open-ended residencies at jazz and rock standards The Bitter End, The Shrine[16], and Silvana's Lounge.[17] Long-term members include Tad McCully[18], Pete O'Connel, Ryoku Fukishiro, John "Gerry Putnam", Adrienne Asterita, "Even Stephen" Levy, Rodger Bartlett, Robert Ford, Matt Kastner, Bobo Lavorgna, and others. [19]

Other Works

In 1978, Zamcheck, together with Suzy Williams, collaborated with director Nicholas Ray ("Rebel Without a Cause"), on the soundtrack for Ray’s final film, “We Can’t Go Home Again”. The duo appear throughout Ray’s film, singing Zamcheck’s song “Bless the Family”..[20] Thirty years later, Zamcheck contributed to the soundtrack for "Don't Expect Too Much", a documentary about the making of "We Can't Go Home Again". The original film, as well as the documentary, were released posthumously by Oscilloscope in 2012 at Lincoln Center, with a performance by Stormin’ Norman and Suzy.

Zamcheck has also written musicals, including “Cinderella Street” (performed with Suzy at the Silver Linings Cabaret Theatre in 1979)[1]; and composed the music for the musical "Checkov Shmekov", which debuted at the New York Musical Festival in January, 2018.[21]

Zamcheck was keyboardist for the Andy Statman’s Klezmer Orchestra in the early 90's, during their tours of Europe and Israel. [22]

­Zamcheck has also written extensively on education. His dissertation, entitled “Teaching Students with Children”, was considered the first scientific study of Teen Pregnancy in New York City Schools.

Musical Style

Zamcheck’s music has been called “ vaudeville, torch blues, boogie-woogie”.[23]

An off-the-wall performance of jazzy blues and barroom rag” (Billboard, 12/76)1

-Epic Serbian ballads

-The Ballad of Flora and Fred

-Reviews

-etc

-“Bless the Family”


In 1976, the jazz pianist and composer Eubie Blake said wrote a handwritten compliment to Suzy; "I heard alot of white women try to imitate negroid singing, but you are the only one who has it down pat."[24]

Discography

  • Fantasy Rag (Perfect Crime, 1975)
  • Ocean of Love (Polydor, 1976)
  • Everyone Tells a Story (Abaraki 2008)
  • Stormin' Norman and Suzy: Live at P & G Bar (Abaraki, 2009)
  • Matchbox Universe (Abaraki, 2010)
  • Newton, 1969 (Abaraki, 2016)
  • The Oyster (Abaraki, 2018)

Other appearances

References

  1. ^ "About | John Cate". johncate.com. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  2. ^ a b Susan Chaityn Lebovits, Susan Chaityn (February 5, 2006). ""Silver age of rock; Baby boom performers couldn't stay away"". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 20, 2018. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  3. ^ "Sunday In The Common With The Allmans, 1969 | The Music Museum of New England". The Music Museum of New England. 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  4. ^ Spencer, Reid. "From May Day to iTunes, Yalie musicians reunite". Yale Alumni Magazine.
  5. ^ "Stormin' Norman & Suzy - Fantasy Rag". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  6. ^ Palmer, Robert (1976-09-10). "A Hot New Act At the Cabarets". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  7. ^ "Stormin' Norman, Suzy in Wry Boogie". The New York Times. 1976-08-22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  8. ^ Sumrall, Harry (1979-09-12). "Stormin' Norman and Suzy". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  9. ^ "Performances: 1976 - 1980". www.tomwaitsfan.com. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  10. ^ LLC, New York Media (1984-01-30). New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC.
  11. ^ ""Black and Blue": Choreography: Pilobolus: Alison Chase, Moses Pendleton Music: Stormin' Norman, Susy and the Frugtones" (PDF). American Dance Festival. 1980. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 57 (help)
  12. ^ Communications, Emmis (2005-07). Los Angeles Magazine. Emmis Communications. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Stormin Norman and Suzy at the Red Lion Inn". Red Lion Inn.
  14. ^ "Every One Tells a Story - The Real Stormin Norman | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  15. ^ "Newton 1969 Songs of a Very Young Man - The Real Stormin Norman | User Reviews | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  16. ^ "Real Stormin' Norman Monthly Residency @ the Shrine". DoNYC.
  17. ^ "This Weekend's Kids & Family Activities in Bronx". Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  18. ^ "Tad McCully - Jazz Quartet New York City, NY". www.gigmasters.com. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  19. ^ Fuchs, Daniel. "Newton 'boogy-woogy' singer Norman Zamcheck comes home – for a night". Wicked Local. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  20. ^ Scheibel, Will (2017-03-02). American Stranger: Modernisms, Hollywood, and the Cinema of Nicholas Ray. SUNY Press. ISBN 9781438464138.
  21. ^ "CHEKHOV, SHMEKHOV... THE MUSICAL - New York Theater Festival". New York Theater Festival. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  22. ^ Rubin, Joel (1992). Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Review. Simon Bronner. p. 33.
  23. ^ "Stormin? Norman and Suzy?s chemistry to light up Studzinski — The Bowdoin Orient". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  24. ^ Jazz, All About. "Suzy Williams @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz Musicians. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  25. ^ "Andy's Ramble - Andy Statman | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-02-28.

Sources

  • Frank, Josh; Charlie, Buckholtz (2008). In Heaven Everything Is Fine: The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers and the Lost History of New Wave Theatre. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-5120-1.
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