Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Norman Burns was born in London, England on March 11, 1920. Closely associated with the pianist George Shearing, together they worked the West End nightclub circuit in the mid 1940s, before Shearing made his fame and fortune in the USA.

Though he recorded with Alan Dean Beboppers and others in 1948, he never was a bop musician. He was a regular figure on the modern jazz scene and from 1951, he led a quintet whose format and repertoire were based on the successful George Shearing Quintet formula. From the time of their first gig they were an instant hit and for two and a half years the quintet toured the UK jazz venues with great success. They added vocalists Eileen Draper and Johnny Green in 1954 but the group disbanded in 1955.

Esquire decided to record the quintet in 1952 by which time a number of personnel changes had taken place. Victor Feldman, the highest profile jazz musician working with the group had left prior to the recordings. A later move to Australia, saw drummer Norman Burns residing for many years until he passed away in June 1994.

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