Norma Winstone
Norma Winstone has a lissome voice, agile and expressive, and she's a fine improviser as well. That's not to say she's a vocal athlete, however; although she's known for her wordless improvisations, Winstone is a fine interpreter of lyrics and composed melody -- a plain-speaking, rhythmically direct singer who gets to the heart of the matter quickly and effectively.
Winstone played piano and organ in her youth. She began singing semi-professionally by the age of 17, influenced by conventional jazz vocalists. During the '60s she became attracted to the jazz avant-garde. She played in groups led by pianists Michael Garrick and Mike Westbrook; she also sang with such forward-thinking musicians as saxophonist John Surman, flügelhornist Kenny Wheeler, composer Michael Gibbs, and pianist John Taylor (whom she married in 1972). A late-'60s gig at Ronnie Scott's club in London (also on the bill was the legendary tenor saxophonist Roland Kirk) garnered her critical notice. In 1971 she was named best jazz singer in a poll by the British publication Melody Maker. That year, she recorded her first album as leader, Edge of Time, for the Decca label. With Wheeler and Taylor, Winstone formed Azimuth, a critically acclaimed contemporary chamber jazz group that recorded several times for the ECM label starting in the mid-'70s. Winstone is also an accomplished lyricist, having written words to music composed by guitarists Egberto Gismonti and Ralph Towner, bassist Steve Swallow, and vocalist Ivan Lins, among others.
Winstone has also performed and/or recorded in ensembles with Jimmy Rowles, Lee Konitz, Tony Coe, Fred Hersch, John Abercrombie, Dave Holland, Peter Erskine, and George Mraz. In 1992, she collaborated with composer/arranger Steve Gray in the creation of "A French Folk Song Suite," commissioned and performed by the North German Radio big band. She is also a member of Wheeler's big band. In July 2002 she was awarded the title Best Vocalist at the BBC Jazz Awards at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. That same year, she released the album Chamber Music with pianist Glauco Venier. Winstone returned in 2006 with Amoroso... Only More So featuring the Stan Tracey trio. Winstone then paired for two more albums with Venier, including 2007's Distances and 2009's Stories Yet to Tell. In 2013 Winstone delivered the album Mirrors with longtime collaborator Wheeler. The trio album Dance Without Answer, featuring Venier, appeared on ECM in 2014.
In 2018, Winstone issued one of her most ambitious projects in Descansado: Songs for Films for ECM. It offered re-arranged versions -- by Gesing and Venier -- of music by cinema composers Nino Rota, Michel Legrand, William Walton, Bernard Herrmann, and Ennio Morricone, some with new words by Winstone who, unknown to some, has been a sensitive and articulate lyricist throughout her career. For the project, the trio with Gesing and Venier was augmented by Norwegian percussionist Helge Andreas Norbakken and Italian classical cellist Mario Brunello.
© Chris Kelsey /TiVo
Discography
20 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
Stories Yet To Tell
Norma Winstone, Klaus Gesing, Glauco Venier
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Aug 20, 2010
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Descansado - Songs For Films
Norma Winstone, Glauco Venier, Klaus Gesing, Helge Andreas Norbakken, Mario Brunello
Vocal Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Feb 16, 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Distances
Norma Winstone, Klaus Gesing, Glauco Venier
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Mar 11, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Somewhere Called Home
Norma Winstone, John Taylor, Tony Coe
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Jul 1, 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Dance Without Answer
Norma Winstone, Glauco Venier, Klaus Gesing
Vocal Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Jan 17, 2014
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Edge Of Time
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Singsong Music on May 1, 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Amoroso... Only More So
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Enodoc Records on Jul 2, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stories Yet To Tell
Norma Winstone, Klaus Gesing, Glauco Venier
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Aug 20, 2010
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dance Without Answer
Norma Winstone, Glauco Venier, Klaus Gesing
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Jan 17, 2014
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Manhattan in the Rain
Jazz - Released by Sunnyside on Jun 29, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Soundless Dark
Jazz - Released by Jellymould Jazz on Mar 31, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Mirrors
Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone, London Vocal Project
Jazz - Released by Edition Records on Feb 25, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Descansado - Songs For Films
Vocal Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Feb 16, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Like Song, Like Weather
Jazz - Released by Sunnyside on Oct 26, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chamber Music
Klaus Gesing, Norma Winstone, Glauco Venier
Jazz - Released by Tonspuren on Apr 30, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live at Roccella Jonica (Original Version)
Norma Winstone, Kenny Wheeler, Paolo Fresu, John Taylor, Paolo Damiani, Tony Oxley
Jazz - Released by Splasc(h) Records on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Descansado (Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow) (From "Ieri, Oggi, Domani")
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on Jan 19, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo