Due to geography, temperament and an affinity for creative ferment, flute and reed expert Jim Norton has long been associated with leading figures in the Asian-American jazz movement, recording and performing extensively with Fred Ho, Anthony Brown, Jon Jang and Hafez Modirzadeh. For his recording debut under his own name, he’s assembled a stellar cast of Bay Area musicians for one of the most satisfying and revelatory investigations into the music of Bill Evans since the pianist/composer’s death in 1980. It’s not just that Norton has rounded up overlooked treasures. Rather, he uses the orchestral voices at his disposal to explore the implications of Evans’ vast and vivid harmonic universe. The results are consistently inspired, often surprising, and unfailingly beautiful.

 

–Andrew Gilbert, JazzTimes, San Francisco Chronicle

Jim’s arrangements of Bill Evan’s compositions premiered at the 2013 San Jose Jazz Summer Fest (pictured below).

The studio recording of Jim Norton’s arrangements of Bill Evans compositions is available on the Origin Records label. Musician’s on the Time Remembered CD include: John Worley playing trumpet/flugelhorn (not pictured below) and (picture below from L-R, back row to foreground): Scott Sorkin (guitar), John Shifflett (bass), Jason Lewis (drums), Jeff Lewis (trumpet/flugelhorn for the San Jose performance only), Louis Fasman, Cathleen Torres, Joel Behrman, Jeff Cressman, Tim Devine, Kristen Strom, Charlie McCarthy, Jim Norton.