Jazz vibraphonist Red Norvo – born Kenneth Norville on March 31, 1908, in Beardstown, Illinois – was nicknamed ‘Mr. Swing’ and was one of the pioneers in jazz, establishing the vibraphone, marimba, and xylophone as jazz instruments and changing the course of jazz history. His musical career began in Chicago, Illinois when he became a member of The Collegians in 1925. He then moved on to other bands before playing with some of the era’s jazz greats including Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Charlie Barnet, and others. Red Norvo went on to play with Billie Holiday, Dina Shore, Frank Sinatra, and Mildred Bailey, his wife. He recorded many sides for several labels in the 1930s including the Columbia, Decca, Champion, Vocalion, and ARC labels. In 1938, he and his orchestra finally reached Number 1 with their single “Please Be Kind”, followed by “Says My Heart”, which also reached Number 1. By 1945, he was also a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet but still recorded as a bandleader using some of Goodman’s band members plus legendary players such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. In the late 1940s, he founded his own trio featuring vibraphone, guitar, and bass. The trio’s fluid membership would feature Tal Farlow, Charles Mingus, Red Mitchell, and Jimmy Raney. Red Norvo released a series of well received albums in the 1950s including four in 1956 alone: Red Norvo with Strings, Vibe-Rations in Hi-Fi, Midnight on Cloud 69, and Move! As the ‘50s came to a close, Red Norvo’s output as a leader dwindled although he still remained a busy sideman. Red Norvo appeared in several films including Screaming Mimi (1958) and Ocean’s 11 (1960). He continued to collaborate with other musicians and toured consistently until he suffered a stroke in the mid-1980s, which forced him to retire. Red Norvo died on April 6, 1999, at the age of 91.
