Catherine Norris

Or Kathy Norris,¹ was a cellist here in New York for a few years in the mid- to late-1960s. She played on two of my favorite records, At Judson Hall by Noah Howard and Intents And Purposes by The Bill Dixon Orchestra.² She also appeared on a Dixon-produced record by The Robert F. Pozar Ensemble, whose namesake was also known as Cleve Pozar. I came across Cleve Pozar via this terrific piece by Hank Shteamer and some other info at 50 Feet of Elbow Room, and to be frank, Pozar is a whole rabbit hole of his own, worth pursuing but not so deeply with regard to cellist Catherine or Kathy Norris.

In a way, it’s no surprise that I can’t find anything about her or evidence of further recording sessions. To those of us who listen to Noah Howard or Bill Dixon or Cleve Pozar, these musicians are titans, progenitors of music that pushed the boundaries of both jazz and solo and ensemble improvisation. But they’re either major minor figures or minor major figures in the broader history of creative music. Their current stature is defined by their status as makers of nearly irretrievable music, makers of records lost to the fray of their original moment. That is, this is not music that was ever popular, and however much “everything” is available online, anyone who has spent anytime looking for these outside, fugitive recordings knows this isn’t true. Collector’s prices can be prohibitive for titles that were privately printed in small numbers, and unless a fellow traveler has made a rip available, there’s maybe YouTube and probably nothing. And if one is looking for a session player, there’s little or no chance at all of finding them elsewhere.

But for the moment, I wonder if Ms. Norris is easy to find but not where I’m looking, or if she left New York and stopped playing music, or perhaps she’s due for renewed interest and someone is working on it right now?