Jazz / Urban, Crossover Jazz, Quiet Storm
Norman Connors - Vocal Producer, Drums, Vocals (Background), Percussion, Vocals, Producer
Adaritha Vocals
Al Johnson Vocals (Background), Arranger, Vocals, Conductor
Alex Brown Vocals (Background)
Anthony Barboza Cover Photo
Ben Barrett String Contractor
Bill Green Woodwind
Billy McCoy Keyboards
Bobby Bryant Trumpet
Bobby Lyles Keyboards
Buzzy Jones Sax (Tenor)
Byron Miller Bass
Carol Williams Make-Up
David T. Walker Guitar
Don Myrick Woodwind
Donn Davenport Art Direction
Dorothy Ashby Harp
Eric Butler Vocals (Background), Trumpet, Vocal Arrangement
Freddie Hubbard Soloist, Flugelhorn
Garnett Brown Trombone
Gary Bartz Coloring, Sax (Alto), Soloist, Sax (Soprano)
Gary Gross Photography
George Bohanon Trombone, Horn Conductor
Gerald Roberts Production Assistant
Harry Bluestone Concert Master
Jackson Schwartz Mixing, Engineer
James Gatson Drums
Jean Carn Vocals (Background), Vocal Producer
Jerry Peters Arranger, Keyboards, Conductor
Jerry Peterson Sax (Soprano), Coloring, Soloist
Jim Gilstrap Vocals (Background)
John Barnes Keyboards
John Golden Mastering
John Kip Woodwind
Leon Ware Vocals (Background), Vocals
Marlena Jeter Vocals (Background)
Marlo Henderson Guitar
McKinley Jackson Conductor, Arranger
Nolan Andrew Smith Trumpet
Oscar Brashear Trumpet
Paul Riser String Arrangements, Horn Arrangements
Paulinho Da Costa Percussion
Ralph Jones Woodwind
Sidney Muldrow French Horn
Sonia Santos Hair Stylist
Sonny Burke Keyboards
The Jones Girls Vocals (Background)
Venetta Fields Vocals (Background)
Yuji Muraoka Liner Notes
Japanese exclusive remastered CD reissue of the urban jazz artist's 1980 album for Arista.
24bit digitally K2 remastered.
Drummer and stellar lineup assembler Norman Connors landed on Arista for Take It to the Limit, an album that continued the man's embrace of smooth R&B and gradual abandonment of jazz. The roster here is extremely lengthy; not only is there a group numbering at about a dozen that's dubbed the Starship Orchestra, but there's well over 30 other (!) guests who pop in and out of the mix in various capacities. Both the title track (featuring Adaritha on vocals) and "Melancholy Fire" (Glenn Jones) rightfully cracked the Top 30 of the black singles chart, but a small clutch of other gems deserved similar achievements. "I Don't Need Nobody Else," sung by Al Johnson (arranger and conductor of half the album's cuts), sparkles brightly, while Adaritha's "Justify" is just as gorgeous as the album's hit singles. One minor disappointment is Leon Ware's set-closing "Everywhere Inside of Me," which falls toward the sappy side. One major dud is a plonking cover of Steely Dan's "Black Cow," which has inexplicably shown up on a number of Connors anthologies. Six out of eight ain't bad by any stretch. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
Norman Connors
Active Decades: '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: Mar 01, 1947 in Philadelphia, PA
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Soul, Urban, Jazz-Funk, Fusion, Post-Bop, Crossover Jazz, Quiet Storm, Smooth Jazz
Like Roy Ayers, George Benson, and Patrice Rushen, Norman Connors is best known for his major R&B hits but started out as a jazz improviser. The drummer/composer was born and raised in Philadelphia, where he lived in the same neighborhood as Bill Cosby and became interested in jazz when he was only a child. As a kid in elementary school, Connors was exposed to jazz extensively thanks to such schoolmates as drummer Lex Humphries and the younger brother of bassist and Jazz Messenger-to-be Spanky De Brest. Connors was in junior high when he began sneaking into jazz clubs and sat in for Elvin Jones at a John Coltrane gig. At 13, he first got to meet his idol, Miles Davis, and started expressing his admiration for the famous trumpeter by dressing like him. Connors went on to study music at Philly's Temple University and the Juilliard School of Music in New York. Gigs with Jackie McLean, Jack McDuff, and Sam Rivers followed, and he was first recorded as a sideman when Archie Shepp employed him on his 1967 Impulse! session Magic of Ju-Ju.
After touring with Pharoah Sanders and playing on several of his albums, Connors signed with Buddah's Cobblestone label in 1972 and recorded his first album as a leader, Dance of Magic and its follow-up, Dark of Light. A few more jazz-oriented Cobblestone and Buddah dates followed, and it was in 1975 that Connors made R&B his main priority with Saturday Night Special (which included the number ten soul hit "Valentine Love"). The rest of the 1970s found Connors featuring R&B singers prominently (including Michael Henderson, Jean Carn, and the late Phyllis Hyman) and scoring such R&B hits as "We Both Need Each Other," "Once I've Been There," and the lovely "You Are My Starship." Connors, who signed with Arista in 1977, wasn't as popular or as visible in the 1980s, although he would make a comeback in the 1990s by signing with Motown's MoJazz label and focusing on both urban contemporary and crossover. The 21st century found him moving along similar lines, releasing Eternity on Starship Records in 2000 and Star Power in 2009 on Shanachie Records.
---Alex Henderson, All Music Guide |
