Gene Norman, a jazz club owner and disc jockey who launched and
operated the popular GNP Crescendso independent record label, died at
his home in Hollywood, Calif., Nov. 2. He was 93. The cause of death was
not reported.
Born Eugene Nabatoff in New York, Norman graduated from the
University of Wisconsin and then began his radio career in San
Francisco, before relocating to Los Angeles in the 1940s. There he
became a popular jazz disc jockey on various local stations, including
KLAC. He parlayed that popularity into promoting a series of jazz
concerts over the course of two decades, including dates featuring Benny
Goodman, Peggy Lee and Erroll Garner. His Blues Jubilee programs at the
Shrine Auditorium in the early 1950s, according to an obituary
published on Norman’s website, attracted some of the first integrated
audiences in the United States.
Norman also introduced the Snader Telescriptions, described in the
article as “a prototype MTV-styled concept documenting recording
personalities of the era,” on NBC-TV. He hosted the first televised jazz
concert on KTLA, as well as The Gene Norman Show and Campus Club on KHJ.
While a DJ at KFWB, Norman organized jazz concerts at venues like the
Shrine, the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and the Hollywood Bowl with
artists such as Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie and Shorty Rogers. These shows
were recorded and released on Decca, Capitol and Modern Records.
In 1954, Norman opened the Crescendo nightclub on the Sunset Strip,
and also operated the Interlude, upstairs from the Crescendo. There he
presented such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Newhart, Johnny Mathis,
Stan Kenton, Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass, Lenny Bruce, Don Rickles,
Rusty Warren, Mort Sahl, Woody Allen and Louis Armstrong.
While presenting concerts, Norman produced a series of live albums
and studio recordings based around his promotions. He launched his own
record label GNP Crescendo (the GNP standing for Gene Norman Presents),
which he ran for the rest of his life. He served as one of the directors
of the RIAA, and was elected into the Hall of Fame of the American
Association of Independent Music in 1991.
In addition to jazz records, GNP Crescendo released music by the ’60s
rock band the Seeds (“Pushin’ Too Hard”), Joe and Eddie, Queen Ida (who
garnered a Grammy for the label), Billy Strange, Bing Crosby and Gary
Richrath, as well as original film and television soundtracks. The label
operated out of offices on the Sunset Strip for more than five decades,
moving to less hectic quarters in later years. Up until his death,
Norman remained a force in the label’s direction, consulting with
musician/producer/director son Neil, who now operates the company.