Album Notes

Norman David is a saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, author, and music educator. His quartet, GROUP 4, is dedicated to the performance and presentation of new jazz. David has composed and arranged a huge repertoire for the quartet and continues to add to the repertoire on a regular basis. The band recently ended a whopping four-and-a-half year run at St. Jack's in Philadelphia where it performed steadily to widespread acclaim. GROUP 4 continues to appear at other venues and events in the Philadelphia/New York region.

Norman David has also appeared with, and his jazz compositions have been performed by, among others, George Garzone, Dick Oatts, Tim Hagans, John Fedchock, John Swana, Ed Neumeister, Terell Stafford, Scott Robinson, Tim Horner, Tom Lawton, Bob Gullotti, John Lockwood, and various all-star jazz ensembles. He is a past recipient of a Fellowship Grant in Jazz Composition from the National Endowment for the Arts. His art music compositions have been premiered by, among others, Alea III, The Network For New Music, Les Thimmig, Jonathan Blumenfeld, and Charles Abramovic. His compositions have been cited for excellence by the Artists's Foundation of Massachusetts, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Vanguard Artists Associates.

David's text book Jazz Arranging (1998) is published by Scarecrow/Ardsley House and continues to be adopted for course work at colleges and universities. His latest book, The Ella Fitzgerald Companion (2004), a study of the artistry of that great singer, is published by Praeger Publishers.

David earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Compostion from Temple University and a Master of Music in Composition from the New England Conservatory of Music. In addition, he completed studies in arranging and woodwinds at Berklee College of Music. He is currently on the music faculties of Temple University and The University of the Arts, both in Philadelphia. He has previously been a faculty member at Berklee College of Music, Colby College, and Ursinus College.