Norman Amadio
| Norman Amadio | |
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Norman Amadio
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Albert Norman Benedict Amadio |
| Born |
April 14, 1928 Timmins, Ontario, Canada |
| Origin | Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Jazz Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Musician, Band Leader, Recording Artist |
| Instruments | Piano |
Albert Norman Benedict "Norm" Amadio (born April 14, 1928 in Timmins, Ontario) is a Canadian jazz pianist, piano teacher, music coach, composer, arranger, session player, band leader and accompanist. For a span of fifty years he worked for the CBC as an orchestra leader and musical director for many TV series. In 1956, he became the first and only Canadian to play at the original Birdland in New York City and while playing opposite Duke Ellington.
In 1943, he performed at a Victory Bond concert with Gracie Fields, and was asked to travel on a Canadian tour; his parents denied him permission because of his age. At the age of 15, Norm really loved Art Tatum's playing. Soon after he found inspiration from Be-boppers such as Charlie Parker, Bud Powell and Horace Silver. Norman eventually left Timmins for Toronto when he was 17 to study music with Boris Berlin at the Royal Conservatory for six months. He played jazz after hours, influenced by the be-bop pianists. Amadio was influential in starting the be-bop jazz music scene in Toronto, attracting many jazz notables from Canada and the US to sit in and work with him.
Amadio was a prominent figure in the late 1940s and early 1950s at the House of Hambourg in Toronto and subsequently became one of the city's leading accompanists and one of the most sought-after players in Toronto. In the 1950s and 1960s he worked at the main jazz venues in Toronto; The Towne Tavern, The Colonial, Bourbon Street, George's Spaghetti House from 1959-1963 and the First Floor Club with Don "D.T." Thompson's Be-Bop quintet. After working in the early 1950s in the lounge groups of Jim Younger, Chicho Valle, and Jimmy Amaro, he led the house band at the Old Towne Tavern for a nine-year stint during the 1950s and early 1960s. Word traveled to the U.S. about Amadio's playing and many American jazz superstars began to flock to Toronto. Among the American jazz greats who came to work with Norm Amadio's Trio in Toronto were Roy Eldridge, Stan Getz, Bill Harris,Coleman Hawkins, Zoot Sims, Ben Webster, Lester Young, Chet Baker, Anita O'Day, Bud Johnson, Lee Konitz, Sonny Stitt, Clark Terry, Howard McGee, Jimmy Witherspoon, Max Roach, Miles Davis, Carmen McRae, Joe Williams, Carol Sloane, Mel Torme, Dinah Washington, Red Mitchell, Phip Phillips, Maxine Sullivan, and Irene Krall.
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