Feature

There aren’t many people I’ve met over my lifetime with a true passion for music. But every once in a blue moon, I run into someone who has dedicated an entire life to bringing their musical talent to the masses. I recently had the pleasure of adding yet another person to my extremely short list.

ESho’s Jeanine Normand (aka Dr. Jazz) has lived her entire life (both in the Mobile Bay area and in Europe) bringing her sound to audiences of all types. On Dec. 10 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Fairhope, Normand and the Dr. Jazz Normand Orchestra will get the town swinging as they take the stage along with the legendary Lil Greenwood for a night of big band jazz and high stepping. While talking to Jeanine, it was no surprise to learn she took to music at a very young age, as her father is Jack Normand.

Jack Normand was an accomplished and well-known pianist/orchestra leader in NOLA during the ‘40s. When the Grand Hotel opened in Fairhope, Jack christened the property with Big Band swing. He also went on to write the very popular “On Mobile Bay.” Several years later, Jeanine came into the picture and showed a healthy obsession with music at a tender young age.

“My father recorded me playing my first composition when I was barely 2 years old,” admits the good doctor. “It was called ‘The Angel Song.’ He used to joke that I could play before I could walk. I don’t know whether that is true or not, but I started taking lessons when I was 4..”

Although she has extensive knowledge in several instruments, Normand finds her soul in the keys. Throughout her youth, Normand claims she thought there was no other music except for classical, then something wonderful happened. It was in her pre-teens years that Brazilian jazz styles such as the Bossa Nova — made legendary by artists such as songsmith Antonio Carlos Jobim, guitarist Joao Gilberto and saxophonist Stan Getz — hit the scene like a tidal wave.

“I just fell in love with that music,” Normand confesses. “After that, I got into Dave Brubeck. Of course, there were some crossover people like Ramsey Lewis, who loved jazz and played great jazz, but he played a mixture of other music as well. A lot of jazz musicians had to do that.”

The Brazilian jazz sent her heart fluttering at a hummingbird pace, and she began finding those Brazilian beats in every song she heard.

“What I also developed a little bit later was a love of taking standards and jazzing them up,” says Normand. “When that group War came out with the song ‘The World Is a Ghetto,’ I made a jazz arrangement of that song. When Jefferson Airplane came out with ‘White Rabbit,’ I made a jazz arrangement. That was before George Benson, I might add. I always thought that was a fun thing to do. You can take any song from a waltz to a polka and turn it into a jazz tune. I still play a little bit of classical music. I’m very glad that I have that foundation. I don’t think it’s necessary, although I do think it’s helpful.”

Normand eventually made her way to Europe as a teacher. It wasn’t long before she was extremely active in the European jazz scene. It was also there that she earned the moniker “Dr. Jazz” after she built her reputation playing many of the festivals there.

“They’re very respectful of their professors there, but since I was young, and they were cheeky, they got away with calling me Dr. Jazz,” Normand explains. “A lot of my friends knew about that, and it was a nickname that stuck among my friends, but I always had other names for my orchestras. I always insisted on being very formal. ‘My name is Jeanine Normand.’ As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been a little less formal, and I thought Dr. Jazz sounded cute, I needed a new name for my band. So, I said, ‘I’ll try the Dr. Jazz Normand Orchestra.’ Although, here in Fairhope everybody calls it the Jeanine ‘Dr. Jazz’ Normand Orchestra.”

Jeanine also made jazz a family affair. In the ‘70s, she and her sister joined her brother Glenn in The Grand Band and went on to play bass, piano, drums and various reed instruments. The Grand Band was a favorite across the Gulf Coast known for their professional and entertaining nature.

So, what’s next for Dr. Jazz? Normand plans on going into Jada Studio and recording a full-length album of the music she holds so dear. In the meantime, her holiday concert and dance looks like it will be quite a grand affair.

“It’s a party first of all, but there will be danceable music and a dance floor available,” says Normand. “There will be great food, fun music and lots of fun people. We have a special price for seniors and students, so we expect all ages to come and have a great time. If you feel like dancing, you can dance, and when Lil takes over, she’ll probably lead us around with ‘When the Saints Go Marching In.’ We’ll all be shaking the white hanky to the second line. She’ll be singing, people will be listening and people will be dancing.”

Lil Greenwood is the icing on the cake for this show, and she is no stranger to the area. Born in Prichard, Greenwood went to the West Coast and found her way into the spotlight by way of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Over the years, she has performed with a number of jazz figures, so this will be a once-in- a-lifetime event. If you’re looking to jazz up your holidays, this is the show for you!

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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