[Dixielandjazz] Norrie Cox?

[Bob Romans]

New Orleans jazz spirited musician 

By AMY RABIDEAU SILVERS 
March 14, 2007 
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=577846 


http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/mar07/cox032607.jpg 
Norrie Cox taught children how to play, and how to love, jazz. 


Before Norrie Cox ever set foot in America, he fell in love with the 
music called New Orleans jazz. 


His accent may have been English, but the voice of his clarinet was 
pure New Orleans - what he regarded as the original American jazz - 
not the more widely heard Dixieland sound. 


"The older musicians I admired were black," he told Milwaukee Sentinel 
columnist William Janz in 1994. "Blacks invented blues, gospel, and 
jazz music, and we've exploited them from Day 1. Rock 'n' roll, rhythm 
and blues were all black music." 


And, as Cox played to older and older white audiences, he feared that 
the music he loved might disappear forever. 


"It was suddenly absolutely clear we had to get kids back to playing 
it," Cox said. 


So he became a teacher, too. 


Norman S. Cox - his given, but seldom used, name - died of apparent 
heart problems March 7. He was 75. He and his wife, Gwen Cox, long 
lived in Elm Grove and Brookfield. 


Cox, the son of a gift musician, grew up near London. At 19, his 
father gave him a clarinet. 


"He taught himself to play and improvise, and he had his own band in 
England," Gwen Cox said. 


The years that followed included training as a mechanical engineer, 
service with the Royal Air Force and marriage to Gwen. A job brought 
them to the United States in 1966, first to Columbus, Ind., and then 
to Michigan. 


In 1971, they moved to the Milwaukee area, where he began working for 
Waukesha Engine before working as a chief engineer for 
Harley-Davidson. Cox began playing music again, first with a Civil War 
band, which required that he learn to read music. 


But New Orleans jazz kept calling him. By about 1980, he joined the 
Riverboat Ramblers, becoming its leader within a few years. He also 
began playing with a long list of bands, including the Norrie Cox Good 
Time Jazz, the Norrie Cox Good Time Jazz Trio, Norrie Cox and His New 
Orleans Stompers and Chicago Hot Six. 


He finally decided to give up his day job - then as a partner in an 
automotive diesel repair shop - to make music full time. 


"He was certainly known nationally," said Roy Rubinstein, a friend and 
fellow musician. He played with Cox's Good Time Jazz combo at the 
Bavarian Inn the second Wednesday of each month, and Cox played with 
Rubinstein's Chicago Hot Six. 


"He played in various places in the United States, and he made several 
recordings," Rubinstein said. Cox also became known for his work with 
children. 


In 1988, Cox began the New Orleans Jazz Band of Explorer Post 622, 
unofficially known as the Crescent City Stompers, sponsored by the 
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee. There he taught young people 
the art of collective jazz improvisation, all with the idea of keeping 
real New Orleans jazz alive. 


"That was his thing," said Carvis Braxton, earlier in Boy Scout 
leadership, who encouraged Cox to launch the Explorer post. "I 
remember him teaching kids how to play the scrub board." 


His young musicians traveled to New Orleans and also performed in 
Milwaukee, including with Doc Severinsen. 


"There's an old tune, named after trombone player Kid Ory, called 'Do 
What Ory Say,' " Janz wrote. "When the kids play it, they sing, 'Do 
What Norrie Say.' " 


"He was still teaching," his wife said. "Music was what he wanted to 
do. That was his passion." 


Other survivors include daughter Sally Peterson; sons Robin and 
Martin; grandchildren; and brothers and sisters in England. 


A memorial gathering and musical farewell were held Wednesday at the 
Bavarian Inn. 


Warmest regards,
Bob Romans
1617 Lakeshore Drive,
Lodi, Calif., 95242
PH 209-747-1148
www.cellblockseven2002.net