Artist description Norm Stockton is a bassist, composer and arranger currently based in Orange County, California. Profiled in Bass Player magazine (12/95), Norm has extensive experience in a wide array of musical settings. His diverse recording and performance credits include jazz guitarist Steve Laury (solo artist, Fattburger), keyboardist Rob Mullins (solo artist, The Crusaders), keyboardist Scott Wilkie (Narada Jazz recording artist), bluesman Darrell Mansfield, heavy rock group Luna Halo (Sparrow recording artists), and singer/songwriter Bill Batstone (Harvest Crusades, Franklin Graham Crusades). He has also gained recognition in the international bass community as a music educator through his acclaimed bass instructional video series, Grooving for Heaven, which has been distributed extensively in the United States and Canada. In addition, Norm regularly performs as a clinician at events throughout North America for Maranatha! Music. Born and raised in Japan, Norm brings a diverse personal & musical palette to his artistry. This is perhaps best exemplified on his recent solo debut, Pondering the Sushi, a collection of 13 contemporary jazz tunes with a refreshingly organic and live feel. A tapestry of stylistic influences including funk, Latin, fusion, acid jazz & pop genres, 11 of the 13 songs are original compositions, while the remaining two include a sparse and pensive interpretation of The Police's Roxanne, as well as Norm's solo bass rendition of the Star Spangled Banner recorded late one evening while overlooking the streets of New York City, 31 floors below. Pondering the Sushi is an entertaining and engaging musical experience.

Music Style contemporary jazz / fusion / acid jazz / funk

Musical Influences bela fleck & the flecktones, sting, jungle funk, jonatha brooke, the crusaders, dc talk, t-square, seal, jinsaku...

Similar Artists victor wooten, marcus miller, brian bromberg...

Group Members "pondering the sushi" features: norm stockton (basses) * steve laury, kevin rogers, ray stockton (guitar) * rob mullins, kamau kenyatta, susan alldredge (keyboard) * david owens, rod lincoln (drums) * aaron redfield (cajon and percussion) * larry williams (trumpet) * keith felch (saxophones) * regan wickman (trombone) * tomoko stockton (koto) * kevin rogers (vocals) * carly stockton, lauren stockton, gina stockton & jake miller on "the star spangled banner" (vocals) * bird brett matson (voice)

Instruments bass, guitar, keyboards, cajon/percussion/drums/loops, trumpet/saxophone/trombone, and koto ("pondering the sushi") ******norm stockton proudly endorses mtd, modulus, carvin, peavey, mtd strings, ghs strings, euphonic audio, and roland electronics.******

Albums pondering the sushi

Press Reviews (About Norm Stockton): "Great technique...clean funk...Stanley-esque solo flurries...Norm can groove, too..." Bass Player Magazine (Dec 1995)----- "Norm Stockton is a wonderful musician with a lot to offer..." Bass Frontiers Magazine (Jul/Aug 1999) ********** (About Norm's "Grooving for Heaven" bass instructional videos): "I endorse & highly recommend these videos...very well done!" Abraham Laboriel, Sr.----- "This section (Modes - Vol. 2) alone is worth the price of both videos!" Bass Frontiers Magazine (Jul/Aug 1999) ********** (About Pondering the Sushi): "...his deep-pocketed, Marcus-like slap grooves will leave you pondering this California bassist's thumb." Bass Player magazine (Aug 2001)----- "Man, what a great sounding disc...I am so glad you are sharing your music with the world. You are a great player." Adam Nitti----- "Great feel, groove, time, touch, sound, slapping, and a real feel for Marcus Miller's style, which not a lot of cats can cop (check out the melody reading of 'Roxanne')." Chris Jisi (contributing editor, Bass Player magazine)----- "Unlike most debut releases which only contain maybe 2 or 3 compelling selections carefully placed among a collection of mediocre sounding 'filler' music, Pondering the Sushi is a musically sophisticated effort from beginning to end. You will not hear a weak link....I can't ever recall hearing a bassist sound so comfortable in so many different settings. Norm sounds like a veteran recording artist on this, his first solo release! Bottom Line: Pondering the Sushi is one of the strongest debut outings that has ever come across my desk." (bassically.net)----- "...a pleasant instrumental collection..." (JAZZIZ Magazine, July 2001)----- "...a veritable smorgasbord of different sounds...Stockton and company have attained a high level of creativity and performance on this disc." Christian Musician magazine (Jul/Aug 2001)----- "I am sitting here just DIGGING on the Sushi record. Been listening to it all afternoon. Great, great stuff." Will Denton (drummer with DC Talk, Steven Curtis Chapman, Nicole Nordeman, Erin O'Donnell)----- "The title track strikes me as one of the deepest grooves I've heard in a very long time...every track is sweet food for the ear." (SmoothChristianJazz.com)----- At the time of this writing, a review is forthcoming from Bass Frontiers magazine, and the project will be profiled in the Fall 2001 issue of the Roland Users Group publication. Additionally, Hotwire Records in Germany has expressed the intention to include a track on the upcoming compilation, Bass Talk 7.

Location mission viejo, ca - USA

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