Norman Simmons

Pianist, arranger. A superior arranger and good accompanist most famous for providing the hit arrangement of "Wade In The Water" for the Ramsey Lewis group. Simmons worked in the '50s and '60s for several vocalists, among them Dakota Staton, Ernestine Anderson and Carmen Mcrae, and has been a regular pianist for Joe Williams since 1979. He worked in 1960 with the Johnny Griffin-Eddie "lockjaw" Davis group. Simmons performed with Williams through the 1990s and, following the death of the acclaimed vocalist, Simmons led his first session in quite some time, resulting in the 2000 Savant release, Art Of Norman Simmons. In 2002, he followed with Synthesis, his second effort for Savant. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide