Dedo Norris
is a bass player who is well known and highly respected throughout the American
old-time music scene for her driving, rock steady rhythm which underlays the
other instruments of the band.
She taught
herself to play bass in both bluegrass and old-time music styles while
attending college (a
long time ago), and it’s all been downhill from there. She has spent decades absorbing
the music made in the Round Peak area of Galax, VA and Mount Airy, NC which remains her
lifelong love. Though the bass is her
primary instrument in old-time bands, she also plays
fiddle in her hometown band, Dedo & the Jaybirds, and occasionally fills in
on guitar. She currently plays bass in
the Red Squirrel Chasers and over the years has played in many other
configurations with fiddlers Paul Brown, Bruce Molsky, Rafe Stefanini, Brad
Leftwich, Judy Hyman, Chirps Smith, and more.
She can be heard on the Red Squirrel Chasers CD “Shakin’ Down the
Acorns” and the tribute CD “From the Low Note”.
For the past
20 years, Dedo has also made a name for herself as a dynamic piano accompanist
in the Cape Breton (Nova Scotia) tradition. She has been called upon to
accompany some of the finest fiddlers of Cape Breton and the “Boston States”
including Buddy MacMaster, Jerry Holland, John Campbell, Gordon Cote, Joe
Cormier, Kinnon Beaton, Andrea Beaton, Doug Lamey, Skip Gorman, Harvey Tolman,
and Roger Treat. She is a past member of
The Boston Kiltics. Dedo’s passion for
the music has given her a deep understanding of this distinctive piano style
and its proponents. She cites John
Morris Rankin and Maybelle Chisholm MacQueen as important influences. She also enjoys chording for Irish and
Quebecois music. Dedo has taught Cape Breton
piano accompaniment at Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle School and Montana Fiddle
Camp. Her piano playing can be heard on
Skip Gorman’s CDs “Halloween Hornpipe” and “Yankee Porridge”.
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