Norman Hedman

Conguero and bandleader Norman Hedman

Norman Hedman began playing congas at age 12, when he found a broken hand drum in a Brooklyn garbage can. Hedman, who was born in Jamaica but grew up in 1950s Brooklyn, began learning drums secretly because his parents did not approve of him doing music as a vocation. When they found out how serious Norman was about the drums, they gave in and told him that he could continue to play as long as he kept his grades up.

The Early Years

Since then, he has been making music nonstop. Seeking formal training he joined the Wingate High School Band, but Norman says he really learned to play conga on the streets. Whenever he could, he would take the train from Brooklyn to Hunt's Point in the Bronx, where he could sit-in on street-corners with local masters. He continued his education by learning Senegalese, Nigerian, and West African percussion traditions from the likes of Papa Laje (with whom Norman studied djembe), Chief Bae, and Olatunji. In fact, Norman spent three months touring with Olatunji while he was still in high school, until the touring schedule became too demanding for his parents' liking.

In the late 80s, Norman began touring and recording with Von and Chico Freeman. He also put together the group Colors (with friends Luther Vandross and Gary Bartz) while doing numerous other side acts. Throughout the 80s, Norman did recordings and performances with jazz luminaries including Arthur Blythe, Dizzy Gillespie, John Hicks, Hilton Ruiz, Bobby Watson, and Arturo Sandoval.

Norman Hedman's Tropique

Conguero and bandleader Norman Hedman blends Salsa, reggae, pop, and soul into a Latin fusion with his genre-defying band, Tropique

In the early 90s it became clear the Norman was ready to lead a group of his own. After a short stint in the military, Norman put together Tropique -- a band committed to the fusion of laidback Caribbean-inspired grooves with traditional Latin jazz. But where a lot of Latin jazz is driven by strong brassy frontlines, Tropique is much more focused on percussion. The band is often characterized as "world" or "alternative" music. "That's what Tropique is all about," Norman says, "a lot of different styles rolled into one."

And Beyond.

Norman continues to tour with Tropique (which has been nominated twice by the Grammys for Best Latin Jazz Album) and do session work for pop artists like Alicia Keyes and Luther Vandross, and working on movie soundtracks like Shaft. When he is not recording or performing, he teaches conga, bongo, and other hand percussion as a faculty member of the Drummer Collective in New York. Norman Hedman lives with his family in the Northeast part of the United States and continues to love music with the same passion that he had when he salvaged the broken conga from the garbage at 12.