j o e s o r b a r a [ d o t ] c o m . p r o j e c t s . n o r m a d a m s & j o e s o r b a r a
norm adams . tabletop cello
joe sorbara . table percussion
Cellist Norm Adams and percussionist Joe Sorbara are both performers and organisers working in Canadian creative experimental music. Having known one another for decades, they finally came together to make some music in September 2022. Since, Norm and Joe have developed a unique “tabletop” cello and percussion duo that brings their far-reaching creative minds into focus on a particular and peculiar sound-world of rhythm, pitch, texture, sonority, and heart combined with a projected birds-eye-view of their performance that offers audiences a compelling perspective of dancing hands at work in the music.
The first album documenting their work together was released on Oval Window Records in February, 2026. This. was recorded at Ross Creek Centre for the Arts in
Canning, Nova Scotia, in December 2024. Their second release, Coffee & Velocipedes was recorded six months later during the sessions that also produced the twin albums KLANG 1 and KLANG 2
with west coast clarinet phenom, François Houle.
::
Adams and Sorbara first came together as a duo in the fall of 2022. As organisers in Canadian creative experimental music scenes and performing musicians with myriad shared collaborators, they had know
one another for decades. Now it was time to really meet, time to convene in the music.
Norm travelled from Halifax, Joe from Toronto, and the two met in Guelph, Ontario. They played and talked for three days straight and, despite finding a real connection, failed to find the sound of
their collaboration. There were too many possibilities.
Sure that they were on to something, they met again in Halifax the following spring and retreated to the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts for another three days of exploration. Individually, they had both
come to an understanding that this project was calling for an adjustment: something foundational needed to shift in order to contain and define the work they would do together as a duo. Upon landing at
the Halifax airport, Joe asked Norm to cancel plans to rent a drum kit because the suitcase full of. . . stuff they had flown in with was going to be spread out on a tabletop instead. Norm
laughed, shook his head, and described the new tabletop cello setup he had been working on. The uncanniness of the Adams/ Sorbara collaboration had been unveiled.
The time spent at Ross Creek was the impetus for tremendous growth and development for Norm and Joe, both individually and as a duo. They found a sound world to focus on that was engaging enough so that
the wider sonic universe could be tuned out. And—with the help of visual artist, Monica Lacey, also in residence at the time—they discovered that the birds-eye-view from above their tables
offered a compelling visual element to their work when projected onto the wall behind them.
Norm and Joe were able to play some small shows in Guelph and Hamilton in February 2024 in advance of a short tour together a few months later in April to share their music with audiences in Belfast
(Northern Ireland), Berlin (Germany), and Groningen (The Netherlands).
In June 2025, they will appear on the west coast at Studio 2H in Saanichton, the Orange Light in Victoria, the Music by the Sea series on Salt Spring Island, and at 8EAST in Vancouver. The development
continues with each meeting as a new chapter; a conscious, contingent, open exploration of “what comes next? and what does it sound like?”.
Norm Adams & Joe Sorbara live @ Handmade Music :: Accidental Theatre, Belfast (12iv2024).
Norm Adams & Joe Sorbara @ the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, April 2023.
photos by Monica Lacey.
[click to download larger versions]
Norm Adams . bio
Norman Adams is a cellist who has evolved beyond his training and long career in classical music to reinvent his voice as an interpreter, improviser, sound artist and transdisciplinary performer. He is
also an educator, mentor, podcaster, volunteer and cycling coach. Norm is founding Artistic Director of suddenlyLISTEN Music, an organization that has produced and presented concerts, residencies,
outreach and tours for over 20 years. Norm is a former Principal Cellist of Symphony Nova Scotia (1991 - 2018), was guest Principal Cellist of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and has performed
chamber, new and improvised music throughout Canada, the US, Europe and the UK.
Norman’s passion is creating, performing and presenting new, improvised and electronic music. Through this work he has had opportunities to collaborate with many leading artists including Joëlle
Léandre, Gerry Hemingway, Eddie Prévost, Lawrence Casserley, Pauline Oliveros, Sam Shalabi, and Marilyn Crispell.
Norm currently performs and tours with Strata (with Brandon Auger), Chimera (with Francois Houle and Tim Crofts), Collateral (with Sam Shalabi and Tim Crofts), ACE (with Derek Charke), Stay
Tuned (with Andrew Reed Miller), and a duo with Joe Sorbara. He is frequently heard on stage (and in the podcast New Musings on New Music) with pianist Barbara Pritchard.
normanadams.ca
Joe Sorbara . bio
Canadian drummer and percussionist Joe Sorbara has spent decades developing a reputation as a dedicated and imaginative performer, composer, improviser, collaborator, organiser, listener, writer, and
educator. A consummate sonic adventurer, Sorbara’s music draws on a vast array of influences, most notably the African American Creative Music tradition.
Current projects include duos with east coast cellist Norm Adams, west coast clarinetist François Houle, and with fellow Ontarians Steve Sladkowski and Jonathan Kay in addition to Never Was with Brandon
Davis, Bea Labikova, Racha Moukalled, Patrick O'Reilly, and Adrian Russouw; a new sextet featuring Ted Crosby, Tania Gill, Rebecca Hennessy, Michael Herring, and Aline Homzy; the Imaginary Percussion
Ensemble with Germaine Liu and Mark Zurawinski; and supports singer-songwriter Bry Webb. Sorbara has also performed or recorded with Ken Aldcroft, Anthony Braxton, Jared Burrows, JP Carter,
Nikita Carter, Christine Duncan, Paul Dutton, Joe McPhee, Hafez Modirzadeh, Evan Parker, William Parker, Nicole Rampersaud, Allen Ravenstine, Clyde Reed, and Friendly Rich, among many many others.
Joe is a long-time student of master drummer Jim Blackley and has worked extensively as a sessional instructor, workshop facilitator, and guest lecturer. They hold an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts in
Music from York University in Toronto, a Master’s degree in English from the University of Guelph, and they are currently studying toward a PhD in Critical Improvisation Studies. Joe also serves on the
board of directors of the Guelph community arts venue, Silence, and as the Artistic Director of the Guelph Jazz Festival.
[ i ]
bio
[ ii ]
events
[ iii ]
projects
never was
carry on
(mainz/ rawlings/ sorbara)
françois houle & joe sorbara
(SoHo)
norm adams & joe sorbara
klang
(adams/ houle/ sorbara)
the rest
(jonathan kay & joe sorbara)
imaginary percussion ensemble
burrows/ houle/ sorbara
the imperative
aurealities
reliable parts
~
mars people
my misshapen ear
paul dutton & joe sorbara
alien radio
(houle/ meger/ sorbara)
other foot first
remnants trio
squash recipe
[ iv ]
discography
[ v ]
gallery
[ vi ]
contact