Kevin Norton

He began the Barking Hoop label in 1999 with a live concert recording of a piece he composed for the French situationist theorist Guy Debord, "with Braxton cast as sideman. 'I taped the concert, not thinking I was going to put it out,' Norton says. 'But I was so happy with the results that I thought, well, this should come out.'"

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Norton grew up in Staten Island and later studied composition at CUNY's Hunter College, where he began his association with bassist Milt Hinton. Norton would later record the album The Judge's Decision with Hinton in 1986. Upon graduation from Hunter College, he attended the Manhattan School of Music and earned his Master's degree in classical percussion. After school he began getting involved with the "downtown New York City" scene, and began working with Fred Frith's experimental rock band Keep the Dog (which also featured saxophonist John Zorn and harpist Zeena Parkins). Some other collaborators during this period include Phillip Johnston and Joel Forrester. Beginning in 1998, Norton is currently teaching at William Paterson University.

Kevin Norton (born January 21, 1956) is an American percussionist and composer active in the New York City jazz and contemporary music scenes. He has performed and recorded with a diverse group of musicians, including Anthony Braxton, Paul Dunmall, Milt Hinton, Fred Frith, David Krakauer, Joëlle Léandre, Frode Gjerstad, Wilber Morris, James Emery, Bern Nix, and many others. In 1999, he founded Barking Hoop Recordings, a record label dedicated to releasing new and original music. Kevin Norton has also spent summers at camp Encore/Coda in Maine teaching music theory classes and private percussion classes. The label has released 11 CDs to date, which feature Norton’s own groups as well as artists such as Anthony Braxton, Kevin O'Neil, Billy Stein, and the String Trio of New York.