Noel Pointer was an American jazz violinist, composer, and producer known for blending smooth jazz, fusion, disco, and R&B into a melodic electric-violin style that stood out in the late-1970s jazz-funk era.
Pointer began as a classical prodigy, making a solo debut at age 13 performing Vivaldi with the Symphony of the New World and later appearing with major orchestras including Chicago Chamber and Detroit Symphony.
He studied at New York’s High School of Music & Art and the Manhattan School of Music, then built a reputation as a session musician working with orchestras, Broadway pit bands (e.g., Dreamgirls, Guys and Dolls), and ensembles like the Apollo Theater Orchestra and Love Unlimited Orchestra.
During 1977–1981, Pointer recorded a run of successful solo albums—four reaching the top five on Billboard jazz charts—with his debut Phantazia going platinum.
Pointer helped push the violin deeper into electric jazz-fusion and quiet-storm territory, combining lush string phrasing with groove-oriented rhythm sections and pop production, putting him alongside other jazz-funk instrumental innovators of the era.
Music
Phantazia (1977)
Hold On (1978)
Feel It (1979)
Calling (1980)
All My Reasons (1981)
Direct Hit (1982)
Never Lose Your Heart (1993)
The Voice…The Violin (with Kuh Ledesma, 1994)