Bill Green (musician)
William Ernest "Bill" Green (born February 28, 1925 in Kansas City , † July 29, 1996 in Los Angeles ) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist and oboist (generally woodwind instruments of all kinds).
Life
Green studied alto saxophone and clarinet as a teenager and played in a WPA band in Kansas City until he was 15 . After graduating from high school in 1942, he was in the US Navy, where he served longer in San Diego . From 1945/46 he was in Los Angeles, where he was part of the Central Avenue jazz scene and played with Buddy Collette , among others . From 1947 to 1952 he studied at the Conservatory in Los Angeles with a master's degree. He then worked mostly as a freelancer and studio musician in Los Angeles (including in the film Young Man with a Horn and the TV series M Squad and Shogun and the Flip Wilson Show ). But he also taught at the conservatory from 1952 to 1962 and played in jazz clubs at night. In the 1950s he played with Gerald Wilson and Benny Carter (with whom he also recorded), in the 1960s with Nelson Riddle , but also more often with Quincy Jones , Buddy Rich , Oliver Nelson and Burt Bacharach .
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Green led an all-star band at Marty's Jazz Club in Los Angeles. He accompanied in the 1980s, Ella Fitzgerald , Sarah Vaughan , Carmen McRae and other singers, played with the Clayton - Hamilton band (with whom he also recorded), the big band Juggernaut of Frank Capp and Nat Pierce , played with Lionel Hampton , Woody Herman , Sonny Rollins , Gene Ammons , recorded with Dizzy Gillespie , Gene Harris , Louie Bellson and Buddy Collette and many others ( Tom Lord lists over 130 sessions). In the 1980s he also played the clarinet in the Highland Park Symphony.
He also taught (in addition to the Los Angeles Conservatory) at the University of California, Los Angeles , California State University and the University of Southern California and was Educator of the Year at the LA Jazz Society in 1991. In 1965 he was at the Monterey Jazz Festival with the Gil Fuller Orchestra.
He was not only considered a reliable studio musician, but also an excellent soloist on soprano and baritone saxophone. Among his favorite musicians he counted Benny Carter , Lucky Thompson , Charlie Parker , Don Byas .
literature
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 2007, ISBN 978-0-19-532000-8 .
Web links
- William Green at Discogs (English)
- All about jazz
- Green Papers, UCLA
Individual evidence
- ↑ Green Papers at UCLA
- ^ In Feather, Gitler February 25, 1928 as date of birth
- ^ All About Jazz
- ↑ Even before that he accompanied Nat King Cole , Frank Sinatra , Tony Bennett , Nancy Wilson , Peggy Lee , Dionne Warwick in Los Angeles
- ^ Feather, Gitler, Biographical Encyclopedia Jazz
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Green, Bill |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Green, William Ernest |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist and oboist (generally woodwind instruments of all kinds) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 28, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kansas City |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 29, 1996 |
| Place of death | los Angeles |