Charles Greenlee

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles "Majeed" Greenlee (Islamic name Harnifan Majid ; born May 24, 1927 in Detroit , Michigan , † January 23, 1993 in Springfield , Massachusetts ) was an American jazz trombonist (also euphonium ) and composer .

Live and act

Charles Greenlee played in an American Legion drum and bugle ensemble as a child and studied mellophone , drums and baritone horn . He began his career in the local Detroit music scene, working with various bandleaders such as Floyd Ray, Lucky Millinder and Benny Carter in the 1940s with Dizzy Gillespie in the second half of the decade . During this time he led his own groups in which u. a. Frank Foster , Billy Mitchell and Tommy Flanagan played. He converted to Islam and at times took the name Harneefan Majeed , but without using the name in record releases .

In 1948 Greenlee worked for Lucky Thompson , in 1949 again in the Gillespie Big Band and in 1950 with Gene Ammons . From 1951 to 1957 Greenlee was not active in the music scene, then played with Yusef Lateef and in 1959 with Maynard Ferguson ; In the early 1960s he became active in the field of free jazz . During this time he worked on recordings by Charles Mingus ( Pre-Bird , 1960), John Coltrane ( Africa / Brass , 1961) and Rahsaan Roland Kirk ( Reeds & Deeds , 1963). In the early 1970s he worked with Archie Shepp , with whom he performed at the 1975 Montreux Jazz Festival . In 1974 he worked on Sam Rivers ' big band album Crystals .

Under his own name, Greenlee released the album I Know About the Life on the Japanese label Baystate in 1977 . a. Buster Williams , Beaver Harris , Charlie Persip , Archie Shepp and Charles Sullivan performed . He wrote the title Miss Toni , recorded by Archie Shepp and Eric Dolphy ( Outward Bound ), as well as the three-part suite Zaid . He taught at the University of Massachusetts Amherst .

Discographic notes

  • Archie Shepp - There's a Trumpet in My Soul (1975)
  • Archie Shepp - Jazz A Confronto 27 ( Horo Records , 1976)
  • Archie Shepp - Attica Blues Big Band Live at the Palais Des Glaces (Blue Marge, 1993)

Lexical entry

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Greenlee, Charles
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Greenlee, Majeed (nickname); Majid, Harnifan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician and composer
DATE OF BIRTH May 24, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Detroit , Michigan
DATE OF DEATH January 23, 1993
Place of death Springfield , Massachusetts