Benny Green (Pianist)
Benny Green ( born April 4, 1963 in New York City ) is an American pianist of modern jazz and mainstream jazz.
Life and work
Benny Green grew up in Berkeley (California ) and learned classical piano as a child. Through his father, who played saxophone, he became interested in jazz and played as a teenager in the quintet by Eddie Jefferson. His professional career as a musician, he started when he came back in 1983 to New York and played in the backing band of singer Betty Carter. In 1988 he became a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Stylistically, he was based at that time on a hard bop Bud Powell; he remained until 1990 in the band. The following year he formed his own trio and in 1993 member of the trio of Ray Brown, where he replaced Gene Harris. He remained until 1996, at Brown and took in the 1990s, a number of albums for Blue Note Records on, later also for Telarc and Criss Cross. On his albums appeared with musicians such as Stanley Turrentine, Christian McBride, Antonio Hart, Buster Williams, Terence Blanchard, Peter Washington, and Tony Reedus. In 1991, he appeared as a guest musician with the album Underground of wind ensembles Twenty- Ninth Street Saxophone Quartet.
In addition to his own projects, he is a busy sideman; he can be heard on albums by, among others, Gary Bartz, Bob Belden, Don Braden, Milt Jackson, Diana Krall, Freddie Hubbard, Ralph Moore and Jack Walrath. Among his best sideman gigs heard his participation in Lew Tabackins album " I'll Be Seeing You " from 1992. He counts except Powell Erroll Garner, Ahmad Jamal, Phineas Newborn and Oscar Peterson among his most important influences, Richard Cook and Brian Morton recognize also Horace Silver and Wynton Kelly as models of his swinging, entertaining style.
The pianist is not to be confused with the British jazz saxophonist Benny Green or with the American jazz musician Bennie Green.
Disco Graphical Notes
Important albums as a leader
- Source (2011)
- Green 's Blues (2001, Telarc )
- Naturally (2000) Telarc
- These Are Soulful Days (1999, Blue Note )
- Oscar & Benny (1998, Telarc )
- Kaleidoscope (1997, Blue Note )
- That's Right! (1992, Blue Note )
- Greens (1991, Blue Note )
- Lineage (1990, Blue Note )
- Prelude (1988, Criss Cross)
- In This Direction (1988, Criss Cross)
Important albums as a sideman
- Ray Brown: Some of My Best Friends Are ... Sax player ( Telarc, 1995)
- Ray Brown: Some of My Best Friends Are ... Piano Players ( Telarc, 1994)
- Mingus Dynasty: Next Generation Performs Charles ... (Columbia, 1991)
- Jim Snidero Quintet: Mixed Bag (1987 )
- Lew Tabackin Quartet: I'll Be Seeing You (1992 )
- Steve Turre: Right There (1991 )
- Jack Walrath & The Masters Out of the Tradition ( 1990)