Benny Green (born April 4, 1963) is an American

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist who was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He has been compared to

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. A pioneer in the development of bebop and its associated contributions to jazz theory,Grove Powell's application of complex phrasing to ...

and

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

in style and counts them as influences.

Biography

Green was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He grew up in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, and studied classical piano from the age of seven. He was also interested in jazz from an early point, as his father was a jazz

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

player. Benny Green was "discovered" by Faye Carroll, and while still in his teens worked in a quintet led by Eddie Henderson. Green attended Berkeley High School, and participated in the school's jazz ensemble. In the later years of his high school career, he had a weekly trio gig at Yoshi's, which was his entrance to the world of professional jazz. After high school, he spent time in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, but became more successful on his return to New York. Green joined

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

's band in April, 1983, and since 1991 he has led his own trio. He has recorded for

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long assoc ...

, and Criss Cross. Green frequently teaches in workshops across the United States, such as Jazz Camp West in California, and Centrum/Jazz Port Townsend in Washington. He currently resides in the United States and tours globally with his trio. ''Then and Now'' is a studio album recorded and released in 2018 by

Sunnyside Records Sunnyside Records is an American jazz record company and label initially established by François Zalacain in 1982 to release an album by pianist Harold Danko. Albums by Kirk Lightsey and Lee Konitz soon followed, beginning a sequence of releases ...

Discography

As leader

Main sources:

As sideman

With

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

* '' Not Yet'' ( Soul Note, 1988) * '' I Get a Kick Out of Bu'' (Soul Note, 1988) With Bob Belden * ''Straight to My Heart: The Music of Sting'' (1989) * ''When the Doves Cry: The Music of Prince'' (1993) With Don Braden * ''Quintet Time Is Now'' (1991) * ''Wish List'' (1991) With

Cecil Brooks III Cecil Brooks III (born 1959) is an American jazz drummer and record producer who has worked with Arthur Blythe, Russell Gunn, John Hicks, Andrew Hill, Etta Jones, Roseanna Vitro, Hannibal Lokumbe, and Jimmy Ponder. A native of the Homewood n ...

*'' Hangin' with Smooth'' (Muse, 1990) * ''Our Mister Brooks'' (2000) With Ray Brown * ''Bass Face'' (1993) * '' Don't Get Sassy'' (1994) * ''Some of My Best Friends Are...The Piano Players'' (1994) * ''Some of My Best Friends Are...The Sax Players'' (1995) * ''Seven Steps to Heaven'' (1995) * ''Live at Scullers Jazz Club'' (1996) * '' SuperBass'' (1997) * ''Triple Play (compilation)'' (1998) * ''Walk On'' (2003) With

Arnett Cobb Arnett Cleophus Cobb (August 10, 1918 – March 24, 1989)
accessed July 2010. was an American tenor saxophonist, somet ...

* ''Tenor Tribute, Vol. 1'' (1988) * ''Tenor Tribute, Vol. 2'' (1988) With

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

* '' Topsy - Standard Book'' (1989) * '' Live at Fat Tuesday's'' (1991) * ''God Bless the Child'' (1998) With

Etta Jones Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Gene Ammo ...

*'' Reverse the Charges'' (Muse, 1992) *'' At Last'' (Muse, 1995) * '' My Gentleman Friend'' (Muse, 1994

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Emperor Kazan. * 2 March: Emperor ...

With

Ralph Moore Ralph Moore (born 24 December 1956) is an English jazz saxophonist. Early life Moore was born in Brixton, London, England. His mother was the dancer Josie Woods, and his father was in the US military. He spent his childhood in Brixton, and aft ...

*'' Round Trip'' (Reservoir, 1985 987 *''

Images An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be displayed through other media, including a project ...

'' (Landmark, 1989) * '' Furthermore'' (Landmark, 1990) * ''Who It is You Are'' (1993) With

Houston Person Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing music, swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He re ...

*'' The Lion and His Pride'' (Muse, 1991 994 *'' Christmas with Houston Person and Friends'' (Muse, 1994) * ''A Little Houston on the Side'' (1999) With

Jimmy Ponder Jimmy Ponder (May 10, 1946 – September 16, 2013) was an American jazz guitarist. Career When Ponder's brother entered the military, he left his guitar, and Ponder picked it up. In his early teens he received lessons from the guitarist in a ban ...

* ''Soul Eyes'' (1991) * ''Steel City Soul'' (1998) With

Jim Snidero James J. Snidero (born May 29, 1958, in Redwood City, California, United States) is an American jazz saxophonist. Performance career Snidero grew up in the Washington, D.C., area (Camp Springs, MD), studying with Jim Murphy, Ron Diehl, Tim Eyerma ...

* ''Mixed Bag'' (1987) * ''Blue Afternoon'' (1989) * ''While You Were Here'' (1991) With

Lew Tabackin Lewis Barry Tabackin (born March 26, 1940) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s. Biography Tabackin started learning flute at age 1 ...

* ''Ill Be Seeing You'' (1992) * ''What a Little Moonlight Can Do'' (1994) With

Jack Walrath Jack Arthur Walrath (born May 5, 1946) is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus, and Glenn Ferris, among others. Biography Walrath was born in Stuart, Florida. ...

*'' Out of the Tradition'' (Muse, 1990

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as far south as Germany and Korea. Euro ...

* ''I Am the Walrath'' (2000) With others * Gary Bartz ''Shadows'' (1991) * Block 16 ''Morning Sun'' Remixed (2002) *

'' Look What I Got!'' (1988) * Anat Cohen ''Clarinetwork: Live at the Village Vanguard'' (2010) * Mark Elf ''Minor Scramble'' (1996) * Larry Gales ''Message from Monk'' (1990) * Tim Hagans ''Hub Songs: The Music of Freddie...'' (1997) * Jay Hoggard ''Little Tiger'' (1990) * Fred Horn ''Steady Freddy Collective Cuts'' (1995) * Jazz Futures ''Live in Concert'' (1991) *

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

''Burnin in the Woodhouse'' (1995) * Ron Jackson ''Guitar Thing'' (1991) * Randy Johnston, '' Walk On'' (Muse, 1992) * Vince Jones ''One Day Spent'' (1991) * Kristin Korb ''Introducing Kristin Korb With the...'' (1996) *

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, ''Billboard (magazi ...

'' All for You'' (1995) * Michael Logan ''Night Out'' (1990) * Brian Lynch ''In Process'' (1991) * Mingus Dynasty ''Next Generation Performs Charles...'' (1991) * Mark Murphy '' Dim the Lights'' (2004) * Amani A. W. Murray ''Amani A. W. Murray'' (1990) * Randy Napoleon '' Between Friends'' (2006) *

'' Oscar Peterson & Benny Green'' (1998) * Flip Phillips ''Swing Is the Thing!'' (2000) *

John Pizzarelli John Paul Pizzarelli Jr. (born April 6, 1960) is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist. He has recorded over twenty solo albums and has appeared on more than forty albums by other recording artists, including Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Ros ...

'' Dear Mr. Cole'' (1994) * Lisa Pollard ''I See Your Face Before Me'' (1993) *

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

''One on One'' (2000) * Steve Turre ''Right There'' (1991) * Belinda Underwood ''Greenspace'' (2008) * Bobby Watson ''Inventor'' (1989)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Benny 1963 births Living people American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Jazz musicians from New York City City of Toronto's Glenn Gould Protégé Prize winners Criss Cross Jazz artists Blue Note Records artists Telarc Records artists The Jazz Messengers members Musicians from Berkeley, California Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni University of Michigan faculty 20th-century American pianists Sunnyside Records artists Jazz musicians from California