Frederick William Green (March 31, 1911 – March 1, 1987) was an American
swing jazz guitarist who played
rhythm guitar with the
Count Basie Orchestra for almost fifty years.
Early life and education
Green was born in Charleston, South Carolina on March 31, 1911. He was exposed to music from an early age, and learned the
banjo before picking up the guitar in his early teenage years.
A friend of his father by the name of Sam Walker taught Freddie to read music, and keenly encouraged him to keep up his guitar playing. Walker gave Freddie what was perhaps his first gig, playing with a local community group of which Walker was an organizer. Another member of the group was
William "Cat" Anderson, who went on to become an established trumpeter, working with notable figures such as
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
.
Career
It was around this time that Green's parents died, and he moved to
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 ...
to live with his aunt and continue his education. The move opened up a new musical world to Freddie. While still in his teens, he began to play around the clubs of the city, earning money and a reputation. In one of these gigs, he was noticed by the legendary talent scout
John H. Hammond, who realized the potential of Green and introduced him to Basie.
In 1937, Basie and his ensemble went to one of Green's gigs on the advice of an associate. Basie was an immediate fan, and approached Green with a job offer. Except for a brief interruption, Freddie Green would remain a pivotal fixture of the Count Basie Band for the next fifty years.
Throughout his career, Green played rhythm guitar, accompanying other musicians, and he rarely played solos. "His superb timing and ... flowing sense of harmony ... helped to establish the role of the rhythm guitar as an important part of every rhythm section."
Green did play a solo on the January 16, 1938,
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
concert that featured the
Benny Goodman big band. In the
jam session
A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...
on
Fats Waller's "
Honeysuckle Rose," Green was the rhythm guitarist for the ensemble, which featured Basie,
Walter Page (Basie's bassist), and musicians from
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
's band. After Johnny Hodges' solo, Goodman signalled to Green to take his own solo, which the musician
Turk Van Lake described in his commentary on the reissued 1938 Carnegie Hall concert as a "startling move."
He rapidly changed chords, often with every beat, rather than every measure. His chord fingering often involved him covering four strings with his fingers, while depressing only a subset of the notes. He dampened the unsounded notes from chords with his left hand. Green's playing on his signature
Stromberg guitar was the model for
Ralph Patt
Ralph Oliver Patt (5 December 1929 – 6 October 2010) was an American jazz guitarist who introduced major-thirds tuning. Patt's tuning simplified the learning of the fretboard and guitar chord, chords by beginners and improvisation by advanced ...
's big-band playing.
Green was not a prolific composer, but he did make two major contributions to Count Basie's repertoire, "Down for Double" (recorded in 1941) and "
Corner Pocket" (recorded for the album ''
April in Paris'' in 1955).
On March 1, 1987, Green died of a heart attack in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 75.
Discography
As leader/co-leader
*''
Mr. Rhythm'' (
RCA Victor, 1955)
*''Rhythm Willie'' with
Herb Ellis (
Concord Jazz, 1975)
As sideman
With
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
* ''
Dance Session'' (Clef, 1953)
* ''
Basie Jazz'' (Clef, 1954) – rec. 1952
* ''
Dance Session Album #2'' (Clef, 1954)
* ''
Basie'' (Clef, 1954)
* ''
The Count!'' (
Clef, 1955) – rec. 1952
* ''
Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings'' with
Joe Williams (Clef, 1955)
* ''
The Swinging Count!'' (Clef 1956) – rec. 1952
* ''
April in Paris'' (Verve, 1956)
* ''
The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards'' with Joe Williams (Verve, 1956)
* ''
Metronome All-Stars 1956'' with
Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Williams (Clef, 1956)
* ''
Basie in London'' (Verve, 1956)
* ''
One O'Clock Jump'' with Joe Williams and Ella Fitzgerald (Verve, 1957)
* ''
Count Basie at Newport'' (Verve, 1957)
* ''
The Atomic Mr. Basie'' (
Roulette
Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...
, 1957) – aka ''Basie'' and ''E=MC
2''
* ''
Basie Plays Hefti'' (Roulette, 1958)
* ''
Sing Along with Basie'' with
Joe Williams and
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (Roulette, 1958)
* ''
Memories Ad-Lib'' with Joe Williams (Roulette, 1958)
* ''
Basie/Eckstine Incorporated'' with
Billy Eckstine (Roulette, 1959)
* ''
Basie One More Time'' (Roulette, 1959)
* ''
Breakfast Dance and Barbecue'' (Roulette, 1959)
* ''
Everyday I Have the Blues'' with Joe Williams (Roulette, 1959)
* ''
Dance Along with Basie'' (Roulette, 1959)
* ''
Hall of Fame'' (Verve, 1959)
* ''
String Along with Basie'' (Roulette, 1960)
* ''
Not Now, I'll Tell You When'' (Roulette, 1960)
* ''
The Count Basie Story'' (Roulette, 1960)
* ''
Kansas City Suite'' (Roulette, 1960)
* ''
First Time! The Count Meets the Duke'' (Columbia, 1961)
* ''
Count Basie and the Kansas City 7'' (1962,
Impulse!)
* ''
Back with Basie'' (Roulette, 1962)
* ''
Basie in Sweden'' (Roulette, 1962)
* ''
On My Way & Shoutin' Again!'' (Verve, 1962)
* ''
This Time by Basie!'' (
Reprise, 1963)
* ''
More Hits of the 50's and 60's'' (Verve, 1963)
* ''
Pop Goes the Basie'' (Reprise, 1965)
* ''
Basie Meets Bond'' (
United Artists, 1966)
* ''
Sinatra at the Sands'' with
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
(Reprise, 1966)
* ''
Basie's Beatle Bag'' (Verve, 1966)
* ''
Basie Swingin' Voices Singin''' with the Alan Copeland Singers (ABC–Paramount, 1966)
* ''
Broadway Basie's...Way'' (Command, 1966)
* ''
Hollywood...Basie's Way'' (Command, 1967)
* ''
Basie's Beat'' (Verve, 1967)
* ''
Basie's in the Bag
''Basie's in the Bag'' is an album by pianist and bandleader Count Basie and Count Basie Orchestra, His Orchestra featuring performances of contemporary popular tunes recorded in 1967 and released on the Brunswick Records, Brunswick label. '' (
Brunswick, 1967)
* ''
The Happiest Millionaire'' (Coliseum, 1967)
* ''
Half a Sixpence'' (
Dot, 1967)
* ''
The Board of Directors'' with
The Mills Brothers (Dot, 1967)
* ''
Manufacturers of Soul'' with
Jackie Wilson (Brunswick, 1968)
* ''
The Board of Directors Annual Report'' with The Mills Brothers (Dot, 1968)
* ''
Basie Straight Ahead'' (Dot, 1968)
* ''
How About This'' with
Kay Starr (
Paramount, 1968)
* ''
Standing Ovation'' (Dot, 1969)
* ''
Basic Basie'' (
MPS, 1969)
* ''
Basie on the Beatles'' (Happy Tiger, 1969)
* ''
High Voltage
High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant sp ...
'' (MPS, 1970)
* ''
Loose Walk'' with
Roy Eldridge (
Pablo, 1972)
* ''
Satch and Josh'' (with
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 ...
) (Pablo, 1974)
* ''
Kansas City 8: Get Together'' (Pablo, 1979)
* ''
Me and You'' (Pablo, 1983)
* ''
Mostly Blues...and Some Others'' (Pablo, 1983)
* ''
The Original American Decca Recordings'' (
GRP, 1992) – rec. 1937–1939
* ''
Live at the Sands (Before Frank)'' (Reprise, 1998) – rec. 1966
With
Buck Clayton
* ''
The Huckle-Buck and Robbins' Nest'' (Columbia, 1954)
* ''
How Hi the Fi'' (Columbia, 1954)
* ''
Jumpin' at the Woodside'' (Columbia, 1955)
* ''
All the Cats Join In'' (Columbia, 1956)
With
Al Cohn
* ''
The Natural Seven'' (RCA Victor, 1955)
* ''
That Old Feeling'' (RCA Victor, 1955)
* ''
Four Brass One Tenor'' (RCA Victor, 1955)
With
Harry Edison
* ''
The Swinger'' (Verve, 1958)
* ''
Harry Edison Swings Buck Clayton'' (Verve, 1958)
With
Paul Quinichette
* ''
For Basie'' (Prestige, 1957)
* ''
Basie Reunion'' (Prestige, 1958)
* ''
Like Basie!'' (United Artists, 1959)
With
Joe Newman
* ''
All I Wanna Do Is Swing'' (RCA Victor, 1955)
* ''
I'm Still Swinging'' (RCA Victor, 1955)
* ''
Salute to Satch'' (RCA Victor, 1956)
* ''
I Feel Like a Newman'' (
Storyville, 1956)
* ''
The Midgets'' (Vik, 1956)
* ''
Joe Newman with Woodwinds'' (Roulette, 1958)
With
Sarah Vaughan
* ''
Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi'' (
Columbia, 1949)
* ''
No Count Sarah'' (with the
Count Basie Orchestra) (
EmArcy, 1958)
* ''
Count Basie/Sarah Vaughan'' (with the
Count Basie Orchestra) (Roulette, 1961)
* ''
Send in the Clowns'' (with the
Count Basie Orchestra) (Pablo, 1981)
With others
*
Lorez Alexandria, ''
Early in the Morning'' (Argo, 1960)
*
George Benson, ''
20/20'' (Warner Bros., 1985)
*
Bob Brookmeyer and
Zoot Sims, ''
Stretching Out'' (United Artists, 1958)
*
Judy Carmichael, ''Two–Handed Stride'' (
Progressive, 1982)
*
Ray Charles, ''
Genius + Soul = Jazz'' (Impulse, 1961)
*
Al Grey, ''
The Thinking Man's Trombone'' (Argo, 1960)
*
Coleman Hawkins, ''
The Saxophone Section'' (World Wide, 1958)
*
Jo Jones, ''
The Main Man'' (Pablo, 1977)
*
Gerry Mulligan, ''
The Gerry Mulligan Songbook'' (
World Pacific, 1957)
*
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...
, ''
Big Band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
'' (Clef, 1954)
*
Buddy Rich, ''
The Wailing Buddy Rich'' (
Norgran, 1955)
*
Charlie Rouse and Paul Quinichette, ''
The Chase Is On'' (
Bethlehem, 1958)
*
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
, ''
Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First'' (Reprise, 1962)
* Frank Sinatra, ''
It Might as Well Be Swing'' (Reprise, 1964)
*
Sonny Stitt
Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his era, recording over ...
, ''
Sonny Stitt Plays Arrangements from the Pen of Quincy Jones'' (
Roost, 1955)
* Sonny Stitt, ''
Sonny Stitt Plays'' (Roost, 1955)
*
Teri Thornton, ''
Devil May Care'' (
Riverside, 1961)
*
The Manhattan Transfer, ''
Vocalese'' (Atlantic, 1985)
*
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, ''
Clean Head's Back in Town'' (Bethlehem, 1957)
*
Big Joe Turner
Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...
, ''
The Boss of the Blues'' (Atlantic, 1956)
* Big Joe Turner, ''Big Joe Rides Again'' (Atlantic, 1960)
*
Frank Wess, ''
Opus in Swing'' (Savoy, 1956)
* Frank Wess, ''
Jazz for Playboys'' (Savoy, 1957)
References
External links
*
Freddie Green recordingsat the
Discography of American Historical Recordings.
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Freddie
1911 births
1987 deaths
African-American jazz guitarists
American male guitarists
American jazz guitarists
Count Basie Orchestra members
Musicians from Charleston, South Carolina
Swing guitarists
20th-century American musicians
Guitarists from South Carolina
20th-century American guitarists
American male jazz musicians
20th-century American male musicians