THE LATINIZATION OF BUNKY GREEN
1972 LABEL CADET
01 Let Me Go
02.feeling good
03.how's your mambo
04.song for my parentes
05 - Song For My Parents
06.guajira con cha-cha-cha
07 Fast 'n' Foxy.mp3
08 Do It Like You Feel It
Personal
Vocals By The Bells (except*) Bunky Green. Alto
And Veritone Sax, Larry Boyle, Trombone, Bob Ojeda,
Valve Trombone, Arthur Hoyle, Trumpet, Antonio Castro,
Piano, Tony La Rosa,
Electronic Bass, Willie Negron, Congas Vitin Santiago
Oijdo And Ramos , Timbales.
Recording Engineer Doud Brand
Cover Photo And Design Esmond Edwards
Album Production and Supervision Esmand Edwards
Chess/ Janus Records, A division of Git Corporation
1301 Avenue Of the Americas New York NY 10019
Also Avaliable con GRT 8 Track Stereo Napes and Cassettes
Printed In U.S.A.
Vernice "Bunky" Green (born Apr. 23rd, 1935) is a
product of Wisconsin, where he was raised and
learned to play the alto saxophone. His first big
break came when Charles Mingus briefly hired him in
the '60s—an association that left a lasting
influence on Green's own style.
Green left Mingus to relocate in Chicago where he
performed regularly, appearing with such players as
Sonny Stitt, Yusef Lateef and Louie Bellson among
others. His style was ever-evolving and succeeded in
integrating traditional and contemporary improvising
techniques. Green has a list of wide-ranging musical
heroes that he credits for his development: Bach,
Beethoven, Coltrane, Chopin and Louis Armstrong. But
Green says, "Bird was my original hero. He used to
tell me to keep my ears open and keep moving
forward."
For a while, moving forward for Green was performing
but by the early '70s, he was turning his attention
to jazz education. After teaching at Chicago State
University from 1972-89, he accepted the position of
Director of Jazz Studies at the University of
Northern Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville where he is
currently ensconced. Green also was president of the
now-defunct International Association for Jazz
Education (IAJE) and his work in jazz education
earned him election to the Jazz Education Hall of
Fame.
Green's focus on education was a conscious choice.
"I had gotten tired of traveling and really wanted
to concentrate on education because you have to
really go beyond just performing." Green's love of
teaching is apparent as he speaks of guiding his
students and learning from them as well. "I learned
in the streets and I still think the real school is
still in the streets," but he feels that the jazz
programs in the schools lay the foundation for the
"on-the-job-training" that should follow.
Even with his focus on teaching, Green managed to
maintain a recording presence during the '60s-80s.
He worked with Sonny Stitt (Soul in the Night) and
Elvin Jones (Time Capsule and Summit Meeting).
Notable among his releases during this period is his
1989 album Healing the Pain (Delos)—a moving piece
of work commemorating the death of his parents. His
most current recording is The Salzau Quartet Live at
Jazz Baltica (Traumton).
This brings Green to the present point in his
career. "I started traveling again in 2006 just to
plug into the system. They want to know that you're
still part of it." Green has been back and forth
across the pond many times since then and is well
known in Germany and France. This return to
performing has led to his two-night stand this month
at Jazz Standard, Speaking about this, Green's voice
was full of excitement, energy and smiles about
playing in New York City again. He recalls that the
last time he performed in New York City was at
Birdland about two years ago, but before then it was
way back when he was working with Mingus.
On the upcoming gig he shares the bandstand with
fellow alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. This
event has been long in coming; as Mahanthappa tells
the story, he first heard about Green as a student
at Berklee, tracked him down at UNF and sent him a
tape of his playing. Mahanthappa recalls that Green
"called back a few weeks later with some really
supportive and encouraging feedback." A few years
later when Mahanthappa was a graduate student at
DePaul University in Chicago, Green attended a
concert, came backstage and "gave me a big hug" and
said that we needed to continue doing what we do in
order to take the alto saxophone into the future.
Green and Mahanthappa have been friends ever since
and finally had a chance to play together at the
same 2008 Jazz Baltica Festival. The next
opportunity for them to perform together came in
2009 when Mahanthappa organized a concert for the
City of Chicago. Since both of them had lived in
Chicago at some point in their individual lives, it
seemed appropriate for them to join forces.
Fast forward to April in New York City and more
performing for this duo. This time, however, the
group will go into the studio to record so that the
music can be captured on a CD. At this stage in his
ongoing career, Green has arrived at an enviable
place: teaching at an institution which allows him
to take time out to travel and satisfy his love for
performing. Ah.... the best of all possible
worlds!!!
