Burton Greene
Encyclopedia
Burton Greene is a free jazz
pianist
born in Chicago, Illinois, though most known for his work in New York City
. He has explored a variety of genres, including avant-garde jazz
and the Klezmer
medium.
scene, gigging with well-known musicians which included Alan Silva
and Marion Brown
, among a host of others. With Alan Silva he formed the Free Form Improvisation Ensemble in 1963. He joined Bill Dixon
's and Cecil Taylor
's Jazz Composers Guild in 1964, and also played with a number of other artists, including Rashied Ali
, Albert Ayler
, Gato Barbieri
, Byard Lancaster
, Sam Rivers
, Patty Waters
, and others. During this time, he recorded two albums under his own name for ESP-Disk
.
He moved to Europe in 1969, first to Paris.
Since then he has been living in Amsterdam
and played with such Dutch musicians as Maarten Altena and Willem Breuker
. During the late 1980s he began exploring the Klezmer
tradition in his groups Klezmokum (along with Perry Robinson
), Klez-thetics, and a more recent group called Klez-Edge with vocalist Marek Balata. Klez-Edge has a recent recording Ancestors, Mindreles, NaGila Monsters (2008) out on John Zorn's Tzadik label. A duet with Perry Robinson, also on the Tzadik label, Two Voices in the Desert was released in January 2009.
Since the mid-1990s Greene has often performed and recorded in New York and along the East Coast. Greene’s recent performance and recorded groups based in New York include a duet with bassist Mark Dresser; a quartet with trumpeter Roy Campbell, Lou Grassi and Adam Lane; a trio with Ed and George Schuller on bass and drums (recorded on the CIMP label); and a quintet with the Schuller brothers, Russ Nolan on saxes and flute and Paul Smoker on trumpet. His autobiography written over 20 years, Memoirs of A Musical Pesty-Mystic, was published in 2001 (Cadence Jazz Books).
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
born in Chicago, Illinois, though most known for his work in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He has explored a variety of genres, including avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. Avant-jazz often sounds very similar to free jazz, but differs in that, despite its distinct departure from traditional harmony, it has a predetermined structure over which ...
and the Klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
medium.
Biography
Greene rose to popularity during the 1960s on New York's free jazzFree jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
scene, gigging with well-known musicians which included Alan Silva
Alan Silva
Alan Silva is an American free jazz double bassist and keyboard player.-Biography:...
and Marion Brown
Marion Brown
Marion Brown was a jazz alto saxophonist and ethnomusicologist. He is most well known as a member of the 1960s avant-garde jazz scene in New York City, playing alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and John Tchicai...
, among a host of others. With Alan Silva he formed the Free Form Improvisation Ensemble in 1963. He joined Bill Dixon
Bill Dixon
Bill Dixon was an American musician, composer, visual artist, and educator. Dixon was one of the seminal figures in the free jazz movement. He played the trumpet, flugelhorn, and piano, often using electronic delay and reverberation as part of his trumpet playing.-Biography:Dixon hailed from...
's and Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...
's Jazz Composers Guild in 1964, and also played with a number of other artists, including Rashied Ali
Rashied Ali
Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson was an American free jazz and avant-garde jazz drummer best known for playing with John Coltrane in the last years of Coltrane's life.-Biography:...
, Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
, Gato Barbieri
Gato Barbieri
Leandro Barbieri , better known as Gato Barbieri , is an Argentinean jazz tenor saxophonist and composer who rose to fame during the free jazz movement in the 1960s and from his latin jazz recordings in the 1970s.-Biography:Born to a family of musicians, Barbieri began playing music...
, Byard Lancaster
Byard Lancaster
Byard Lancaster is a jazz multi-instrumentalist whose primary instrument is the alto saxophone. He attended two colleges, one of them for music, before eventually deciding to pursue an education at the Berklee College of Music, then moving to New York...
, Sam Rivers
Sam Rivers
Samuel Carthorne Rivers , is an American jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....
, Patty Waters
Patty Waters
Patty Waters is a jazz vocalist, best known for her free jazz recordings in the 1960s for the ESP-Disk label. Although she has rarely recorded since then, she is more and more recognized as a vocal innovator whose influence extends beyond jazz....
, and others. During this time, he recorded two albums under his own name for ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk is a New York-based record label, founded in 1964 by lawyer Bernard Stollman.From the beginning, the label's goal has been to provide its recording artists with complete artistic freedom, unimpeded by any record company interference or commercial expectations—a philosophy summed-up by the...
.
He moved to Europe in 1969, first to Paris.
Since then he has been living in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and played with such Dutch musicians as Maarten Altena and Willem Breuker
Willem Breuker
Willem Breuker was a Dutch jazz bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and bass clarinetist....
. During the late 1980s he began exploring the Klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
tradition in his groups Klezmokum (along with Perry Robinson
Perry Robinson
Perry Morris Robinson is an American jazz clarinetist and composer. He is the son of the noted composer Earl Robinson. -Biography:...
), Klez-thetics, and a more recent group called Klez-Edge with vocalist Marek Balata. Klez-Edge has a recent recording Ancestors, Mindreles, NaGila Monsters (2008) out on John Zorn's Tzadik label. A duet with Perry Robinson, also on the Tzadik label, Two Voices in the Desert was released in January 2009.
Since the mid-1990s Greene has often performed and recorded in New York and along the East Coast. Greene’s recent performance and recorded groups based in New York include a duet with bassist Mark Dresser; a quartet with trumpeter Roy Campbell, Lou Grassi and Adam Lane; a trio with Ed and George Schuller on bass and drums (recorded on the CIMP label); and a quintet with the Schuller brothers, Russ Nolan on saxes and flute and Paul Smoker on trumpet. His autobiography written over 20 years, Memoirs of A Musical Pesty-Mystic, was published in 2001 (Cadence Jazz Books).
Discography
- 1964: The Free Form Improvisation Ensemble
- 1965: Burton Greene Quartet
- 1969: Aquariana (BYG ActuelBYG ActuelBYG Actuel was a French record label specializing in free jazz. The label also released a small number of non-jazz recordings by artists such as Musica Elettronica Viva, Freedom and Gong.-History:...
) - 1978: Structures: The N.B.G. Trio Live (Circle Records (Germany)Circle Records (Germany)Circle Records was an Germany based record label specializing in jazz, established in 1976. -Discography:Circle Records was an Germany based record label specializing in jazz, established in 1976. -Discography:...
) - 1978: European Heritage (Circle)
- 1992: Klezmokum: Ancient & Newer Roots
- 1994: Klezmokum: Jew-azzic Park
- 1998: Klezmokum: Re-Jew-venation
- 2004: Solo Piano: Live at Grasland
- 2006: Burton Greene Trio: Ins and Outs
External links
- Burton Greene Profile jazz.com
- http://www.burtongreene.com
- http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/interviews/greene.html
- http://centerstage.net/music/whoswho/NaradaBurtonGreene.html