June 2001

Philly Jazz
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By Donald True Van Deusen

Eddie Green, is a protean piano player, who can serve majestically as king of the keyboard. He looks like an ebony William Faulkner with his silver hair and chiseled features and plays bop, blues and ballads with awesome talent. He is a Philadelphia-area (Willow Grove) native and has worked with the best in the business--Dexter Gordon, Slide Hampton, Max Roach, Donald Byrd, Hank Crawford, Lou Rawls, Jimmy Scott, Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Criss and Pat Martino, among others.

Green is on more than 50 different albums including two gold record gems--Lou Rawls "When You've Heard It All" and the supreme single hit by Billy Paul, "Me and Mrs. Jones." He has backed up top local and national singers (Etta Jones, Rochelle Ferrelle, Ms Justine) with superb taste. Sunday, he has a regular gig with his quartet at Joseph Ambler Inn, 1005 Horesham Road, Montgomeryville, Pa., from 5 to 9 p.m. (215) 362-7500.

Apart from his technical virtuosity, there is a delightfully playful potential in Green's work when trading choruses with others. The first time I heard him play, some ten years ago at the old Blue Note, he would go through marvelous exchanges with Tony Williams that were a shear delight. He and Williams, incidentally, went to Abington High School together.

A neat package of Green's towering talent can be found in the CD, "This One's For You," from the appropriately named Dreambox Media. He is backed beautifully by the towering trio of bassist Tyrone Brown, drummer Jim Miller and William "Duke" Wilson on percussion. Numbers include everything from the traditional song book selection of "All the Things You Are" to Horace Silver's, "Silver Serenade" plus some very fine original pieces such as the title track.

Winner of various jazz prizes, such as the Mill Creek Jazz and Cultural Society 1994 "Readers Choice" Award, Green is something of a Philadelphia prize himself.