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Lillian "Lil" Green
Lil Green was a dynamic performer and recording artist that enjoyed a short but successful career touring theaters and clubs and recording for major labels as RCA, Aladdin and Atlantic. At the time of her death in 1954, she was only 35. Born in Mississippi but growing up in Chicago, Green began to sing in clubs in the mid-30s. By the end of the decade she was appearing regularly at some of the city’s best-known nightspots, and was recording with artists such as Big Bill Broonzy, who wrote several songs for her, including ‘Country Boy Blues’ and ‘My Mellow Man’. Green composed some well-known songs herself, among them ‘Romance In The Dark’ later covered by Mary Ann McCall, Jeri Southern and Billie Holiday. In the early 40s she toured with Tiny Bradshaw and Luis Russell, and was a big hit in the black theater circuit, as well as on the radio. One of Green’s most popular recordings, “Why Don’t You Do Right" was heard by Peggy Lee, who was then with Benny Goodman And His Orchestra. Their cover version, though pale in comparison, was an enormous hit, thus further shading Green’s fortunes. Although signed by Atlantic Records in 1951, she was in poor health and died in 1954.
Source: James NadalTags
Pianist-singer Kelly Green Honors Her Late Mother On 'Corner Of My Dreams,' Set For August 22 Release By La Reserve Records
Source:
Terri Hinte Publicity
By taking a wistful look backward, Kelly Green takes a tremendous artistic stride forward with her August 22 release of Corner of My Dreams (La Reserve Records/Green Soul Studios). Inspired by and in tribute to her late mother, Green’s fifth album also finds her at the head of an ambitious assemblage. Her working trio with bassist Luca Soul Rosenfeld and drummer Evan Hyde is augmented by an accomplished, all-female string quartet under the leadership of violinist Ludovica Burtone; percussionist Andromeda ...
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Backgrounder: Grant Green and Sonny Clark
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Throughout jazz history, there have been magical pairings of musicians in recording studios. Sometimes the union was established jointly by the two musicians. At other times, producers brought them together. These couplings include Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden, Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Shirley Scott and Stanley Turrentine, Sonny Stitt and Don Patterson, and Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams. Add to the list guitarist Grant Green and pianist Sonny Clark. ...
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Perfection: Urbie Green - Please (1957)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
If you've always wondered what all the fuss was about when jazz talk turns to trombonist Urbie Green, his recording of Please should bring you up to speed. Composed by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger, Please was first recorded by Bing Crosby with Anson Weeks and His Orchestra in 1932. It also was showcased by Crosby in the movie The Big Broadcast (1932), his first role in a feature film. Urbie Green recorded the song in December 1957 on his ...
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Bill Evans: On Green Dolphin Street
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
To the best of my knowledge, there are only 10 known recordings of Bill Evans playing On Green Dolphin Street. Composed in 1947 by Bronisław Kaper (with lyrics by Ned Washington), the song was written for the film Green Dolphin Street, which was based on the 1944 novel of the same name by Elizabeth Goudge. The song suited Evans perfectly. Here are all 10 renditions: Evans first recorded the jazz standard in 1958 with the Miles Davis Sextet, a spectacular ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Grant Green
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Grant Green's birthday today!
Green was born on June 6, 1931 in St. Louis, Missouri. He first performed in a professional setting at the age of 13. His early influences were Charlie Christian and Charlie Parker; however, he played extensive R & B gigs in his home town and in East Saint Louis, IL while developing his jazz chops. His first recordings in St. Louis were with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest for the Delmark label. ...
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Backgrounder: Grant Green, Gooden's Corner
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
If you're new to Grant Green and want to really get a sense of why the guitarist was so special, this week's Backgrounder is for you. Recorded in December 1961, Gooden's Corner was among a bunch of Blue Note albums by Green that weren't released soon after they were recorded. In this album's case, the album didn't come out until 1980. I'm guessing the move had to do with the overdose death of Sonny Clark in January 1963, at age ...
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Benny Green's New Album, 'Solo'
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
What sets Benny Green apart from many jazz pianists today is that he plays with his heart. By this, I don't mean soul. Most jazz pianists play with soul. It comes with the territory. With Benny, you can hear his emotions through his fingers. There's crying in there, bliss, melancholy, elation and wistfulness. On his new album, Solo (Sunnyside), we hear the entire range on 11 smartly chosen songs. Benny's gift is the product of an early start and seasoning ...
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Joanie Pallatto Announces Accidental Melody CD Release Party At Green Mill
Source:
Lampkin Publicity Service
Southport Records is proud to announce a celebration of the release of Award winning singer/songwriter, Joanie Pallatto's newest recording “Accidental Melody," with a party at the well known Chicago nightclub, The Green Mill Jazz Club. Sunday, June 11th. 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $10.00, Available at the Door. Green Mill Jazz Club 4802 N Broadway Chicago, IL 60640 773-878-5552 The Accidental Melody band features: Joanie Pallatto (vocal); Fareed Haque (guitar); Bradley Parker-Sparrow (piano) and Clarenda Gaudio Johnson (sign ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Benny Green
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Benny Green's birthday today!
Born in New York in 1963, Benny Green grew up in Berkeley, California, and began classical piano studies at the age of seven. Influenced by his father, a tenor saxophonist, his attention soon turned into Jazz: “I began trying to improvise on the piano, imitating the records I'd been hearing from my father's collection, which included a lot of Monk and Bird… it was a gradual process of teaching myself". Benny ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Lil Hardin Armstrong
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Lil Hardin Armstrong's birthday today!
Lil Hardin helped introduce America to jazz music. She was a dedicated jazz pianist, who established a reputation as “Hot Miss Lil," one of the few female band ensemble members of the 1920’s. She played on many of the first jazz recordings ever made and she wrote many of the early songs of the jazz era. Though she might be identified in the jazz world as the wife of Louis ...
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