Jimmy Greene

Review:

This is the eighty fifth in a series of special Jazz on the Tube reviews of live stream performances.

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Jimmy Greene has been an important tenor-saxophonist since at least 1996 when he was the first runner-up in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition.

Since that time, he has become an Associate Professor of Music and Co-Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Western State University, led eight albums of his own, and made an impact on the modern jazz scene.

Playing unaccompanied saxophone and keeping it interesting can be difficult, but if one has a very attractive tone, is expert at pacing and dynamics, and has the ability to caress melodies while stretching the music, then it can be successful.

On his June 13, 2020 LiveStream, Jimmy Greene plays an original as a solo piece on tenor, performs on soprano over prerecorded electronic tracks to create colorful music on the second number, uses a rhythmic riff as the basis for the next piece, and finally creates a beautiful saxophone quartet for the finale, “Lift Every Voice And Sing.”

– Scott Yanow