Urbie Green

Urban Clifford "Urbie" Green August 8 1926 – December 31 2018 Was An American Jazz Trombonist Who Toured With Woody Herman Gene Krupa Jan Savitt And Frankie Carle. He Played On Over 250 Recordings And Released More Than Two Dozen Albums As A Soloist And Was Highly Respected By His Fellow Trombonists. Green's Trombone Sound Was Especially Noted For Its Warm Mellow Tone Even In The Higher Registers Where He Was More Fluent Than Most Trombonists. His Technique Was Considered Flawless By Many In The Music Industry And Has Appeared In Major Jazz Festivals Motion Pictures Concert Halls Nightclubs Radio Television And The White House. He Was Inducted Into The Alabama Jazz Hall Of Fame In 1995. Born In Mobile Alabama Green Was Taught The Piano As A Child By His Mother Jazz And Popular Tunes From The Beginning. He Picked Up The Trombone Which Both Older Brothers Played When He Was About 12. Although He Listened To Such Trombone Greats As Tommy Dorsey J. C. Higginbotham Jack Jenney Jack Teagarden And Trummy Young He Has Said That He Was More Influenced By The Styles Of Dizzy Gillespie Charlie Parker And Lester Young. Urbie's Trombone Style Was Also Influenced By Vocalists Such As Perry Como And The Vocal Style Of Louis Armstrong. Green's Father Died When He Was 15 And Urbie Went Straight Into Professional Music First Joining The Tommy Reynolds Band In California Before Moving On To Stints With Bob Strong Jan Savitt And Frankie Carle. Green Also Played With The Auburn Knights Orchestra A College Big Band Based In Auburn Alabama While Attending Auburn High School. In 1947 Green Joined Gene Krupa's Band And Quickly Moved Up To Woody Herman's Third "Thundering Herd" Big Band In 1950 To Play With His Brother Jack. His Soaring Ballad Style Was Featured On Such Solos As Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark" And Provided A Contrast To Herman's Previous First Herd Rough-And-Ready Trombone Star Bill Harris. In 1953 He Moved To New York City Quickly Establishing Himself As The Premier Trombonist In The Booming Recording Industry And In 1954 He Was Voted The "New Star" Trombonist In The International Critics Poll From Down Beat Magazine. His Style Was Not As Blues-Influenced As Others In That He Was Among The Few Players Who Commanded The High Tessitura Favored By Glenn Miller Tommy Dorsey And Jack Jenney With An Agility That Was Not Shown By These Previous Trombonists In Their Recordings. Some Of His Solos Provided The Highlights On One-Hit Wonder Albums From Verve Records Such As That Of Organist Walter Wanderly As Well As Established Artists Like Herbie Mann. He Recorded With Virtually All Of The Major Jazz Musicians Of The 1950s And 1960s And Led His Own Groups While Also Joining Tours As A Featured Performer Including A Three-Month Tour Leading The Benny Goodman Orchestra And Fronting The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra After Dorsey's Death In 1956. He Collaborated With Innovative Producer Enoch Light For The Command And Project 3 Labels Producing What Are Probably His Most Notable Recordings Such As The Two-Volume Sets The Persuasive Trombone Of Urbie Green And 21 Trombones. Furthermore He Was Sideman And Soloist On The Album Project "'s Continental" By Ray Conniff And His Orchestra & Chorus 1961 . The 1980s And Beyond Saw A Slowing Down Of Urbie Green's Recording Career. Both Albums Recorded By Him During This Period Are Live Straight Jazz Works Just Friends And Sea Jam Blues. He Spent His Later Life With His Second Wife Kathy A Jazz Singer At Their Home In The Poconos Region Of Pennsylvania. The Couple Have Two Children Jesse And Casey. Jesse Is A Jazz Pianist And Lives Nearby While Casey Is A TV / Film Director / Producer In Los Angeles California. Urbie's First Wife Was Darlein Dietz And They Had Two Children Urban Clifford Green Jr. And James Preston Green. Urban Has A Daughter Gretchen Alexandra Pöelker-Green Who Lives In Sea Cliff New York. James Lives In Tallahassee Florida And Has A Son Named Vincent. In 1995 He Was Elected Into The Alabama Jazz Hall Of Fame. Urbie Green Continued Playing Live At The Delaware Water Gap Celebration Of The Arts COTA Festival Every September Into The Last Years Of His Life Just Miles Down The Road From His Home. Green's Obituary Was Published In The Pocono Record. Discography As Leader
1953New Faces New Sounds Blue Note 1954Urbie Green Septet Blue Note 1954Urbie Green And His Band Vanguard 1954 A Cool Yuletide X 1955Blues And Other Shades Of Green ABC-Paramount 1955The Melodic Tones Of Urbie Green Bethlehem 1955East Coast Jazz Volume 6 Bethlehem 1955The Lyrical Language Of Urbie Green Bethlehem 1955The Melodic Tones Of Urbie Green Vanguard 1955Blues And Other Shades Of Green Paramount 1956 All About Urbie Green And His Big Band ABC-Paramount 1957Urbie Green Octet / Slidin' Swing Jazztone 1957Let's Face The Music And Dance RCA 1958Best Of New Broadway Show Hits RCA 1960The Persuasive Trombone Of Urbie Green Command 1961The Persuasive Trombone Of Urbie Green Volume 2 Command 1963Urbie Green And His 6-Tet. Command 196721 Trombones Project 3 1971Green Power Project 3 1972Bein' Green Project 3 1973 Old Time Modern RCA Recorded In 1954 197321 Trombones Volume 2 Project 3 1974Urbie Green's Big Beautiful Band Project 3 1976The Fox CTI 1977Señor Blues CTI 1978Live At Rick's Cafe American Flying Fish 1981Just Friends EJ 1995Sea Jam Blues Chiaroscuro As Sideman
With Manny Albam The Drum Suite RCA Victor 1956 With Ernie Wilkins
Jazz Goes To The Movies Impulse! 1963 With Steve Allen Jazz For Tonight Coral 1955 With Trigger Alpert Trigger Happy! Riverside 1956 With The Count Basie Orchestra This Time By Basie! Reprise 1963 Ella And Basie! Verve 1963 Basie Land Verve 1964 With Ruth Brown Ruth Brown '65 Mainstream 1965 With Ray Bryant Madison Time Columbia 1960 With Kenny Burrell Blues - The Common Ground Verve 1968 Night Song Verve 1969 With Ron Carter Parade Milestone 1979 With Buck Clayton
The Huckle-Buck And Robbins' Nest Columbia 1954 How Hi The Fi Columbia 1954 Jumpin' At The Woodside Columbia 1955 All The Cats Join In Columbia 1956 With Al Cohn Son Of Drum Suite RCA Victor 1960 With Ray Conniff 's Continental Columbia 1961 With Paul Desmond Summertime A&M/CTI 1968 With Bill Evans Symbiosis MPS 1974 With Gil Evans Into The Hot Impulse! 1961 With Art Farmer Listen To Art Farmer And The Orchestra Mercury 1962 With Maynard Ferguson The Blues Roar Mainstream 1965 With Aretha Franklin Soul '69 Atlantic 1969 With Dizzy Gillespie Gillespiana Verve 1960 Perceptions Verve 1961 With Johnny Griffin White Gardenia Riverside 1961 With Coleman Hawkins
The Hawk In Hi Fi RCA Victor 1956 Wrapped Tight Impulse! 1965 With Billie Holiday Lady In Satin Columbia 1958 With Bobby Hutcherson Conception The Gift Of Love Columbia 1979 With Milt Jackson Ray Brown / Milt Jackson With Ray Brown Verve 1965 With Antonio Carlos Jobim Wave CTI 1967 Stone Flower CTI 1970 With J. J. Johnson J.J.'s Broadway Verve 1963 With Quincy Jones The Birth Of A Band! Mercury 1959 The Great Wide World Of Quincy Jones Mercury 1959 Quincy Jones Explores The Music Of Henry Mancini Mercury 1964 Quincy Plays For Pussycats Mercury 1959-65 1965 With Irene Kral SteveIreneo! United Artists 1959 With Mundell Lowe Themes From Mr. Lucky The Untouchables And Other TV Action Jazz RCA Camden 1960 Satan In High Heels Soundtrack Charlie Parker 1961 With Herbie Mann Sultry Serenade Riverside 1957 Salute To The Flute Epic 1957 With Carmen McRae Something To Swing About Kapp 1959 With Gil Mellé Gil Mellé Quintet With Urbie Green And Tal Farlow Blue Note 1953 With Blue Mitchell Smooth As The Wind Riverside 1961 With Wes Montgomery Movin' Wes Verve 1964 With Mark Murphy Rah! Riverside 1961 With Oliver Nelson Impressions Of Phaedra United Artists Jazz 1962 The Spirit Of '67 With Pee Wee Russell Impulse! 1967 With Joe Newman I'm Still Swinging RCA Victor 1955 Salute To Satch RCA Victor 1956 With Chico O'Farrill Nine Flags Impulse! 1966 With Glenn Osser In My Merry Oldsmobile DaJon 1964 With Henri Rene Compulsion To Swing RCA Victor 1959 With Lalo Schifrin New Fantasy Verve 1964 The Dissection And Reconstruction Of Music From The Past As Performed By The Inmates Of Lalo Schifrin's Demented Ensemble As A Tribute To The Memory Of The Marquis De Sade Verve 1966 Towering Toccata CTI 1976 With Shirley Scott Great Scott!! Impulse! 1964 With Frank Sinatra L.A. Is My Lady Qwest 1984 With Jimmy Smith Bashin' The Unpredictable Jimmy Smith Verve 1962 The Cat Verve 1964 With Sonny Stitt The Matadors Meet The Bull Roulette 1965 I Keep Comin' Back! Roulette 1966 With Stanley Turrentine Nightwings Fantasy 1977 With Walter Wanderley Rain Forest Verve 1966 With Dinah Washington The Swingin' Miss "D" EmArcy 1956 With Joe Wilder The Pretty Sound Columbia 1959 With Kai Winding More Brass Verve 1966 Dirty Dog Verve 1966 With Steve Lawrence Swingin' West read less