Biography

Freddie Green (1922-1987) mastered rhythm guitar, and defined the sound of big band guitar for generations to come. Green picked up the guitar in his teenage years, and soon began playing around his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. He gained more musical exposure after moving to New York with his aunt, and became a mainstay in The City’s jazz clubs. During one of Green’s gigs at the Black Cat in Manhattan, producer John Hammond noticed his talent, and recommended him to Count Basie. Basie immediately took to Green’s style, and offered Green a spot in his orchestra. Green’s stint with the band started in 1937, and over the next fifty years Green’s way of playing rhythm guitar became a staple of Basie’s sound. Though he used the simple technique of striking chords on every downbeat, Green’s flawless sense of time and nuance in accentuating the right beats effectively held the rhythm section together. Because he did not solo often, Green’s presence was not overly apparent to audiences, but Basie and other musicians lauded him for his timekeeping abilities. Jazz bands around the world now commonly refer to “Freddie Green Comping,” and the style forms the foundation of a quintessential big band sound.