Urbie Green RIP...

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

"Urban Clifford "Urbie" Green

December 31, 2018

Jazz trombone virtuoso, Urban Clifford "Urbie" Green, 92, passed away on Monday, Dec. 31, 2018, at Saucon Valley Manor, Hellertown. He was the loving husband of actress and singer Catherine "Kathy" (Prestigiacomo) Green. Born Aug. 8, 1926, in Mobile, Alabama, son of the late Robert Eugene and Aurora (Blanche) Green, Urbie is known as the "trombonist's trombonist" and is considered to be among the elite of the world's trombone players, due to not only his mastery of the instrument, including his smooth, warm, mellow tone, but also his lyrical phrasing and beautiful solos.

By the time he was 16, he was working professionally with Tommy Reynolds' band. Then followed years touring with big bands led by Jan Savitt, Frankie Carle, Gene Krupa and Woody Herman. In October 1950, Urbie became part of Herman's Thundering Herd, and in 1954, won the Down Beat International Critics Award for "New Star...."

I only really know him through seeing his name on countless record dates, but he seems to have been very highly regarded, both as a session player and as a soloist and stylist.

RIP Mr Green.

[Alyn_Shipton]

On of the finest trombonists in all of jazz. We will be remembering him on JRR on 19 Jan. Buck Clayton rated him as one of the best ever, and they worked together on Buck's Jam Sessions for Columbia back in the 50s.

[Serial_Apologist]

I remember the late Paul Rutherford saying Urbie was one of the predecessors whom he especially admired.

[Ian Thumwood]

If you listen to big band jazz you would probably appreciate what a significant trombone player Urbie Green was. When you think of great trombone soloists in Modern Jazz, Green's name was probably only second to J J Johnson in the 50's and 60's. It seems odd to see the list of recording sessions his name appears on when you look on wickipedia as it seems woefully incomplete. He was ubiquitous in the recording studios.

I am aware of his appearances with Buck Clayton but a lot of his work was with larger ensembles and even his own stuff is, I believe, pretty much arranged and well-considered. Strange that someone who appeared on so many records seems to be overlooked on this board. I think you would put most of his output in the category of approachable Modern Jazz and fairly typical of what was happening in the music in the 1950's. However, for anyone familiar with big band jazz in the 1950's, Urbie Green was the stand out soloist on his instrument and probably responsible for taking the kind of technical improvements that were heralded in during the Swing Era by the like of Tommy Dorsey and Jack Jenny in to a more Modern Jazz orientated context. Urbie Green was a major player on his instrument.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

From the Bluenote website...

"A fine jazz player with a beautiful tone who has spent most of his career in the studios, Urbie Green is highly respected by his fellow trombonists. He started playing when he was 12; was with the big bands of Tommy Reynolds, Bob Strong, and Frankie Carle as a teenager; and worked with Gene Krupa during 1947-1950. Green had a stint with Woody Herman's Third Herd, appeared on some of the famous Buck Clayton jam sessions (1953-1954), and was with Benny Goodman off and on during 1955-1957. He played with Count Basie in 1963, and spent a period in the 1960s fronting the Tommy Dorsey ghost band (1966-1967), but has mostly stuck to studio work. Urbie Green recorded frequently as a leader in the 1950s up to 1963 (for Blue Note, Vanguard, Bethlehem, ABC-Paramount, and dance band-oriented records for RCA and Command). He has appeared much less often in jazz settings since then, but did make two albums for CTI in 1976-1977. ~ Scott Yanow"

Interesting that he cut a ten inch album for Bluenote in 1953, "Urbie Green Septet - New Faces". A period when Bluenote featured several white artists in that fashion.