Ted Greene

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Ted Greene (American football), Ted Green, or Theodore F
. Green.
Ted Greene
TedGreene-2.jpg
Background information
Born
September 26, 1946
Died
July 23, 2005 (aged 58)
Genres Rock, blues-rock, blues, Jazz
Occupation(s) Musician,
Associated acts Bluesberry Jam, Fito de la Parra, The Nomads, The Purple Gang,
Notable instruments
Guitar
Theodore "Ted" Greene (September 26, 1946
July 23, 2005) was an American fingers
tyle jazz guitarist, music columnist, and music educator active in Encino, Calif
ornia.
Contents [hide]
1
Career
1.1
Early days
1.2
Later
2
Further
3
Discography
4
Publications
5
References
6
External links
Career[edit]
Early days[edit]
Greene began his own guitar studies at the age of 11, and was an accomplished pl
ayer while still in high school, occasionally collaborating with local R&B and B
lues Rock groups.
He briefly studied accounting at Cal State Northridge, but dropped out to devote
all of his energies to music.
In the 1960s he was a member of the rock band Natural Selection[1] and a blues r
ock group called Bluesberry Jam,[2] whose ranks also included future Canned Heat
drummer Fito de la Parra.[3] He was a friend and collaborator with Joseph Byrd,
on whose Columbia Masterworks album The American Metaphysical Circus he was fea
tured (he also provided the whimsical name of the studio band who performed it,
"The Field Hippies"). During the late 1960s and early 1970s he did commercial st
udio work with Byrd. He was again called on in 1977 to provide guitar tablature
for three arrangements of Bix Beiderbecke's piano music for the Ry Cooder album
Jazz, which Byrd arranged and produced.
Later[edit]
While Greene is often regarded as a jazz musician, he played many musical styles
. He was known to guitarists due to his role as a music educator, which included
private teaching, seminars at the Guitar Institute of Technology, columns for G
uitar Player magazine, and his series of instructional books on guitar harmony,
chord melody and single-note soloing. A voracious reader of almost any book on m
usic theory, especially from the common practice period (circa 1600 1900) he disti
lled very complex concepts regarding the structure of western music, and would w
rite out more accessible versions for students to understand (handed out to stud
ents in the form of lesson "sheets"), often applying keyboard concepts to the gu
itar. For example, many transcriptions of the Chorals of J. S. Bach would be rewritten for guitar, along with useful analysis applicable to any musical setting
, such as jazz and other styles.

He would also make occasional live appearances at clubs in the San Fernando Vall
ey, usually playing a Fender Telecaster.
Greene typically worked as a vocal accompanist, which he preferred because he fo
und group settings restrictive. While he was a sought-after session player, he d
erived much of his income from tutoring. He wrote four books on the subject of j
azz guitar performance and theory: Chord Chemistry, Modern Chord Progressions: J
azz and Classical Voicings for Guitar, and the two-volume Jazz Guitar: Single No
te Soloing.
His playing style included techniques such as harp-like harmonic arpeggios, comb
ined with gentle, tasteful neck vibrato, creating a "shimmer" to his sound. Othe
r notable techniques included playing songs with a "walking bass" line with simu
ltaneous melodies. Greene used counterpoint to improvise in a variety of styles,
such as playing a jazz standard such as Autumn Leaves in Baroque style. He used
a large variety of chord voicings, often creating the effect of two simultaneou
s players.
He recorded one album, Solo Guitar, in 1977, and although respected by guitarist
s, he was not well known to the public. The recording, originally released in 19
77 on PMP Records, contains no "over dubbing" (recording on multiple tracks). Gu
itar virtuoso Steve Vai has praised Greene's musical knowledge and perceptivenes
s on this recording, stating that Greene "is totally in touch with the potential
of harmonic constructions" which allows him to create an "organic and inspired
listening delight."[4] Josh Gordon, in Just Jazz Guitar Magazine, stated that th
e recording has a "feeling of perfect proportion" and a "full spectrum of emotio
n and harmonic vision." Steven Rosenberg, in the Los Angeles Daily newspaper, st
ated "Greene managed to raise the bar for solo guitar."[5]
Greene helped Fender design a 1952 Telecaster vintage reissue (their first such
reissue) by making reference to his collection of old Telecasters, Broadcasters
and Nocasters. Greene died in his apartment in Encino of a heart attack at the a
ge of 58. Over 700 of his family, friends, former students and other musicians a
ttended his memorial. Greene is survived by his brother Ron and sister Linda. Hi
s longtime life partner, Barbara Franklin, organized and archived many of his wr
itten notes on music and guitar playing after he died. In 2009 she wrote a biogr
aphy on Ted, My Life with The Chord Chemist: A Memoir of Ted Greene, Apotheosis
of Solo Guitar. She died on August 13, 2011.
Further[edit]
Ted Greene was held in high esteem and as a result an independent record label E
l Dorado Records was created in his honor.[6]
Discography[edit]
Ted Greene-"Solo Guitar" Art of Life AL1011-2 (1977)
Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies
The American Metaphysical Circus (1969)
Publications[edit]
Greene, Ted. Chord Chemistry, Alfred Publishing Company ISBN 0-89898-696-6
Greene, Ted. Modern Chord Progressions, Alfred Publishing Company ISBN 0-89898-6
98-2
Greene, Ted. Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing, Volume 1, Alfred Publishing Compan
y ISBN 0-7692-0972-6
Greene, Ted. Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing, Volume 2, Alfred Publishing Compan
y ISBN 0-7692-1282-4
My Life with The Chord Chemist: A Memoir of Ted Greene, Apotheosis of Solo Guita
r by Barbara Franklin ISBN 1-4495-7557-9
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Will Jackson [Facebook]
Jump up ^ Pacific Gas & Electric website Brent's Page
Jump up ^ Happy Trailers HD "Made in Mexico, from Evolution to Revolution" Press

Release
Jump up ^ Ted Greene-"Solo Guitar" Art of Life AL1011-2
Jump up ^ Ted Greene-"Solo Guitar" Art of Life AL1011-2
Jump up ^ El Dorado Records About Us
External links[edit]
TedGreene.com
A website for Ted
A wordpress archive for Ted
Rare Videos
Ted Greene Forums
My Life with The Chord Chemist: A Memoir of Ted Greene, Apotheosis of Solo Guita
r by Barbara Franklin Publication Date: Nov 24 2009
A blogspot tribute page
Obituary from the Los Angeles Times
Ted Greene Interview with Jim Carlton
Ted Greene Guitar Player Tribute
November 2005
Modern Guitars Magazine Ted Greene Tribute
Guitar Teacher Magazine Ted Greene Tribute
Ted Greene Photos
Ted Greene Performance Part I on YouTube
Ted Greene Performance Part II on YouTube
Ted Greene Book Editions by Dale Zdenek, the original publisher of Greene's book
s.
Ted Greene Memorial Page by Dan Sindel
[1] by John March