Bunky Green
| Bunky Green | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Vernice Green |
| Born |
April 23, 1935 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, educator |
| Instruments | Alto saxophone |
| Years active | 1940s–1980s |
| Labels | Exodus, Argo, Vanguard, Delos, Pi |
Vernice "Bunky" Green (born April 23, 1935) is an American jazz alto saxophonist and educator.
Green was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he played the alto saxophone, mainly at a local club called "The Brass Rail".
His first big break came when he was hired in New York City by Charles Mingus as a replacement for Jackie McLean in the 1960s. His brief stint with the eccentric bass player made a deep impression. Mingus' sparing use of notation and his belief that there was no such thing as a wrong note had a lasting influence on Green's own style.
The next year, Green moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he appeared with several prominent players including Sonny Stitt, Louie Bellson, Andrew Hill, Yusef Lateef, and Ira Sullivan. Originally strongly influenced by Charlie Parker, Green spent a period reassessing his style and studying, emerging with a highly distinctive sound that has deeply influenced a number of younger saxophonists, including Steve Coleman and Greg Osby.
Green gradually withdrew from the public eye to develop a career as a leading jazz educator. He taught at Chicago State University from 1972–1989, and in the 1990s took up the directorship of the jazz studies program at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, where he taught and acted as chair of Jazz Studies until his retirement in 2011. He has also served a term as the president of the International Association for Jazz Education and been elected to the Jazz Education Hall of Fame.
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