An adept jazz pianist with a deep understanding of the acoustic bebop, hard bop, and post-bop traditions,
Benny Green built upon his early years as a prodigy, maturing into a nuanced and sophisticated virtuoso. Influenced by artists like
Bud Powell,
Wynton Kelly,
Bobby Timmons, and
Oscar Peterson,
Green emerged in the late '80s, garnering praise for his work with veterans like
Betty Carter,
Art Blakey, and
Ray Brown. He has regularly led his own groups, playing with luminaries like
Peter Washington,
Kenny Washington,
Carl Allen, and
Christian McBride, and releasing a bevy of well-regarded albums, including 1993's
That's Right!, 1999's
These Are Soulful Days, and 2011's
Source. While standards and acoustic straight-ahead jazz are his main focus, he has continued to expand his approach, exploring his own inventive compositions on 2013's
Magic Beans, and playing the eclectic Rhodes keyboard on 2020's Benny's Crib.
Born in New York City in 1963,
Green grew up in Berkeley, California where his sculptor/saxophonist father, Bert Green, first introduced him to jazz. From age seven, he studied jazz and classical piano and later honed his skills in the respected jazz program at Berkeley High School. By his teens, he was splitting his time between his school work and regularly gigs at San Francisco's Yoshi's jazz club where he had the opportunity to play with such heavy hitters as
Joe Henderson and
Woody Shaw. After high school, he moved to New York City where paid his dues playing with first with vocalist
Betty Carter (1983-1987) and then joining
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1987-1989), the latter of which helped raise his profile considerably. Other important associations followed, including stints with
Freddie Hubbard and the
Ray Brown Trio alongside bassist
Christian McBride and drummer
Carl Allen. All during his early career,
Green continued to gig with his own groups, often featuring bassist
Peter Washington and drummer
Kenny Washington. In 1988, he made his solo debut on Criss Cross with
Prelude, a hard bop-influenced quintet featuring trumpeter
Terence Blanchard and saxophonist
Javon Jackson. He quickly followed up with the trio date
In This Direction, featuring bassist
Buster Williams and drummer
Lewis Nash.
During the '90s,
Green's star continued to rise as he signed with Blue Note Records and spent the next decade with the label delivering such highly regarded albums as 1990's
Lineage, 1993's
That's Right!, and 1997's
Kaleidoscope. He also paired with his longtime idol,
Oscar Peterson, for 1998's
Oscar and Benny on Telarc. These albums found him working through his influences, embracing urbane swing and stride styles, jazz standards, '60s modalism, and the muscular hard bop of
Blakey and
Horace Silver. He rounded out his association with Blue Note by celebrating the label's 60th anniversary on
These Are Soulful Days, in which picked some of his favorite tunes from the label's catalog, including selections by
Lee Morgan,
Dexter Gordon, and
Joe Henderson.
Green's output slowed somewhat over the next few years as he continued to tour and also began teaching and holding workshops for jazz students. During this period, he delivered a handful of well-curated efforts for Telarc including 2000's
Naturally, 2001's
Green's Blues, and 2004's Bluebird, with oft-collaborator guitarist
Russell Malone. In 2011, he reunited with longtime cohorts
Peter Washington and
Kenny Washington for
Source. Both Washington's were also on board for 2013's
Magic Beans, the pianist's first album of all-original material. In 2017, he released the concert album
Happiness! Live at Kuumbwa. Benny's Crib arrived in June 2020 and found
Green exploring his love of the electric Rhodes keyboard. ~ Matt Collar