Jimmy Greene: Saxophonist, Composer, Recording Artist and Educator
A native of Hartford, CT, saxophonist, composer, and educator Jimmy Greene has emerged as a positive presence in the jazz world. His 10 solo recordings; Beautiful Life, Live at Smalls, Mission Statement, The Overcomers Suite, Gifts and Givers, True Life Stories, Forever, Brand New World, Live at Birdland and Introducing Jimmy Greene have all been met with much critical acclaim. In fact, Tony Hall of Jazzwise Magazine (UK) calls Greene” …without doubt one of the most striking young tenors of recent years.”
Beautiful Life
Two years after the death of his six-year-old daughter, Ana Grace Marquez-Greene, in the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, saxophonist Jimmy Greene returns with 2014’s Beautiful Life. Both a direct response to Ana’s death and a celebration of her life, Beautiful Life is a gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting album.
“I want the music to reflect the way that Ana lived,” Greene says. He fulfills that mandate with an intense, cohesive, genre-spanning program–juxtaposing the hardcore instrumental jazz for which he is best known with traditional spirituals, contemporary Christian music, standard ballads and three original songs framing his own lyrics. Animating the repertoire is a gold-standard rhythm section (Renee Rosnes, piano; Christian McBride, bass; Lewis Nash, drums), augmented at various points by guitarists Pat Metheny and Jonathan DuBose, Jr.; pianists Kenny Barron and Cyrus Chestnut; vocalists Kurt Elling, Javier Colon and Latanya Farrell; spoken word from Tony Award®-winning actress Anika Noni Rose; a 13-piece string ensemble from the Hartford Symphony Orchestra; as well as an accomplished children’s choir.
To listen how Jimmy Greenes latest album Beautiful Life sounds like, click here
And below you have a great video from Blue Note where Jimmy Green performs together with Avishai Cohen.
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