Burton Greene (1937-2021)

[Rabshakeh]

It's a pretty serious hit job. I always wondered whether something personal lay behind it. It's not like Greene was the most high profile white free jazz artist. 

Until I read that Nate Chinen piece, I actually had no idea that Burton Greene was on that Patty Waters album. It's an album I have lived with all my adult life, since before I even got into jazz. The brittle sounds of the strummed insides of the piano have really stuck with me through the decades.

Edited June 29, 2021 by Rabshakeh

[clifford_thornton]

I'll have to dig out my copy of Burton's autobiography where he talks about it, but my recollection was that Baraka basically wrote that piece to curry political favor and few if any of the musicians took it seriously. Burton had known him socially and was taken aback that he wrote something like that. Of course, people Baraka was aligning himself with, like Shepp, Brown, and Ayler had all worked with Greene and they were part of the same musical universe. 

[Rabshakeh]

2 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

I'll have to dig out my copy of Burton's autobiography where he talks about it, but my recollection was that Baraka basically wrote that piece to curry political favor and few if any of the musicians took it seriously. Burton had known him socially and was taken aback that he wrote something like that. Of course, people Baraka was aligning himself with, like Shepp, Brown, and Ayler had all worked with Greene and they were part of the same musical universe. 

I've only read the Paris Transatlantic interview from a few years back, but Greene seemed pretty forgiving. It sounded like Baraka had himself dismissed the article as a youthful mistake and effectively apologised. I'm not sure how much of that is real on either side.

[clifford_thornton]

yeah, that's accurate.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

so were talkin now look ok i only know this guy from my ESP sampler lp.  (great idea btw) but i did meet this bussiness dawg downtown years ago i mentioned in what are you doing today talk, i said seeing phaorah sanders or something like that and hes all, oh thats cool my dad was in his scene in the late 60s ny, also tenor saxohone and im all :   and it turns out his dad is the sax player on the burton album, frank smith.    The guy was the one person i ever met downdown who said something that wasnt BS.  He said his dad was a dawg and im all "okay now" but then hes on my esp sampler record on the burton greene tracks next to sun ra, phaorah, steve lacy and bob james