Piano master Benny Green to perform April 30 for International Jazz Day
April is Jazz Appreciation Month in the U.S., and True Blue Jazz will present an intimate evening with piano master Benny Green at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 30, at Nassau Valley Vineyards near Lewes.
In 2001, The Smithsonian National Museum of American History founded Jazz Appreciation Month to celebrate America’s signature art form. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in 2011 to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people across the globe.
True Blue Jazz was the first festival in the Mid-Atlantic to become an official partner of International Jazz Day. This concert celebrates the ninth year of TBJ participation with the IJD family and the Herbie Hancock Institute.
Benny Green expressed his heartfelt love for this musical genre, writing, “Nothing can quite get inside you like the feeling of real jazz.” From his preadolescent days absorbing the jazz he heard with his father, a tenor sax player, Green learned phrasing, emotion and authenticity. That inspiration led him to classical training and later to playing in Eddie Henderson’s band while still in high school. He became a bandleader as a 17-year-old prodigy, performing at San Francisco’s legendary Yoshi’s.
Green has been compared to Bud Powell and Oscar Peterson in style, and he counts them among his influences. After a short stint with Bobby Watson, Green worked with Betty Carter between 1983 and 1987, when he joined Art Blakey's band, the Jazz Messengers. He stayed with that group through late 1989, when he began working with Freddie Hubbard's quintet.
In 1993, Oscar Peterson chose Green as the first recipient of the City of Toronto's Glen Gould International Protégé Prize in Music. That year, Green replaced Gene Harris in Ray Brown's Trio, working with the veteran bass player until 1997. From 1997 on, Green resumed his freelance career, led his own trios and concentrated on his solo piano performances.
The roster of stellar jazz musicians Green has recorded with includes Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, Diana Krall, Terrance Blanchard, Buster Williams, Lewis Nash, Christian McBride, Etta Jones, Houston Person, Milt Jackson, Betty Carter, Bobby Watson and more.
Green is a champion of jazz education, leading workshops across the country. For this performance, the Cape Henlopen High School Jazz Ensemble will open the concert.
Nassau Valley Vineyards is at 32165 Winery Way, Lewes. Venue doors open at 6:15 p.m., and the performance begins at 7:30. For details, go to truebluejazz.org or call 302-645-9463.
