What's New at the Freddie Green Web Site

August 23, 2023
We've added a new transcription of the tune Hay Burner by David Lay Williams.


December 21, 2022
Nick Rossi has authored a comprehensive article entitled "Streamline Your Swing - The Legacy of Freddie Green--and What You Can Learn From Jazz's Most Important Rhythm Guitarist" which appears in the January/February 2023 edition of Acoustic Guitar Magazine.


January 16, 2022
We discovered a review of Freddie's "Mr. Rhythm" recording that was published in Downbeat magaizine in 1956. And here's a Freddie Green discography from the Discography of American Historical Recordings at the University of California, Santa Barbara.


December 28, 2020
We have a new transcription from Michael Pettersen comparing Freddie's playing with Bucky Pizzarelli on the tune "Topsy". We also added a new article about the Stromberg Master 400 that belonged to both Fred Guy (of the Duke Ellington Orchestra) and Freddie Green.


March 7, 2017
We added a transcription by Ronald Mueller and Michael Pettersen of Fly Me To The Moon from the seminal album "It Might As Well Be Swing" with the Count Basie Orchestra and Frank Sinatra.


November 30, 2016
We added a new transcription of The Second Time Around and a new quote from Frank Foster. We also added several new images to the photo gallery, including a 1943 film promotional shot, Freddie at the piano, a recording session, a French magazine cover, and Freddie's professional resume.


May 12, 2015
We received word that the biography of Freddie Green written by his son, Alfred Green will be available on August 19, 2015. We're looking forward to this and will provide a link when we get it.
Note: The Freddie Green website and its contributors receive no compensation from the sale or the advertisement of this book.


March 29, 2012
Read Michael's extensive interview with Dennis Mackrel, drummer and current Director of the Count Basie Orchestra. Mr. Mackrel shares numerous memories and stories from his years with the Basie band up until Freddie's death in 1987. We also added an early 1950's photo from Clark Terry's autobigraphy.


January 22, 2012
We've added a book excerpt for Clark Terry's wonderful and funny autobiography.


October 12, 2011
Check out Michael Pettersen's arrangement of the classic tune "Four Brothers" in the style of Freddie Green. Freddie never recorded this tune (as far as we know), but this is a worthy study in the use of of two-note chords (or dyads), an approach that Freddie incorporated into his rhythm guitar playing.


May 3, 2011

Michael Pettersen has transcribed one of the few solos Freddie Green ever recorded. The tune is Ain't Misbehavin' from Count Basie's Memories Ad Lib session with Joe Williams. We also received another 100th birthday tribute from renowned guitarist John Pizzarelli.


March 31, 2011

Today is Freddie Green's 100th Birthday! We posted some touching tributes to Mr. Rhythm, including one from his son, Al. We also added a new listening page with 20 audio samples that demonstrate Freddie's style and evolution. There's a new interview of record producer George Avakian. We also discovered several new (to us) book excerpts from Jon Hancock, Burt Korall, Ross Russell, Milt Hinton, Marshal Royal, and George Gruhn. We added new quotes by B.B. King, Jay Graydon, Monk Lowe, and Leonard Feather. Michael Pettersen also added a short transcription of the tune Stereophonic. And we received two new articles for the techniques section. One is by guitarist Ro Takayama. The other is by Mike Caruso and focuses on the style of Barry Galbraith. Check out Loren Schoenberg's liner notes from an historic compilation of Lester Young recordings. We also continue to receive encouraging comments and thoughtful feedback. Thanks for visiting, and take a moment to ask your friends to remember Freddie Green too!


August 3, 2010

Matt Butterman, a Master of Music student at William Paterson University, wrote an excellent thesis entitled Freddie Green: A Musical Analysis of the Guitar in the Count Basie Rhythm Section. Mr. Butterman was kind enough to share his work here.


September 15, 2009

We added three new trtanscriptions. After Supper and April In Paris are from our newest contributor, Jakub Cervenka in the Czech Republic. Michael Pettersen contributed a Butch Miles tune entitled Hail To The Chief. Jakub also assembled a nice diagram and explaination of Freddie Green chord forms. We also added a book excerpt from a Bucky Pizzarelli biography and some interesting liner notes by Turk Van Lake. And our good friend, Carl-Gustaf Edhardt sent three new photos he took during a concert in Stockholm, Sweden in 1986. We were sad to learn that Lawrence Lucie, one of the last great rhythm men of Freddie's era, passed away.


August 6, 2008

We discovered some interesting liner notes by Loren Schoenberg describing the importance of bassist Walter Page's contributions to the Count Basie Orchestra and the Kansas City Sound.


June 12, 2008

New content continues to surface and we've recently added the following:


January 7, 2008

Happy New Year! We've posted recent interviews with noted guitarists Marty Grosz and Lawrence Lucie. There's also a new quote by Madeleine Peyroux plus an inventory of Freddie Green items that were recently donated to the Charleston Jazz Initiative Archives, located at the Avery Center for Afro-America Studies. And we added an excerpt from Duke Ellington's autobiography.


August 24, 2007

Trevor de Clercq contributed The Improvised Counterpoint of Freddie Green by Trevor de Clercq, a fine academic paper, along with transcriptions of Count's Place, Oh, Lady Be Good, Secrets, Tally Ho, Mr. Basie!, and What'cha Talkin'.


May 25, 2007

Michael Pettersen composed a tune in honor of Freddie Green's birthday and it's called Blues For Pep.


April 27, 2007

Michael Pettersen has compiled two discographies based upon his own collection of recordings that feature Freddie Green. The first is a listing of tracks where Freddie appears as a sideman without Count Basie Orchestra. The second is a listing of tracks that Freddie recorded with the Count Basie Orchestra. In our book excerpts, we've added a superb selection from Raymond Horricks' Profiles In Jazz. We've also added new quotes and anecdotes from Clark Terry and John McCain (no, not the politician).


March 26, 2007

Michael Pettersen has contributed a new transcription of "Jumpin' At The Woodside". this version is a prime example of how Freddie's one-note chord technique provided melodic interest in addition to a solid quarter note pulse. Michael has also posted the liner notes he wrote for Bucky Pizzarelli's "5 For Freddie" tribute CD.


March 21, 2007

It's the first day of Spring and the Webmaster has come out of hibernation. My sincere apologies to my fellow contributors and to our visitors who may have been looking for updates to appear.

Freddie was honored in February as part of our nation's Black History Month in his home town of Charleston, SC with the Count Basie-Freddie Green Humanitarian Award. We've added new articles on rhythm guitar technique by two reknown musicians, Jerry Krahn and James Chirillo. We also posted newly acquired photos of a sunburst Stromberg Master 300 that was once owned by Freddie. If you want to see a high quality DVD of the Basie band in performance, be sure to watch "Count Basie: Live in '62". Additional information about this video is included on our Resources page. We also added a new photo and a quote from violinist Aaron Weinstein.


March 7, 2007

It was 20 years ago today that this world lost the great Freddie Green. "Mr. Rhythm" died shortly after finishing a performance with the Count Basie Orchestra at a Las Vegas hotel. May he continue to rest in peace.


November 12, 2006

IN STORES NOW : "5 For Freddie", Bucky Pizzarelli's CD tribute to Freddie Green. Our Chief Editor, Michael Pettersen wrote the liner notes for this Arbors Records release.


August 22, 2006

Take a look at the transcription of Orange, Brown, and Green. This is an up tempo "rhythm changes" tune from Freddie's 1975 recording with Herb Ellis. This transcription was done by our newest contributor, Mike Rupsch.


August 4, 2006

The last two months have seen exciting developments and new material for this web site. Here's the latest: Interviews with Frank Foster, Butch Miles, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Will Matthews. Learn about the origin of Freddie's nickname. Read quotes from Jay Leonhart and John Bunch. See photos and information about the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame. Check out new additions to our discography and resource listings.


June 17, 2006

Here's an exciting new addition to the web site: We've obtained photos of actual instruments that were owned by Freddie Green at the time of his death in 1987.

Michael Pettersen has contributed a concise article about why Freddie Green worked well with pianists. We also added three more obituaries from US newspapers.


May 27, 2006

Freddie Green's son, Al has graciously shared the eulogy he wrote for his father's memorial service.

Freddie Green will be inducted to the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Wall of Fame in a ceremony on June 21, 2006 in New York, NY. Other inductees for 2006 will be Sarah Vaughan and Fletcher Henderson as well as living legends Frank Foster, Horace Silver, and Clark Terry.

Bucky Pizzarelli just finished recording a tribute to Freddie Green. Look for the Arbors Records CD to be released sometime later this year.


May 23, 2006

Just when you thought we were out of new material we managed to come up with some great new stuff. Check out the interview and comments about Freddie's technique from bassist Lynn Seaton, an alumnus of the Basie band. We also added eleven new photos from the University on Missouri Buck Clayton Archives. Thanks to visitor Kevin Canning for alerting us to this find. We also changed the layout of our photo page to separate images approximately by decade. Oh, and don't miss the new quote from Clark Terry.


April 28, 2006

This month Michael Pettersen presents an extended transcription of Every Day I Have The Blues. This is a classic example of Freddie's "one-note chord" style and a master class in playing the blues with a big band. Michael has also included a brief statistical analysis of Freddie's note choices.


March 22, 2006

The big news for us is that we were contacted by Freddie's son, Al several weeks ago. He sent a kind note after discovering our web site and later gave us permission to post his words.

We've added several other new items as well. Check out Michael's transcriptions of Mutt & Jeff and The Deacon, both from the Basie's classic "Chairman of the Board" recording. We also added book excerpts from a newer book about Billie Holiday plus an excerpt from John Hammond's autobiography. There's a new quote from guitarist John Pisano, more liner notes from Freddie's "Mr. Rhythm" LP, and several new photos.


February 3, 2006

We have added two new solo transcriptions. Yes, SOLO transcriptions! Michael Pettersen unearthed recordings of Don't Cry, Baby and The Elder featuring bona fide Freddie Green guitar solos. We have also added a new book excerpt from The Sweet Hell Inside by Edward Ball.


December 1, 2005

Check out the liner notes from a French reissue of the Mr. Rhythm recording. We've also added a new transcription of From Coast To Coast with special focus on quarter note pulse analysis. We also discovered a new photo.


September 16, 2005

New quotes and anecdotes from Bob Blumenthal and Bill Cheney, plus some typographic corrections thanks to our friend Jim Elick.


May 20, 2005

As you can see it's been a few months since we've added anything new, but now the wait is over and there are several additions you should examine. Michael Pettersen has contributed five new transcriptions, including Ain't Misbehavin', Blues In Frankie's Flat, Cherry Point, Midgets, and Ode To Pres. We've also added new articles and excerpts from Melody Maker, DownBeat, and Acoustic Guitar magazines plus a book excerpt by Randi Hultin. Be sure to check out a wonderful portrait of Freddie Green that was contributed by Swedish photographer Carl-Gustaf Edhardt. There are also new quotes by Count Basie and Artie Shaw.

Check back soon for the new section we're creating to recognize many other notable rhythm guitarists.


January 7, 2005

Happy New Year! There are a few new posting on the site to kick off 2005. We received a new quote from pianist Judy Carmichael. Also, Michael Pettersen revised his comparative study to include additional information about Allan Reuss. Michael added a few new recordings to our listing of non-Basie recording sessions where Freddie performed as a side man. There's also a new quote from guitarist Henry Johnson that supports the "one-note chord" theory.


October 21, 2004

Be sure to take a look at Michael Pettersen's new transcription of the classic Li'l Darlin'. Working from a live recording where Freddie's guitar microphone was very close, this may be the most detailed transcription we have to date. In Michael's words, it "completely wraps up the mature FG style in 73 bars."

Other new transcriptions include Wee Baby Blues and Theme. Our friends in Europe have sent us a few new items, including an obituary from the Bulletin of the Hot Club of France and a cover photo from the German magazine Jazz Podium.

Oh yeah. In case you didn't notice it on the home page, check out the audio clip we have that features Freddie speaking.


September 16, 2004

Read this wonderful poem about Freddie Green by French poet Jacques Reda. We also discovered a new quote by singer Marlena Shaw.


July 22, 2004
Michael has added a transcription of the tune Magic Flea, as well as an article he wrote for a University of South Carolina newsletter, which discusses the origins of this Web site and his personal experiences in studying Freddie Green.


June 28, 2004
Michael has unearthed more interesting material for the site, including an excellent article by writer Dominique Périchon that appeared in the Bulletin of The Hot Club of France in 1995. We've also added two magazine articles written during the 1950's for Metronome magazine by guitarists Barney Kessel and Tommy Kay. In the Lessons & Technique section there are some additional thoughts and reflections from John Parrott, Walter Page, and Turk Van Lake. Thanks to Down Beat magazine, we have also added excerpts from a 1954 Freddie Green interview. A new excerpt from Dan Morgenstern's book Jazz People now appears and we've added several new quotes, including ones from Count Basie and Kenny Burrell. Also, check out the transcription of Time Out, where Freddie plays an eight-measure passage employing some not-so-typical (for him) jazz chords.


May 3, 2004
We've added a new list of recordings featuring Freddie as a sideman, compiled by Mark Allen. There are three new transcriptions by Michael Pettersen, including All Of Me, I Got Rhythm, and a tune referred to as I Don't Know, which is based on the same chord changes as I Got Rhythm. We've also added a new quote by guitarist Al Hendrickson and discovered two more compositions by Freddie.


March 26, 2004
As the result of his numerous transcriptions, Michael Pettersen offers this guide to Freddie Green's favorite chord forms.


March 15, 2004
Four new transcriptions by Michael Pettersen including Blue Lou, My Kind of Girl, Southern Exposure, and a rare Freddie Green solo on West End Blues. Mark Allen also discovered another Freddie Green composition called Green Is Blue.


March 1, 2004
It was on this day in 1987 that the life of Freddie Green came to an end, yet seventeen years later we continue to learn more about him. We have added six new book excerpts to the site, including Gunther Schuller's The Swing Era (also a separate technique article from this book), Preston Love's A Thousand Honey Creeks Later: My Life in Music from Basie to Motown, Billie Holiday's Lady Sings The Blues, James Lincoln Collier's Benny Goodman And The Swing Era, and Douglas Henry Daniels' Lester Leaps In: The Life and Times of Lester "Pres" Young.


February 20, 2004
Michael's trip to the Northwestern University library yielded some additional materials regarding Freddie Green. Check out the newly discovered interview from the June 1962 issue of Jazz Journal. Michael also found book excerpts from Chip Deffaa, Dave Oliphant, and George T. Simon, Jazz Journal articles by Bill Esposito and Don Roberts, and two more obituaries from Downbeat and Jazz Journal magazines. If that's not enough, check out the articles from People and Coda magazines.


February 4, 2004
Newly posted is an interview with Count Basie and Freddie Green from The World of Swing by Stanley Dance. From the same book is Lawrence Lucie's take on rhythm guitar and Freddie Green. Author Whitney Balliett offers several observations on Basie's guitarist, as does Joachim E. Berendt. Jazz Times was the source of a July 2002 article and a photo of Freddie. Valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer compliments Freddie in liner notes from a 1958 album, recently re-released on Mosaic Records. And Freddie makes a rare appearance in an 1962 advertisement for Gretsch Guitars.


January 16, 2004
Happy New Year! We continue to add new material to the site as we uncover resources, listen to Freddie's music, and process information. Check out the book excerpt from Count Basie - A Bio-Discography by Chris Sheridan. Michael Pettersen just had a new article, Freddie Green's Rhythm Guitar Style Revisited published in Down Beat magazine. This is a follow up to his October 2000 piece for the magazine. Also be sure to look at Michael's latest technique article based on the chord changes to the standard tune Sweet Lorraine. The Discography section continues to grow, and don't forget to post a message on our Visitor Comments page. We enjoy hearing from you.


December 22, 2003
Albert Romaní offers A New Hypothesis About Freddie Green's Guitar Technique


November 10, 2003
Michael Pettersen offers a new article entitled "I Got Rhythm" in the Style of Freddie Green.


November 3, 2003
One of our newest contributors, Albert Romani has provided an alternate transcription of April In Paris along with ideas about Freddie Green's fingering choices. Also, check out the quotes from one of our favorite living rhythm guitar players, "Ranger" Doug Green. If you haven't seen him perform, you really should plan to do so. His group is Riders In The Sky.


October 10, 2003
Tom Smith from Long Island submitted a photo of Freddie Green's grave site. Thank's Tom!


October 6, 2003
We've added a short biography of Freddie's longtime friend and employer William "Count" Basie. Most of Freddie's musical career was with the Count, so this biography helps to provide an overview of Freddie's professional life.


September 30, 2003
Michael has added a new transcription of the tune Kansas City Shout from the seminal Basie album Chairman of the Board.


September 25, 2003
Michael Pettersen and Mark Allen now feel that they have "cracked the genetic code" as it relates to major aspects of Freddie's playing. Check out their transcription on Trav'lin' Light. Michael also offers a new transcription of One Armed Bandit, as a follow-up based on this new enlightenment.


August 29, 2003
Two new transcriptions - Shoutin' Blues and Rat Race - from the album Shoutin' Blues.


July, 2003
Check out the new transcription of Dr. Feelgood by Roland Meuller. There are also a few new discography entries. In a new effort to deter unsolicited e-mail, we have removed all mail links from this site and the visitor comments page. We continue to welcome your comments and/or questions so feel free to send a note using the contact links on our revised contributors page. Be assured that we won't send you any spam and won't share your e-mail address with any other party.


May 13, 2003
We just added three new photos along with some new quotes and discography entries.


March 30, 2003
I am now happy to announce the all new and improved Freddie Green web site. And what better day to launch then on the eve of Freddie's birthday - he would have turned 92 tomorrow. Here are some of the highlights: Major changes to the site navigation and page layout. A new photo page where we've compiled 71 pictures of Freddie. New transcriptions of Ain't Misbehavin', I'll Always Be In Love With You, and One O'clock Jump (3 separate sessions compared). There's a new listing of Freddie's compositions and an updated article about the guitars Freddie played. We've also added many new quotes and an entire interview with Basie alumnus, Bob Ojeda. And be sure to drop a note on the Visitor Comments page, or just take a little while to read some of the messages posted by enthusiastic people from around the globe. This site is now over 100 pages and we hope that you enjoy it and find it useful.


September 12, 2002
The new transcriptions just keep coming in. Roland Mueller has offered a transcription of Freddie's own composition Corner Pocket and Mark Allen has offered Good Time Blues. We've also discovered a few more performance videos that are worth checking out.


September 9, 2002
We have two excellent new transcriptions by Michael Pettersen and Roland Mueller: Splanky is a good example of Freddie Green combining traditional three-note chords with some two-note voicings while The Kid From Red Bank is primarily one-note voicings with occasional two-note chords.


August 23, 2002
Another great addition to the Technique section is Michael Pettersen's article A Comparative Study of Rhythm Guitar Styles which examines Western Swing, Allan Reuss, Teddy Wilson, Barry Galbraith, and Freddie Green on a 12-bar blues chord progression.


August 21, 2002
We just added a superb article by Mark Allen entitled The Dynamic Chord and Muted Notes (DCMN) analysis of Freddie Green's Rhythm Guitar Style: What's in a "One-Note" Chord? This piece expands upon the "One Note Chord" theory first put forth by Michael Pettersen's Downbeat article. Also, be sure to check out the new quotes from Harry "Sweets" Edison, on the real reason Freddie played acoustic guitar.


August 8, 2002
New transcriptions of All Of Me and She's Just My Size.


July 22, 2002
Exciting new developments over the past several weeks include the addition of the Freddie Green Interview, an article and inventory about the Freddie Green Papers, and a new transcription of Four Five Six. This web site has recently received mention in Just Jazz Guitar and JazzTimes magazines.


May 22, 2002
We have a new transcription of Moten Swing, plus others on the way soon. In addition, we've uncovered several new recordings (in the discography section) where you can hear Freddie clearly. There are new book excerpts from Steve Jordan's autobiography as well as from Masters of Jazz Guitar by Charles Alexander. Check out the quotes and photo pages for several new additions.


March 18, 2002
The photo gallery has expanded significantly over the past month. We now have several new articles, including a 1987 feature from Down Beat Magazine and insightful pieces written by Jim Hall and Bucky Pizzarelli. Michael Pettersen has contributed two new transcriptions from the classic Basie album "Live in London". We really enjoy reading the visitor comments and shared Freddie Green stories from visitors around the world. Be sure to check it out if you haven't done so.


February 11, 2002
We really appreciate all the great comments left in the guest book from Freddie Green fans around the globe. If you haven't done so, please leave your comments. The new Selected Discography is on line, featuring 29 recordings where you can really hear Freddie play. There are also four more Technique articles plus new links, quotes, and photos.


January 13, 2002
We have applied a total redesign of the menu and navigation layout along with a few graphical enhancements. There are several new photos, articles, stories, and a few book excerpts that contain further insight into Freddie Green's life and music. Be sure to check out Michael Pettersen's new study of FG chord voicings for "I've Got Rhythm" changes in the Technique section. We've even added a German translation of Tim Berens' article on Freddie's technique, and more translations are on the way.


October 22, 2001
Many exciting developments have taken place over the last month, including three more great playing technique articles, 49 transcriptions (most are from Dr. L.H. Dickert's excellent dissertation), new information on guitars and set up, additional biographical information, new photos, and many interesting quotes, links, and resources. The basic architecture of the site is gradually changing to accommodate new material and enable easy navigation. There's more to come, so please check back.


September, 2001
The content keeps coming in from our contributors. The Web Master has fallen a bit behind in providing updates here. Sincere apologies.


August 26, 2001
We've begun to obtain some great photos for the Gallery. Web links and other resource lists are continuously growing.


August 13, 2001
After several enthusiastic e-mail's and a basic mission in place, we launched the Web site with two great playing/technique articles and a bunch of Web links. The remainder of the site is in place as a basic outline of the information we plan to make available.

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