Sonny Greenwich

[joelf]

I really dig this guy. He's one with his own voice, vibe and language, an edge to his sound and apparent real faith in his ideas. They come out well-developed, confident and with a nice looseness.

Can't tell what his accompaniment is like or how he fits in groups and listens from this, but he's an interesting and original soloist, and that's sort of rare...

[mr. beaumont]

One of my favorite players. Could play straight ahead or get as close to Coltrane's mid/late period on guitar as anyone, save for maybe Tsziji Munoz.

[joelf]

One of my favorite players. Could play straight ahead or get as close to Coltrane's mid/late period on guitar as anyone, save for maybe Tsziji Munoz.

I like that he doesn't play boring guitar shit. I like Nathen Page too, a lot, for many of the same reasons. And Greenwich doesn't copy Trane, he's got his own ideas, though I can hear that he dug the message.

Never heard of Munoz before...

[mr. beaumont]

Oh definitely not a copy, just a similar approach on long improv modal stuff.

Munoz is amazing too, hold on...

[mr. beaumont]

[ccroft]

I love the strength and clarity of Sonny's lines. Been digging him since about '71. He's another Canadian wonder.

[joelf]

He's got a tone and touch more akin to blues players---on the raw side and edgy, but short of distorted---but also that 'simulated air column' quality like a horn. Nice sustain too, on an instrument that can have quick note decay, (even amplified) especially on the high strings. That's hornlike too. Probably he has an axe and amp setup to bring this out, but it always begins and ends with hearing and conception.

I also like his harmonic content choices and sense of order with that. He's organized but his stuff doesn't come off as 'planned'. It sounds pretty in the moment.

His time feel is interesting too. Not swinging in the traditional sense but in its own way, and right in there and with nice energy and flair. Good spacing and phrasing.

And there's a nice sense of building with him and the band. It's not static. And the rhythm section hangs in with it: nice energy and support...

[ccroft]

I like the way he remembers where he's been. Shortish rhythmic phrases and how they develop and recycle, building straight up on top of each other. He's the anti-noodle. Check the middle of this:

I had a guitar buddy from Toronto in '71. He had recorded a couple of bootleg live cassette tapes of Sonny. Might as well have been recorded on a dictaphone. Maybe it was. Anyways, the uniqueness of what he was doing cut straight thru that mess. I heard conviction. I wanted that in my playing.

Music was a lot harder to access back then. Can't remember how else I got to hear him, but he made an impression on me. It's been a great time on YouTube the last little while! Thanks for reminding me Joel.

He played in other ways too. Another side of Greenwich:

[joelf]

I like the way he remembers where he's been. Shortish rhythmic phrases and how they develop and recycle, building straight up on top of each other. He's the anti-noodle. Check the middle of this:

I had a guitar buddy from Toronto in '71. He had recorded a couple of bootleg live cassette tapes of Sonny. Might as well have been recorded on a dictaphone. Maybe it was. Anyways, the uniqueness of what he was doing cut straight thru that mess. I heard conviction. I wanted that in my playing.

Music was a lot harder to access back then. Can't remember how else I got to hear him, but he made an impression on me. It's been a great time on YouTube the last little while! Thanks for reminding me Joel.

He played in other ways too. Another side of Greenwich:

Or:

[joelf]

But why is he playing with almost all white guys in these clips? What's up with that? I mean they sound good, but are there no black jazz musicians up there? I seriously doubt that...

[A. Kingstone]

But why is he playing with almost all white guys in these clips? What's up with that? I mean they sound good, but are there no black jazz musicians up there? I seriously doubt that...

That's an interesting question.

I was lucky enough to see Greenwich at least twice (even in the early 80's he seemed reclusive) and I saw lots of great Canadian musicians, guitarists and the lot. Oliver Jones was in Montreal and Oscar Peterson lived in Missisaugua but they rarely played the little clubs in Toronto. I went to the jazz clubs in Toronto a lot in the 80's and I seriously can't remember a black local player. I'm a doltish old fool and must be forgetting some players. I think Greenwich lived in Montreal which was more culturally diverse in the 80's than Toronto. Of course Jackie and Rachel Robinson loved Montreal in the early 50's.

I remember Sonny Greenwich at Meyer's Deli playing through a crappy amp, a Stage. It didn't make any difference - he still soared.


After some research:

Archie Alleyne
Jackie Richardson
Joe Sealy
Molly Johnson
Salome Bey

Johnson was the only one I heard regularly.