Renown saxophonist, Tim Green, dies

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

Even in a city where musicians are known to flow easily between a range of styles, Tim Green stood out. The saxophonist who blew with sincere spirituality, recognized few musical boundaries. It’s a trait that led him to perform with such diverse artists as a rhythm and blues band at Bourbon Street’s Fat Catz, avant-garde drummer Famadou Don Moye, bluesman/­guitarist Walter “Wolfman” Washing­ton, the African Bass ensemble, trombonist Mark Mullins’ funk/jazz group Plunge, the Original Royal Players Brass Band, the Caesar Brothers and many, many more. A native of Connecticut and 36-year New Orleans resident, Tim Green, a truly soulful man and musician, died on August 28, 2014 at the age of 58.

“I bring the same spirit of creativity and the same level of intensity everywhere I go,” Green once expressed. “The most important thing is to reach people at the core.”

In part, Green credited his fascination with a variety of music with his growing up in the multi-ethnic, industrial city of Bridgeport, Connecticut He explained that factory jobs lured many immigrants – Hungarian, Latin American, Armenian, Polish – to the area.

GREEN

“When I was a teenager I started going to these various restaurants and not only would they have the ethnic food but they would have little combos playing authentic folk music from their countries on authentic instruments,” Green recalled. “I was as much interested in these people, their culture, their food, the way they dressed and the music that they liked to dance to as anything else.”

Green got what could be considered a rather late start playing music. Even though his mother was a classically trained pianist, his parents discouraged his interest in becoming a musician. The saxophonist often headed to nearby New York City to catch some jazz. At the 1976 CTI Jazz Festival in Central Park, Green had a chance encounter with sax giant Grover Washington who befriended him and encouraged Green’s interest in playing jazz. Another influence was hearing saxophonist David Sanborn at New York’s Bottom Line. “I thought, ‘I can do that,’” Green decided. So at 19, he enrolled at the Berklee School of Music.

When Green arrived in New Orleans in 1978, his first job was with Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Mighty Men at the legendary Dorothy’s Medallion Inn. Next up was blowing behind vocalist Irma Thomas and acting as her bandleader. Though Thomas’ focus was soul and New Orleans rhythm and blues, that did not deter Green who would inject all of the things he was learning jazz-wise and ethnic-wise. “Irma would basically let me go,” Green recalled. “She said, ‘I don’t really understand what you’re playing but it’s interesting and everybody loves it.’”

Green became interested in Indian music after hearing John McLaughlin’s quartet, Shakti, where the renowned guitarist was joined by classical Indian musicians. He then began to teach himself the style and began to incorporate it in his blowing. It wasn’t long before he had the opportunity to perform with world-renowned sarode artist Aashish Khan. That led to the saxophonist’s many shows with Indian tabla master Badal Roy here in New Orleans.

Green’s impact on New Orleans went beyond his musical contributions. After a stint at community radio station WWOZ-FM first as a volunteer and for a year as station manager, Green moved on to become the general manger of WRBH-FM, Radio for the Blind and Handicapped where he helped boost awareness of the importance of the station. During his tenure, he helped raise money for a new building to house the station and WRBH earned one of President George W. Bush’s “1,000 Points of Light” awards.

The saxophonist went into the recording studio with as a diverse a crowd of musicians as those with whom he performed. They included Michael Ray & the Cosmic Krewe, 3NOW4, Naked on the Floor Quartet and Orchestra, Cyril Neville, Russell Batiste, Mem Shannon, the Neville Brothers, Cubanis-mo/Yockimo All-Stars, Dennis Gonzalez, George Porter, Fred Wesley and even Buffy St. Marie.

Tim Green was a gentle and humble soul with a soaring passion. He had the ear of a piano tuner, which he was, and the patience of an antique car restorer, which he also was. His exploratory spirit and creativity was that of one who knew the limitlessness nature of music.

“For me, the music has to come from the inner depth,” Green once explained. That was the saxophonist’s source each and every time he put the saxophone to his lips.

Funeral services for Tim Green were held Wednesday, September 3, 2014 at Mt. Olivet Cemetery followed by a musical tribute at Café Istanbul.

This article originally published in the September 8, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.