In A Mellow Tone
Wednesday February 12th, 2025 with Heavy Ben
Black History Month profile on Sonny Greenwich

Sonny Greenwich is a guitar player who was born in 1936 in Hamilton, ON. Turning exclusively to jazz by 1960, Greenwich appeared at such Toronto venues as The Cellar, The First Floor Club, and The Bohemian Embassy. Influenced by tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, Greenwich developed a unique style, with an emphasis on long phrases of single notes rather than a more harmonic approach. Saxophonist John Coltrane, trumpeter Miles Davis, and pianist Bill Evans were other early influences. In later years, his influences expanded beyond jazz to include classical composers Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Paul Hindemith. It is reflective of Greenwich's open-minded approach to music and strikingly personal style that he also based guitar solos on the work of visual artists such as the cubist Paul Klee, and on natural elements such as birdsong. Greenwich has lived in Montreal since 1974. His recording dates as a leader were scant in the early years, releasing just 3 albums before his mid 50s, then being quite active until age 70. Greenwich played in the USA with saxophonist John Handy in 1966-67, led a quartet at the Village Vanguard in 1968 (with Teddy Saunders, Jimmy Garrison, and Jack DeJohnette), and in 1967 recorded a date for Blue Note records led by Hank Mobley (incl. Cedar Walton, James Spaulding, Lee Morgan, Walter Booker, Billy Higgins) that was released only in 1980. This leads to a thought experiment: - What if that Blue Note record with Greenwich's name on it was released and promoted in 1967? - What if Sonny was able to accept Miles Davis' invitation to join his band after a week long audition at Toronto's Colonial Tavern in 1969? The band comprised Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Tony Williams. Greenwich was unable to secure the necessary documentation to work in the USA. - What if we could hear Greenwich's performances with Miles Davis, Charles Lloyd, Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, and Sun Ra? - What if Greenwich was not afflicted by poor health related to a childhood head injury and recurring lung problems? The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz states that "Some critics regard Greenwich as the most important Canadian jazzman". He is listed as one of the '10 Best Canadian Jazz Musicians of All Time' in the Canadian Book of Lists, and in The History of the guitar in jazz Barney Kessel writes, "There is a deep emotion and sincerity in Sonny's music ... and I consider him a really rare kind of talent". Greenwich's prominence has him written up in the Canadian Encyclopedia; and the Jazz in Canada. Michael Bloomfield listed Sonny Greenwich as one of his favorite jazz guitarists in the August 1971 issue of Guitar Player magazine stating, "There's a guy named Sonny Greenwich, from Canada, he's a phenomenon. They talk about John McLaughlin, but dig this Sonny cat, he's the Coltrane of guitar players." Greenwich reached a greater number of listeners from the late 80s on. He formed his own label, Kleo, released three recordings, has three more on Justin Time, and others on smaller labels. His last recording credits on Discogs is dated 2003. In 2006, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2021, he received the Canadian Jazz Master Award. Greenwich is in his 90th year, having turned 89 in January. Sonny Greenwhich Jr. was the guitarist in Montreal funk-metal band Bootsauce. He posted videos of his father Sonny Sr., such as "Sonny Greenwich – It Ain’t All Jazz". It's worth watching for the live performances (with Wray Downes, Archie Alleyne, and Don Thompson), insightful commentary, and a stark reminder of racism in the United States of America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PusgJPVEsY4&t=1s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Greenwich https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sonny-greenwich-emc https://www.cornerstonerecordsinc.com/pages/artsg.html Photo credit: Mark Miller at Festival International de Jazz de Montréal 1985 (to embiggen the show icon, right-click and choose "Open image in new tab")