14 Facts About Ted Greene

Theodore Greene was an American fingerstyle jazz guitarist, columnist, session musician and educator in Encino, California.

Ted Greene briefly studied accounting at California State University, Northridge, but dropped out to devote his time to music.

Ted Greene was a friend and collaborator with Joseph Byrd, on whose Columbia Masterworks album The American Metaphysical Circus he was featured.

Ted Greene was again called on in 1977 to provide guitar tablature for three arrangements of Bix Beiderbecke's piano music for the Ry Cooder album Jazz, which Byrd arranged and produced.

Ted Greene was known to guitarists for his role as a music educator, which included private teaching, seminars at the Guitar Institute of Technology, columns for Guitar Player magazine, and his instructional books on harmony, chord melody, and single-note soloing.

Ted Greene would make occasional live appearances at clubs in the San Fernando Valley, usually playing a Fender Telecaster.

Ted Greene typically worked as a vocal accompanist, which he preferred because he found group settings restrictive.

Ted Greene wrote four books on the subject of jazz guitar performance and theory: Chord Chemistry, Modern Chord Progressions: Jazz and Classical Voicings for Guitar, and the two-volume Jazz Guitar: Single Note Soloing.

Ted Greene's playing style included techniques such as harp-like arpeggios combined with gentle, tasteful neck vibrato, creating a "shimmer" to his sound.

Ted Greene used counterpoint to improvise in a variety of styles, playing, for instance, a jazz standard such as Autumn Leaves in Baroque style.

Ted Greene used a large variety of chord voicings, often creating the effect of two simultaneous players.

Ted Greene recorded one album, Solo Guitar, which was produced by William Perry and Leon White, and released in 1977 on PMP Records.

Ted Greene helped Fender design a 1952 Telecaster vintage reissue by making reference to his collection of old Telecasters, Esquires, Broadcasters and Nocasters.

Ted Greene died in his apartment in Encino of a heart attack at the age of 58.