Thank you Ted for your musicality and contributions to music, jazz and jazz
guitar. The music world is richer because of you and poorer with your sudden
departure.
Alisdair MacRae Birch
July 27, 2005 2:45 AM
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Ted was one of the very best...He will be missed by all of us......
Vic Juris
July 27, 2005 3:45 AM
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So much emotion at this time its hard to write, but please let his family
know what he meant to you and others.
For me, all I can say now is this:
Barb, Ron, Linda - all our thoughts are with you and yours - I can't imagine
a world without him.
Leon White
July 27, 2005 5:25 AM
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My deepest condolences to Ted's friends and family. Thank you Danny for
putting up this forum. Solo Guitar is my desert island pick for sure. Thank
you Ted for sharing with us and for being such a kind person; you will be so
missed.
Joey Chase
July 27, 2005 7:01 AM
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Thanks for this forum. I took a bunch of lessons with Ted, and since I live
in the Bay Area I would take muti hour lessons when I went. Ted was a sweet
guy and his knowledge of guitar was amazing. I have often said I would be
very happy to know as much about one style as he seemed to know about every
style. His abilities as a teacher are well known, but it's sad that his
shyness and striving for perfection denied us more recorded examples of his
playing. He was so great at playing with deep emotion. I remember one of
John Pisano's guitar nights that featured Ted along with many of the other
top players. The rude audience talked through many of the acts, but when Ted
played you could have heard a pin drop. He played a very lovely version of
One For My Baby. During one lesson Ted and I were talking about our mutual
love of the Telecaster. He casually said that if he ever got rich he would
give me one of his blackguard Tele's. That blew me away, not that I expected
anything, but that he would say such a thing. He had a very giving sharing
spirit. I can't believe he's gone, and I will miss him very much. I hope
someone has some recordings of him that his family will share with us now.
Sorry for the disjointed post, I guess I am still in shock. My best to Ted's
family and other friends.
Pat Smith
Santa Clara, CA
July 27, 2005 7:46 AM
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I am so saddened by the passing of this unique, gentle, complex, incredibly
gifted man and musician. My condolences to Ted's family and all his friends.
Over the last 6 years or so, Ted was both a teacher and friend to me. I was
humbled by his genius, inspired by his presence, awed by his abilities,
amused by his quirks, warmed by his friendship. I hope his legacy will
continue to grow, so that others who never had the chance to meet him will
still be able to learn from his deep knowledge of music. He treated me with
respect and kindness, and had a major influence on my concept of the guitar
and my imagination of what might be possible on it. It is hard to imagine
life around Los Angeles without Ted in it. Thank you Ted for your incredible
generosity in sharing your knowledge of the guitar, music in general, and
all the minutiae of the world, with me, and all those you touched. You are
unforgettable.
Your fan, disciple, and fellow die-hard "Columbo" lover,
Anthony Wilson
July 27, 2005 8:48 AM
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It is so hard for me to write about Ted. Personally, I am devastated. He was
my dear friend for almost 40 years. We spent thousands of hours talking over
these many decades. I’ve never loved or admired any man as much as Ted. I
can hear him saying, now, “Bill, Bill, don’t make a big deal of this.” It’s
with mixed feelings that I write about him. He really wouldn’t want us to
make a fuss. He was such a modest and good man. I know that he would want
all the people that loved him to go on and be happy.
For his music legacy, for those who ask, or wonder if there is more recorded
Ted Greene music, the answer is tons. Books? so many complete, and in
progress unpublished. Ted was so passionate about his work.
His memory was legendary. He remembered everything, but he also wrote
everything down. His whole life is in notes. Ted recorded so much, and
others have recordings of him. My prayer -and others that knew him - is
that, first of all: they will be preserved, and handled with dignity.
I was one of the people that saw Ted, on Friday. He was happy, excited, and
passionate about life. We debated about the time of our next session. Ted,“One o’clock, let’s do one o’clock.” “Ted, man, I hate to do that. It is
your day off. I don’t want you working that late on your day off.” (We would
often talk for hours if I was his last student, and he NEVER charged me.“Bill, Bill, what would you charge me if I needed your services? Enough
said.” You cannot argue with Ted. Well, you can, but you will never win.)
Ted says, “It’s not work, man. This is fun. I love doing this.” He turns to
Jim Hindes and says, “I love to help people.” And to me he adds, “You know
what it’s like. You help people.” “Yes, yes, I help people.” I think to
myself. But, what I truly LOVE is being here with you.” I thank God for the
short time we spent together. I would give anything for more. May God, bless
you and keep you my dear friend.
William Perry
July 27, 2005 9:20 AM
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Amen, William.
Anthony
July 27, 2005 10:12 AM
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It was 1989, and William said to me "I am going over to Ted Greene's house,
do you want to come?"
Sure why not I thought. Didn't know who he was but that sounded like
something fun to do on a Friday night. I knew very little about him other
than he was William's dear, dear friend of 25 years.
When I arrived and saw the mounds of video tapes on the couch, and guitars
piled up in the bedroom, and books and books and more books stacked on the
floor of his living room, I knew I had walked into the world of a very
unique and special man.
That night we all sat crossed legged in the middle of the living room floor
while he talked to us of Bach and his writings. And, then there, in a book
of Bach's theory and music, he was making notes- debating actually with
Bach-in blue pen, inside the margins of the book. Imagine!!
I was intrigued. I was in awe really.
From that point forward whenever William said "I am going to see Ted", I
would want to tag along.
I was so taken by his passion for music and people. He was one of the
kindest men I ever met. And his friendship with my dear friend William, made
him that much more special to me.
Over the years I spent less time with Ted than many of you who will be
posting here. However, William would always fill me in on the goings on of
Ted Greene.
For me, he will forever remain an unforgettable spirit, in my heart.
A Christmas party, 2001, in Oxnard. And Ted drives all the way out to our
house at the beach. I thought -wow he is going to make the drive out our
way. He never drives that far, I thought. I was so excited he was coming. He
played guitar for us that night. Man, how lucky we were . A private audience
with Ted Greene.
Really, the truth is, how lucky we all are to have had our private audience
with Ted Greene.
