Guitar Tricks Insider November / December Issue | Page 14

NUGGETS
e
lik
Green
Freddie
By Dave Rubin
Of all the unlikely guitar heroes, swing
era master Freddie Green (1911-1987)
would have to be near the top of the
list. Recommended to Count Basie by
legendary producer John Hammond, Sr. in
1937, he would be a pivotal fixture in the
Basie band for almost 50 years. Even into
the post-WWII years when the electric
guitar was changing the face of jazz,
blues, and popular music, Green continued
to anchor the rhythm section with an
unamplified acoustic arch top Epiphone
Emperor, Stromberg models Master 400,
Master 300 and Deluxe, and lastly, a
Gretsch Eldorado. All were usually set up
with heavy gauge flat wound strings and
unusually high action.
Green rarely played a solo. He once
explained his accompaniment philosophy
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GUITAR TRICKS INSIDER
DIGITAL EDITION
as, “You should never hear the guitar
by itself. It should be part of the drums
so it sounds like the drummer is playing
chords—like the snare is in A or the hi-
hat in D minor.” Imagine a guitar hero
who did not shred! To that point he
rarely strummed more than three notes
and sometimes only two, though video
evidence shows him covering more strings
while not sounding all notes.
Following is a practical introduction to
the exquisite swing rhythm guitar style
of Freddie Green. All are in 4/4 time
with a lilt and should be played with a
crisp down stroke. Consider them all to
be in moderate swing tempo of 80 BPM.
Performance Tip: All voicings will consist
of three notes. Be aware how Green would
often mute beats 2 and 4.
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER