Compiled By John D'Aquila
tipitinas.com

Tim Green arrives at Tipitina's 8th Floor Studio on time, an anomaly as musicians go. I comment on it and he smiles, saying timeliness, or lack thereof, is something he has never understood about his music brethren. I explain it is something we are accustomed to and thank him for being on time.

For those of you who do not know Tim Green, well, he is arguably the finest saxophone player in town, and one of the most sought after musicians around the country for both session work and gigs.

The quintessential sideman, Green currently plays with more than 20 bands, and has performed on more than 50 recordings with local, regional, national and international acts. He has done all this rather quietly, without the fanfare many musicians of his ilk garner.

In addition to being a top-notch musician, Tim Green is a fine man who has dedicated himself and continues to dedicate his time to a host of worthy causes. He serves and has served on a bevy of boards, everything from music foundations, to foundations for the blind and homeless people. For 8 years he served as the General Manager for WRBH 88.3 FM, Radio for the Blind and Print Handicapped, and is directly responsible for building the station's state of the art studio on Magazine St.

His work at WRBH and the many boards he served on earned him President George Bush's 257th Point of Light.

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Green has lived and worked in New Orleans for more than half his 44 years, so much so that he considers himself, and rightly so, a New Orleanian.

Although he did not pick up his first saxophone until he was 19 years old, Green is clearly a prodigy. He was gigging, literally, within weeks of buying his first horn from a pawn shop and studied briefly at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts before forging ahead with his music career.

A prodigious worker, Green, like two of his revered predecessors - John Coltrane and John Gilmore - has honed his skills with countless hours of practice. There is seldom an hour in the day when Green his not playing his horn.

Our interview at 8th Floor Studios took nearly 3 hours to complete as Green told the story of his music sojourn, which is filled with so many twists and turns he is wont to believe that only God could have orchestrated such a life.

Tip's -- You grew up in a musical family -- your mother was trained classically on piano -- yet you did not pick up your first saxophone until you were 19. Why?

Tim Green -- My parents were more concerned with me finding suitable, safe employment - something that guaranteed a salary and benefits. My father told me to seek a job with the Post Office and my mother really didn't have any career suggestions, just not to get involved in music. However, both my parents recognized my musicality early, and that was why they seemed to discourage this and send me on the path to job security. I was permitted to sing in the church and school choirs, but that was the extent of my parents' endorsement of my musical "career."

Tip's -- There is an interesting story that goes with your first sax. Tell us about your chance meeting with Grover Washington and how he influenced you.

Tim Green -- I had been listening to Grover Washington for several years and would make it my business to attend every concert of his I could. In August of 1976, the CTI Jazz Label hosted a two-day festival in Central Park, New York. I took my vacation from work to coincide with this event and some other concerts in New York the following week. I got to the park very early, perhaps six hours before the start of the first day's concerts. I was sitting next to a paved path on a little grassy knoll and I saw a little red car approaching. It pulled up next to me - the driver was Hank Crawford, the great alto stylist, and Grover was the passenger. They asked me directions to the stage. I guess they thought I was part of the festival staff. I offered to show them to the stage if they let me ride in the car with them. So I climbed in the backseat and began my acquaintanceship with Grover. He was extremely warm and generous with his time. He made me his guest at the festival and introduced me to many great jazz musicians who were also appearing there. He and I talked and I told him I wanted to learn how to play and I asked him if he would be willing to give me lessons. He told me he was too busy to give lessons anymore, but that if I got a horn to let him know and he would give me a few pointers. So he gave me his address and a couple of days after the festival I went to a pawn shop in New York and bought a soprano saxophone for $250. I wrote to Grover and he wrote back giving me a "to do" list, which included books to get, records to listen to, and some practice habits to develop. Many of the things he told me I still do to this day, and I still use those books.

Being around Grover and all the wonderful people he introduced me to, and meeting and speaking at length with David Sanborn a couple of days after the festival impressed me beyond belief, not only with their incredible musicianship, but the warmth and generosity of their personalities, also. It convinced me that I wanted to be like these people.

Tip's- - Something happened when you learned of his death. Tell us about that.

Tim Green -- I was devastated. I had not had contact with him in many years - at least a dozen years. I was playing a private party, a lot of people there. When we were starting our second set the leader of the band came up to me asked me to play "Mr. Magic" in honor of Grover, since he had died. This was said matter-of-factly. I said: "What?" I had no idea. I immediately got very emotional and upset. So I told everyone in the audience what I was going to do, play "Mr. Magic" for someone who was instrumental in my career. I would usually groan when people would ask me to play that song, but that was one night I didn't groan [laughs]. I really wanted to reach out to him spiritually and thank him for what he did for me. I don't know if Grover got it, but the audience really did.

Tip's -- Grover is not the only story you can tell about encountering great musicians. You have been blessed in that you have gotten to spend some one-on-one time with some music greats, many before you became a musician. Tell us about some of them.

Tim Green -- Aside from the ones I have already mentioned, there was Charles Mingus, McCoy Tyner, Dizzy Gillespie, Ester Phillips, Ron Carter, Joe Farrell, Hank Jones, Sonny Rollins, Elvin Jones, Pee Wee Ellis, George Benson, and numerous others. I met a lot of people.

Tip's -- Describe your early days as a horn player.

Tim Green -- When I got my horn I got a fingering chart and taught myself a couple of scales -- C major, F major. Once I learned the scales I went to a park a couple of blocks from my apartment and jammed with these Puerto Rican percussionists who were there every night after work. Even with my limited knowledge and ability, these guys welcomed me and I would make up melodies and try to match their rhythms. This was literally a couple of weeks after I got my horn. A saxophone teacher named Bobby Jones walked by one day and after hearing me play kind of adopted me. He brought me to his home a few blocks from the park and gave me some books to study (which I still have and use), and he also gave me records to listen to. I was fortunate enough to be around other local elders who would let me sit in on their gigs, and they expected me to show up at every gig and play on every song, no matter how difficult. I learned quite a bit of music on stages.

About six months later, I was practicing and looking out the window of my apartment. This guy heard me playing and parked his car and knocked on my door. His name was Kevin Ward. He was like a famous sax player in Bridgeport. He played with a band called Soul Unlimited. He was good, too, an alto player. He invited me to play with his band. I told him I didn't think I was ready, but he said I could learn. This was six months after I started playing.

Tip's -- How do you think all these chance meetings -- with Grover Washington, Bobby Jones, and this guy Kevin Ward -- occurred: Was it divine intervention?

Tim Green -- I do believe that very much. I am not ashamed to say it. I know what God has done for me. All these things have happened and I know it is not me.

Tip's -- You came to New Orleans in 1978. Why New Orleans?

Tim Green -- My mother got a teaching degree, but never taught because she got married. So I was her pupil. She started teaching me to read when I was three. When I was four I had a whole library. One of things I had was a box set the National Geographic put out -- they were booklets for children to teach them about geography. One of the booklets was New Orleans. So I learned about New Orleans from that. Then I saw King Creole [a movie filmed in New Orleans staring Elvis Presley]. So I put those images together and when I was four years old I picked New Orleans. I said, that is where I want to live. It was just meant to be.

When I was at Berklee I met a girl from New Orleans and we came down here. Now you talk about strange stories: It was St. Patrick's Day -- boy, I have not thought about this for a long time. We were in the quarter and this float comes by with a band on it. And without asking I just put my horn on that float and hopped on it. I said, "hey can I play with ya'll?" They agreed and I started playing with them. We had only played a couple tunes and the float hit a bump in the road and the generator went out, so the only people who could play was the drummer and myself, no guitar, no bass. So I started playing "When The Saints Go Marching In" and people are singling along with me on the street. That band, we won the trophy for best band in the parade. [laughs]

Tip's -- By the way, where is the original sax you bought from the pawn shop?

Tim Green -- Well, that is a sad story.

Tip's -- You left your sax in San Francisco?

Tim Green -- No, I left it in Canada. I had some bad times. I don't know how much of this you want to hear.

Tip's -- Let's try all of it. Inquiring minds want to know. [laughs]

Tim Green -- I was living here in New Orleans, but I decided to go back to Boston for a while. I was there maybe a week and picked up a gig at the school with a show band. I am not going to name the band, because I don't want to be associated with them anymore. In fact, for years, every time I went to the border in Canada, I worried if I could get across because of all the bad stuff this band did. It was pretty bad.

Anyway, they were an impressive show band with some records out. They just happened to drive to Berklee looking for a sax player and I just happened to be walking out the door with my sax case when they drove up. They were from New York. They were pretty solid and had a big road crew. So I just up and left with them to Canada -- just like that. I was 21 years old and nothing was holding me down. It was legit, they had all the contracts for these great gigs. What they didn't tell me was they were thugs, even though they were good musicians. A band meeting with this band would not be about the music, it would be about how to steal, how to meet women, go home with them and steal from them. That is literally what the band leader would talk about. By the time I heard all this I was deep into Canada and Quebec. I was scared to death. A couple of the guys where heroin addicts. I actually walked in some guys shooting up. It was horrific. The stage was great though, because they had their act together there, good technical people. Off stage I was completely miserable.

What ended up happening was, we had to take a ferry from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland for a tour there. We had to go to the immigration office. They were set up. Enough people had complained that the immigration office was notified. When we got there, they arrested about half the band and told the rest of us we had 48 hours to leave the country. Well, the guy who owned the band -- the money man, who was in North Carolina -- told us that he would get them out and the tour would resume. Don't leave. We all believed him. It didn't happen that way. I ended up staying in Canada, way past 48 hours. I ended up living in Hallifax, Nova Scotia for a while. It was very hard. I stayed through the winter. I ended up cleaning office buildings. I couldn't get a gig. I knew I was sinking and there was no hope. I ended up taking my horns to a music store and selling them. I didn't have an overcoat, so the guy I was staying with gave me his Navy P-Coat. So I got on this bus and was headed to New York to pick up the last horn I owned.

So, I get to the border and they started checking ID's. Of course, my name rang a bell and it wasn't a good bell. I was suppose to have been gone many months before. "Ah, here you are Mr. Green. You are going to have to come with us. So the bus left. They started searching my things. They went through the coat and what do they find in that coat -- a joint. I have never smoked marijuana, or even a cigarette in my life. I have never even had a drink in my life. I was stunned! The joint was not in the pocket. It was in the lining of the coat. Well, I didn't have to work that hard. It goes back to when we were talking about God. One of the things I was carrying was a Bible and it was obviously well-read, well-worn. So I tried to tell them that the coat was not mine, and that I have never smoked in my life. While this was going on, they were going through my things and found that Bible. Well, the guy says, anybody who would be carrying a Bible like this has got to be telling the truth. So they put me on the next bus, just like that. [laughs]

Tip's -- What do you do when you got back to New Orleans?

Tim Green -- I got a job washing dishes at the Maison Dupuy. I left that job without picking up my last check. I had very little money and no idea what I was going to do. While this was happening, a friend of mind drove up (a sax player). He had a gig for me with Ernie K-Do and Walter Washington. God worked it out.

Tip's -- You took a rather lengthy hiatus from being a musician. Where were you musically when you distanced yourself from your horn?

Tim Green -- I never took a hiatus from studying the saxophone. I took some breaks from performing in public. But what I ended up doing was, to better myself in my career, I had to find a way to make a living so I could to the gigs I wanted to do. Back then, I had to do some gigs I did not want to do. So I decided that that wasn't going to work for me anymore.

Tip's -- A lot of people don't realize that you spent a lot of time in radio. How did you get started in that business?

Tim Green -- I went to work for WWOZ as a volunteer in 1984. I worked there a long time, but only one year as the manager. I actually started a radio station with three other guys when I was in high school. We started a broadcasting station on the air - it was illegal, we never got a license, but we had a transmitter and broadcasted on the AM band. So I had this experience already and I thought I had something to offer OZ. I did a jazz show and it came on right after Ernie K-Do's show. It was a weird transition. I volunteered for several years, but I went on a tour with Gatemouth Brown before they offered me the job as operations manager. I ended up basically running the station because we had a "do nothing" manager and some of the other staff was equally as bad. They ended up firing the manager and giving the job to me.

Tip's -- After taking over OZ, you quickly moved on to some work you thought more important. You spent 8 years as the general manager for WRBH (Radio For the Blind and Print Handicapped) giving a lot of your time and vision to the station. Tell us a little about what you did and what you accomplished there.

Tim Green -- It was incredible. It was intense. It was fulfilling. I am very proud and happy about spending my time there. I saw real results from the work I was going. People where getting the help they needed -- assistance, and better than assistance. It went from being a radio reading service to a full agency to address the issues and needs of the vision impaired and others with disabilities. We helped empower those with disabilities to learn to do things for themselves. They didn't need somebody doing for them. They needed assistance getting things done, to take on things for themselves so the population would have more respect for them because they were doing the work. We educated many people who were sighted about what it was like to be blind. We would have sighted people come in to the station and learn how blind people work and operate at their home. We would have sighted people put on shades over their eyes and have blind people show them how they got around the city, caught buses. It was a beautiful experience.

Tip's -- During that time you were awarded the 257th Point of Light by President George Bush. That had to be quite an honor. Was it something you expected and how did it affect you?

Tim Green -- That was pretty incredible. The person I owe that honor to is Bob Livingston. Congressman Livingston, unbeknownst to me, was a real big fan of the work we were doing. We had no idea, because we were not in his district. It ended up being Bob Livingston telling President Bush about our work. So, this one day I am sitting in my office and the phone rings and it is the White House. Somebody informed me that President Bush had named me his 257th Point of Light and it will happen tomorrow and congratulations. I was like "WOW." They let us know that they would have a press release and to expect some media. And sure enough, we were inundated with media -- all the television stations were there, radio stations, the Times-Picayune. It was an all-day press event.

The greatest thing about it was that if gave legitimacy to the work we were doing. I had to really struggle to get things done. But that one phone call from the White House changed everything. For a period of time after that, people were calling me. The volunteer list grew enormously -- 10 to 20 people a day. I had to put them on a waiting list. Unsolicited money came in. We were offered grants. All this emboldened me. I decided to move the station from this little apartment at the Lighthouse for the Blind to, eventually, where the station is now on the corner of Magazine St. and Forcher.

Tip's -- What was it like standing there, shaking hands with the President of the United States -- the most powerful man in the free world? Were you in awe?

Tim Green -- Frankly, when these kinds of things happen, it humbles me. It made me feel I had to do more to earn, or deserve that respect. I ended up having a couple of conversations with President Bush and the last one we had was on TV briefly and some people saw me talking to him and said "wow, I saw you talking to the president, what were you saying to him?" I said, not every day you get to talk to the president. So I thought, if you waste with such an opportunity, you are a fool. I went there with business. I went there with a whole folder of stuff for him. I handed him this folder and said this is all the stuff I need for you to do for this organization. I wasn't going to waste any time. After the fact I was nervous, but at the time you have to jump.

Tip's -- What drives you to get involved in all these things? Was it something your father said to you on his death bed?

Tim Green -- [Long Pause] It was a combination of things. What you are referring to is my father telling me, when he was dying, that he regretted not doing all the things he wanted to do with his life. Here he was, 51 years old, and it was over -- he knew that, we all knew that, and that is indelibly etched in my mind. I said I would never let that happen. That is an ingrained thing. It is so ingrained in me that it is second nature for me to be curious about things and seek them out.

But there is another thing that drove me. I wasn't born here. One of things I found for a lot of years, and occasionally it still pops up, somebody will say that you are not from New Orleans, or ask if I am from New Orleans and when I tell them I have lived here for more than half my life, they say, oh well, you are really not from New Orleans, I was born and bred in New Orleans. So I made a conscious decision that I was going to give this city enough so that no one would ever deny that I am from New Orleans. I belong here. I feel confident that I have left a legacy of work in community service that now allows me to say I am from New Orleans and can study music guilt free.

Tip's -- Let's talk about your music for a bit. You are considered a sideman nonpareil. What has kept you from ever leading your own band?

Tim Green -- Watching other band leaders [laughs]. Watching what they have to go through. But first of all, I enjoy the various challenges of working with different bands. They are all different -- there sounds, where they play, where they go. It gives me all these places to go, musically and physically. It keeps me employed. Most bandleaders I know, unless they are at a certain level, are struggling, much more so than I am. Every band I play with gives me total freedom to be myself musically. Those bands who do not let me have that freedom, I am not in those bands anymore. I have been very fortunate in that regard.

Tip's -- You have performed or done session work with a host of big names in the music business, both locally and nationally -- even some international acts. With all the horn players out there, why did they choose Tim Green?

Tim Green -- I don't know. I really don't, because I think there are better saxophone players in this town. But I work hard at it, and I guess I have some natural ability. I don't know how to answer that question. I don't have a big ego and am content being a sideman. I don't need to lead the band, and when I do, it is not in New Orleans. I have been asked to do festivals in other parts of the world on several occasions. Usually it is someone who has seen me play here in New Orleans in someone else's band. And I have been lucky, every festival I have played, they have invited me back.

Tip's -- You have had a few opportunities to sign with record labels and do your own thing in the studio, why did those opportunities elude you?

Tim Green -- It happens to everyone. I had a couple of incidents, the first two I can't explain. They were big labels, I responded to them in everything they asked me to do, and then it was almost as if they died, the completely vanished. The last one was a production deal, that would have happened, but I turned it down. The deal the guy offered me was dictating the whole thing to me, the music, the musicians. So I turned it down. I didn't want a record that badly. I am well-represented on records -- something like over 50. If I am going to make the record, it has to be something I want to do.

Tip's -- What musical project are you most proud of and why?

Tim Green -- You could get me in trouble with that question [laughs]. I am proud of a lot of things I am doing and have done. That is not only the politically correct thing to say, but it is true. I am at the point in my life now where I can pick and chose the bands I want to play with. Over the last several years, there is not one band I have played with that I didn't want to play with, and that has not always been the case. If I really don't like the band, I am not going to take the gig.

Tip's -- You play with more than 20 bands. Can you name them all?

[laughs] I will start with Cyril (we are sitting here in the studio). I play with Cyril Neville and have been doing it for 14 years and I just love it. Cyril and I have had unbelievable musical experiences on stage. He has tremendous spirit and soul. I have learned a lot from him too, I don't even know if he knows that. I play in the Orchestra of the Hood with Russell Batiste. Russell is overflowing with music. I am just going to jump around.

I play with 3 Now 4, which is an incredible experience. The Johnny Vidocavich Trio, which I love. The Naked Orchestra, which came out of the Naked Quintet, who I also play with. I play with Anders Osborne. What people don't know, if they have not come to one of his gigs, they need to come, they will be amazed. We take Anders' songs and go to the outer limits with them. There is a lot of music that is happening on that stage. We are rockin' them, we are funkin' out, and we are going out there.

I play with Michael Ray and Cosmic Krewe. We have gone to some great places all over the world. I have learned a lot playing with him. It has been a great experience. He and I are partners. I play with the High-Life Rescue Dance Band. I play with Elio (Schiavo) for a year now. I think he is one of those talents that is just waiting to be discovered. I play with Jaunita Brooks, a great New Orleans vocalist. She has unbelievable ears, a great entertainer.

I also play with Leslie Smith, she is an unbelievable songwriter -- very prolific. You will hear a lot more about her soon. Another woman I work with, a great composer and songwriter, is Denise Mangiardi. She is one of the hippest jazz composers I know and she sings, as well. It is amazing the things she writes. She really challenges me. Dennis Gonzales, a trumpet player from Dallas. He is an avante garde composer. We have made some records together, and most recently we made one I co-produced some tunes. A lot of the stuff is very melodic, even though it is avant garde.

I also play with Andrew McClean, which is Indian classical music. That is an incredible experience because I actually have to play the Ragas. I have been playing with the Gregory Boyd Band. He is a virtuoso with the steel pan. One Drop Plus -- playing with Claude Bryant, that has been a lot of fun. John Carey, a blues band. He plays a blues harp, and it has been really interesting for me to play with a band that allows me to go in and out of the traditional blues to what I do and make it fit in that context. There are others, I am just blanking out right now.

Tip's -- You talk about music a lot in spiritual terms. Why?

Tim Green -- When I look back on my life and when I see currently how music affects people and what I do, what comes out of me with the saxophone, I become very aware that it is a spiritual thing. I played music with people who I could not communicate with, who did not speak my language, and we have been able to get on stage together and play music together, and not only play music together but make something happen with no communication other than our instruments. In cases like that, if that is not a manifestation of something spiritual, I don't know what is. It is a God-given gift to play music, but you can say that about everything in life. But I play music and it has moved me in ways that nothing else has, to hear it, to participate in it and to witness a certain love that goes with it. That is why I have a lot of trouble playing in studios, because I need that give and take with the audience when I play.

Tip's -- You are known for you long practice sessions. I read somewhere that this dedication to practice was influenced by John Coltrane and Sun Ra's great sax player, John Gilmore. True or false?

Tim Green -- Well, I have taken some things from the masters, but it is a combination of what they did and what I have learned from them and the things I have learned that work for me. I kind of designed my own study habits.

Tip's -- How long do you practice?

Tim Green -- It is almost the opposite question: When am I not practicing? That is pretty much all I do. When my mouth gets tired, I take a break by going to the piano. I am a student again. I study music. That is what I do.

Tip's -- What would be the apex of your career? When will you be satisfied? When will you have practiced enough?

Tim Green -- That won't happen. Sonny Rollins, who is in his seventies and one of the greatest living saxophone players, practices every day. John Coltrane rarely had the instrument out of his hand. He would go to bed with his horn. Who am I to say that I have practiced enough? If the masters do that, and I am not a master, so I have a lot of work to do.

Tip's -- When you are gone, and we hope that is not for a very long time, what do you think you will leave as a legacy?

Tim Green -- [laughs] Well, hopefully WRBH and WWOZ will still be on the air, and musically, I think people will say he was passionate and serious about his music.

Tip's -- Speaking of passion, you are very demonstrative on stage while you are playing. Are you aware of it, and if so, what does all these movements do for you?

Tim Green -- It is just a full experience. It is not just a mental thing. For me to get the music out, I kind of lose consciousness up there. I really don't know what is going on up there. I was unaware of what I did on stage for years, even though people made many comments about it. I actually had a friend of mine video tape a performance so I could see what they were talking about. I just never realized I did all that.

Tip's -- What is your opinion of the music scene here in New Orleans?

Tim Green -- I think there is a lot of music happening in New Orleans. There is a pretty good underground scene going on, there always was. I feel like right now I see more creative things happening than I have in quite a while. A lot of people are making music and not thinking about how much money they are going to make. We all need to earn a living, and we all have gigs that we hope pay the bills, but there are a lot of people exploring things. There are a lot of young players exploring and a lot of older players exploring. With all the potential and all the talent that is here, I am really encouraged.

Tip's -- What do you think about Tipitina's?

Tim Green -- Well, you know, we are sitting in a room here (8th Floor Studio) that I had a lot to do with. I put this together for Cyril (Neville). I was happy to be involved with the project. Cyril and I go way back and he saw the studio I built for Radio for the Blind, and many industry people came into that studio and the word I always heard was: "Impressive." Cyril was one of those people. So I came in here and put something together. I was glad I was able to help.

Tipitina's is an institution. I am glad it is here. I have been the beneficiary through what I have heard at Tipitina's. In fact, am old enough to remember Monday nights at Tipitina's with Professor Longhair playing. And really that is partly how I survived back then. You could go to Tipitina's back then on Monday nights and eat for one dollar. Tipitina's nourished me in very many ways. Plus all the music I played there. Tipitina's is an important institution in this town.