Thurman Green was a jazz trombonist who was primarily thought of as bebop

Bebop

Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...

-oriented .

Born in Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, he did spend time playing in Los Angeles with swinging big bands (including the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra

Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra

John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, and Jeff Clayton brought together a group of Los Angeles-based musicians in 1985 and formed the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra . Reviewers and fans loved the big band, and the orchestra's first recording, Groove Shop , earned a Grammy Award nomination. CD Review named...

) but he was also an occasional member of the Horace Tapscott

Horace Tapscott

Horace Tapscott was an American jazz pianist and composer. He formed the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra in 1961 and led the ensemble through the 1990s...

 Quintet (one of many groups headed by the late pianist that no one bothered to record) and was open-eared enough to play quite credibly in free settings now and then.

In 1962, Green and baritonist Hamiet Bluiett

Hamiet Bluiett

Hamiet Bluiett is an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. His primary instrument is the baritone saxophone, and he is considered one of the finest living players of this instrument...

 were jamming buddies at the Navy School of Music in Washington D.C. They soon went their separate ways but hoped to team up again some day. Thirty-two years later, in December 1994, Bluiett (who had been recording for the Mapleshade

Mapleshade Records

Mapleshade Records is an American jazz based record label.Mapleshade was founded in 1989 by Pierre Sprey, who had been recording since 1986. Prior to his career in jazz recording, Sprey had worked as an aeronautical engineer in The Pentagon, designing A-10 and F-16 fighter jets. The label is based...

 label) was able to give his old friend his first opportunity to lead his own record date,Dance of the Night Creatures.

It is a shame that it took over four years for the music to finally come out because, in 1997, Green suddenly died at age 57. Thurman Green was also joined by pianist John Hicks

John Hicks (jazz pianist)

John Josephus Hicks, Jr. was an American jazz pianist and composer, active in the New York and the international jazz scene from the mid-1960s.-Biography:...

, either Walter Booker

Walter Booker

Walter Booker was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and tremolo techniques.-Biography:Booker moved with his family to Washington, D.C. in the mid 1940s...

 or Steve Novosel on bass, and drummer Steve Williams

Steve Williams (jazz drummer)

Stephen Edward Williams is an American jazz drummer.For twenty-five years he has collaborated with jazz pianist and singer Shirley Horn.-From Washington DC:...

.

Discography

With Willie Bobo

Willie Bobo

Willie Bobo was the stage name of William Correa , an American jazz percussionist.-Biography:William Correa grew up in Spanish Harlem, New York City. He made his name in Latin Jazz, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz, in the 1960s and '70s, with the timbales becoming his favoured instrument...

• Tomorrow Is Here
  Tomorrow Is Here
  Tomorrow Is Here is an album by American jazz percussionist Willie Bobo recorded in late 1976 and early 1977 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Richard S...
  
  (Blue Note, 1977)

With Donald Byrd

Donald Byrd

Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...

• Ethiopian Knights
  Ethiopian Knights
  Ethiopoian Knights is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances by Byrd with Thurman Green, Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, and Joe Sample recorded and released on the Blue Note label in 1971.-Reception:...
  
  (Blue Note, 1971)

With Bobby Hutcherson

Bobby Hutcherson

Bobby Hutcherson is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His vibraphone playing is suggestive of the style of Milt Jackson in its free-flowing melodicism, but his sense of harmony and group interaction is thoroughly modern...

• Inner Glow
  Inner Glow
  Inner Glow is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson recorded in 1975 and originally released on the Japanese Blue Note label. While never issued in the U.S...
  
  (Blue Note, 1975)

Sources