Bunky Green
1933 – 2025
Vernice "Bunky" Green (alto saxophonist) was born in Milwaukee on April 23, 1933. He attended Lincoln High School (which now houses the middle school Lincoln Center for the Arts) and later transferred to North Division High School. Bunky got his start playing saxophone at amateur nights at the Regal Theater in Milwaukee's Bronzeville and played throughout the area, sometimes with Billy Wallace or Willie Pickens. He also attended Milwaukee State Teachers College, which later became the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
In 1958, he moved to New York City to pursue performing. Thanks to a recommendation from Milwaukee friend and pianist Billy Wallace, Bunky got a phone call from Charles Mingus with an invitation to join his band—with just one hour's notice to leave for an engagement in West Virginia! He spent eight highly instructive months touring the country with Mingus, but he had to return home due to personal commitments in Milwaukee. "I thought when I left Mingus," Bunky said, "that I'd clear up my business in a short time and return to the group, but, as it turned out, I was never able to get back."
Back in Milwaukee, Bunky took a steady gig playing at the Brass Rail on Third Street near Wells Street, which was transitioning from jazz venue to strip club by then. "I picked up a job in Milwaukee fronting a group in a strip show—and I doubled as emcee," Bunky said. "We'd play tunes like 'Fever,' 'Tequila,' and 'Night Train'—the kind of thing the girls could bump and grind to." The gig paid well, and Bunky was able to save money with the intention of getting back on the jazz circuit. Joe Segal, owner of the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, invited Bunky down to perform, where he found himself in the company of great players like tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin.
Inspired by the experience, he moved to Chicago in 1960, where he worked and recorded with greats such as Sonny Stitt and Eddie Harris, among many others. He also became a dedicated educator, teaching at Chicago State University from 1972 until 1989 and at the University of North Florida from 1990 until 2011. Initially strongly influenced by Charlie Parker, Bunky developed a highly distinctive personal style that influenced well-known saxophonists such as Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, and Rudresh Mahanthappa.
Bunky Green died on March 1, 2025, in Jacksonville, Florida, at 91.
Listen to Bunky perform a blues titled “Homestretch,” joined by Sonny Stitt, who is also playing alto sax. After two choruses of the head (melody), Sonny and Bunky trade choruses and then fours. Sonny begins the exchange, and the stylistic contrast between the two is clearly evident.
