Sonny Greenwich facts for kids

Sonny Greenwich, CM (born January 1, 1936) is a famous Canadian guitarist. He has played his guitar in many big cities in Canada and the United States. He even performed at a famous place called Carnegie Hall. Sonny has played with many well-known musicians. Some of these include Charles Lloyd, Wayne Shorter, Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, John Handy and Sun Ra.

Discovering Sonny Greenwich

Sonny Greenwich was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He first became known for his unique guitar style in 1959. This was in Toronto, Ontario. In 1965, he played in New York City. He performed at a club called The Village Gate. He played with a saxophonist named Charles Lloyd.

Growing Fame

Sonny's reputation spread quickly. People talked about his amazing talent. This led him to play with John Handy. They performed together from late 1966 to early 1967. They played in cities like Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, and New York. Another Canadian musician, Don Thompson, played bass with them. A record company, Columbia Records, even released a live album of their concert. It was called Spirituals to Swing. Around this time, Sonny also recorded an album called Third Season. He worked with the famous saxophonist Hank Mobley on this album.

What People Say About Sonny

Many experts think Sonny Greenwich is a very important jazz musician. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz says he might be the most important Canadian jazz player. He is also listed as one of the '10 Best Canadian Jazz Musicians of All Time'. This was in the Canadian Book of Lists. The famous guitarist Barney Kessel wrote about Sonny. He said Sonny's music has "deep emotion and sincerity." He called Sonny "a really rare kind of talent."

Sonny Greenwich is also mentioned in the Canadian Encyclopedia. He is also in the book Jazz in Canada. A musician named Mike Bloomfield said Sonny was one of his favorite jazz guitarists. He even called him "the Coltrane of guitar players." This means he thought Sonny was as amazing on guitar as John Coltrane was on saxophone.

Leading His Own Band

In 1968, Sonny Greenwich started his own band. They played at the Village Vanguard in New York. The band included pianist Teddy Saunders, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. In December 1969, Sonny played with Miles Davis. Miles Davis is a legendary jazz trumpeter. They played in Toronto. Other famous musicians like Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea were also there. The next year, Sonny's own group opened a show for Miles Davis's band. This was at Massey Hall.

Awards and Recognition

In 2006, Sonny Greenwich was given a special honor. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada. This is one of the highest awards a Canadian can receive. In 2021, he received the Canadian Jazz Master Award. This award celebrates his long and important career in jazz music.

Family Life

Sonny Greenwich is a father. His son is Sonny Greenwich Jr. Sonny Jr. is also a guitarist. He plays in a Canadian band called Bootsauce. This band plays funk-metal music.

Music Albums

Here are some of the albums Sonny Greenwich has released:

• The Old Man and the Child (CBC/Sackville, 1970)
• Sun Song Akasha (CBC, 1974)
• Evolution, Love's Reverse (PM, 1979)
• Days Gone By (Sackville, 1979) with Ed Bickert
• Bird of Paradise (Justin Time, 1986)
• Live at Sweet Basil (Justin Time, 1987)
• Standard Idioms (Kleo, 1991/92)
• Outside In (Justin Time, 1994) with Paul Bley
• Hymn to the Earth (Kleo, 1994)
• Welcome: Mother Earth (Justin Time, 1995)
• Spirit in the Air (Kleo, 1995)
• Kenny & Sonny live at the Montreal Jazz Festival (Justin Time, 1993/1997) with Kenny Wheeler
• Fragments of a Memory (Cornerstone, 2001)
• Special Angel (CBC, 2003) with Marilyn Lerner
• Essence (Kleo, 2009)
• Portraits (Kleo, 2009)