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Music

He's called Green and he's giving London the blues

May 26, 2011 10:12
Leo Green: festival

By

Simon Round,

Simon Round

2 min read

The prevailing wisdom is that following in the footsteps of a famous father can be dangerous, particularly when your father was Benny Green, the beloved jazz saxophonist, writer and broadcaster who died in 1998.

Clearly no one told Benny's son, Leo Green, the jazz saxophonist, broadcaster and now concert promoter, who has thrown his considerable energy into BluesFest - a jazz and blues festival for London taking place this summer.

From the first time he heard his father perform when he was about six-years-old Green knew music was for him. He took up the instrument seriously aged 15 and by 18 was playing gigs. His CV resembles a who's who of rock. He played with Jerry Lee Lewis, spent eight years in Van Morrison's band, and appeared with Jools Holland, Ray Charles and many more. Lewis called Green, "the greatest sax player I ever worked with", but Green is not so sure. "I wouldn't say I was exceptional. As great as Jerry was, well let's face it, it's not Mozart we're talking about here."

When Green hit his 30s, he decided a change of career was in order. "Being on tour is as a bit like being in the navy. It's great when you're young and single but not when you're married with kids."

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