Alex Greene
A composer and musician in and around Memphis and New York City.
Alex can currently be heard with:
Featuring some of the best players in Memphis (Jim Spake, Marc Franklin, Joe Restivo, Tom Lonardo, Tim Goodwin, and John Whittemore), this primitive jazz combo harkens back to the age of Prohibition, at times with wife Lorette Velvette singing front and center, and brings those dark, tuneful times into the present with Greene's own compositions.
The brainchild of NYC renaissance man Dave Soldier, this group fuses North Mississippi drum corps rhythms with classic string band blues and brooding originals that explore the shadowed side of life. Featuring virtuoso players from New York alongside Greene and Lorette Velvette.
The solo punk blues chanteuse of late 20th century Memphis now delves deep into the pockets of Memphis Minnie for inspiration, often seen with husband Greene and the Rolling Head Orchestra.
An indie Memphis supergroup of sorts, featuring Greene, Harlan T. Bobo, Tim Prudhomme, and Doug Easley, this red-nosed quartet specialized in crazy original songs for the very young.
Greene has played piano, organ, synth, and guitar a great deal around Memphis since the mid-1980s.
He was a founding member of The Reigning Sound, and played on their first 4 studio CDs. The Reigning Sound, plus Jack Oblivian, were also stand-ins for The Compulsive Gamblers and there was a fine CD of their live shows released by Sympathy for the Record Industry. Greene also led The Weeds and Rinderkinder in the 90s, releasing singles on Loverly Records.
Greene co-founded Big Ass Truck and played on that band's first CD.
Other artists he's performed and recorded with: Tav Falco & Panther Burns, Alex Chilton, Impala, Linda Gail Lewis, Jim Dickinson, Iggy Pop (see Discography and Soundtracks).
Greene also composes soundtracks for a variety of media, including an original score for the independent feature film Olympia, directed by Robert Byington. His work can also be heard on podcasts for the New York Academy of Sciences. Most recently he scored the documentary "Citizens Not Subjects! Reawakening Democracy in Memphis," by Verissima Productions.
See the Discography for more history.
Greene also performed in the final version of Arthur Lee's LOVE. Sadly, the Memphis band was only able to rehearse a few times before Arthur's death.
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