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Biography
Frederick William "Freddie" Green (Charleston, SC, USA, March 31, 1911 – Las Vegas, NV, USA, March 1, 1987) was an American swing jazz guitarist. He was especially noted for his sophisticated rhythm guitar in big band settings, particularly for the Count Basie orchestra, where he was part of the "All-American Rhythm Section" with Basie on piano, Jo Jones on drums, and Walter Page on bass.
Freddie Green was exposed to music from an early age, and learned the banjo before picking up the guitar in his early teenage years. A friend of his father by the name of Sam Walker taught a young Freddie to read music, and keenly encouraged him to keep up his guitar playing. Walker gave Freddie what was perhaps his first gig, playing with a local community group with whom Walker was an organizer. Interestingly, another member of the group was a young William "Cat" Anderson, who went on to become an established trumpeter, working with notable figures such as Duke Ellington.
