“Greening's trombone has the delicious plumpness of a ripe mango. The Sad bits and the funny bits become jumbled, and there can be no higher praise.” – John Shand The Sydney Morning Herald.
Search JAMES GREENING - TROMBONE and a plethora of projects past and present will hit the screen. James Greening has been a leading voice in the music scene in Sydney and Australia for more than thirty years. Trombones, pocket trumpet, slide trumpet, tuba, sousaphone and diddly bow bass add to James' diversity as a performer. His roots are in any music that grooves, expressed more often in jazz as a founding member of seminal Australian jazz bands such as Ten Part Invention, Wanderlust, the catholics, the Umbrellas and the Australian Art Orchestra.
The World According to James, formed in 1992, saw James step forward as a bandleader and composer, presenting music with all the qualities of wit, creativity and exuberance that have long been associated with his work as a soloist. Three critically acclaimed CDs of original compositions include No Job Too Small, Wayback (ARIA nominated) and their third CD, Lingua Franca, winning the AIR (Australian Independent Records Labels) award for Jazz album of the year for 2010. In 2012, James Greening launched a new 7 piece project, Greening from Ear to Ear and composed a new suite of original music, Tam O’Shanter Tales. This CD has received rave reviews.
A significant part of his playing has been in funk, and one of James Greening‘s major musical influences was friend and mentor, the late Jackie Orszaczky
“I can’t think of anyone in the entire country who touched so many different musicians in so many different ways” – John Shand The Sydney Morning Herald.
James Greening performed in a number of Jackie’s groundbreaking bands such as Jump Back Jack, Industrial Accident, The Godmothers, The Orszaczky Budget Orchestra and Hungarian Rapsadists. An annual Jackie Orszaczky Music Lecture and Concert commenced in 2016 in conjunction with APRA AMCOS and the LIve Music Office at The basement, Sydney followed by 2 concerts 2017 at the Sydney Festival.
In young family circles James is most recognized as performing on ABC’s Play School and guest spots with Lah-Lah. James has led his quartet, The World According to James, for the Musica Viva in Schools Program, showcasing in an innovative and engaging way the fundamentals of all music and introducing students to the world of composition and improvisation more specific to Jazz.
International artists he has played with include Teramasa Hino, Mark Elias, Tony Malaby, Maria Schneider, the Mingus Big Band, Martha Wainwright, Lou Reed, Brian Wilson, Josh Roseman (at the 2011 Wangaratta Jazz Festival) and Bennie Maupin (at the 2012 Capital Jazz Project). James Greening's trombone has taken him around the world to perform at International Jazz Festivals such as Berlin, Montreux, North Sea, Umbria, Ascona, Pori, Malmö,Tokyo, Hakuba, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Delhi, Washington jazz festival and Kennedy Centre, Montreal, Onterio, Calgary, Winnipeg, Quebec. As well as festivals James has performed in Jazz clubs all over Europe, USA, Canada, Asia, Oceania and India. April 2017, James is off to play trumpet, trombone and sousaphone in Stu Hunter's Migration project at Jazzahead, Bremen.
Too many to list, he is a regular recording artist on ground breaking new recordings with groups of all styles around the country. His distinctive sound has appeared on the recording and performances with leading musicians including Katie Noonan, Renee Geyer, Tina Harrod, Sandy Evans, Jonathon Zwartz, Stu Hunter, Lily Dior, Monica Trapaga, Darren Percival, Paul Grabowsky, Andrew Robson, Judy Bailey, Joseph Tawadros, Clayton Doley, Lachlan Doley and country artists including Slim Dusty and Graeme Connors as well as independent singer songwriters and pop groups including Passenger.