Hilliard Greene has been studying music for more than 50 years and has been playing professionally over thirty-five. His emphasis is in classical, jazz, rock, blues, R&B, Tango as well as the music of other continents and US regions, and solo performances.
Greene studied at the University of Northern Iowa and at Berklee College of Music in Boston and has been teaching private students and classes for over 25 years. He is currently a faculty member at the Collective in New York City. He is a 2020 recipient of the Bronx Council on the Arts BRIO Award (Bronx Recognizes Its Own).
He performs widely in the New York City area: recitals, nightclubs, concert halls (including Carnegie Hall), recording studios, radio and television. Also performs in major cities throughout the United States, Canada, Europe east and west, Asia, the West Indies, and South America.
Greene performed and recorded with Jimmy Scott for 20+ years, serving as his Musical Director from 1995 to 2013. Greene was also Cecil Taylor’s Concert Master for his group “Phtongos”. He was in residence at Minton’s a.k.a. legendary Minton’s Playhouse as the house bassist.
Greene works / worked with Rashied Ali, Barry Altschul, Lucian Ban, Billy Bang, Kenny Barron, David Berger, Karl Berger, Cindy Blackman-Santana, T.K. Blue, Karen Borca, Dougie Bowen, Joanne Brackeen, Oscar Brown Jr., Uri Caine, Roy Campbell, Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Skin, Daniel Carter, James Carter, Denardo Coleman, Carla Cook, Akua Dixon, Dave Douglas, John Esposito, Queen Esther, Bobby Few, Erik Friedlander, Camille Gainer, Eddie Gale, Charles Gayle, Eddie Gladden, Electric Symphony, Alex Harding, George Haslam, Jon Hendricks, John Hicks, Jason Kao Hwang, The Inkspots, Yoron Israel, Vijay Iyer, Klaus Kugel, Leroy Jenkins, Howard Johnson, Frank Lacy, Frank London, Gloria Lynne, Michael Marcus, Sabir Mateen, Jason Moran, Steve Nelson, Bern Nix, Greg Osby, Jimmy Ponder, Don Pullen, Lenore Raphael, Marc Ribot, Matana Roberts, Perry Robinson, Josh Roseman, Vanessa Rubin, Adam Rudolph, Nipsy Russell, Kavita Shah, Matthew Ship, Warren Smith, Steve Swell, Grady Tate, Jacky Terrasson, Gebhard Ullman, Marlene VerPlanck, Village Vanguard Orchestra, Petras Vysniauskas, Jack Walrath, Bobby Watson, Mars Williams…
Hilliard Greene has recently formed The In&Out Band, a trio using jazz standards as a vehicle for free improvisation. Also, he is co-leader of the classical crossover ensemble ZigZag Quartet with a co-produced self-titled ZigZag Quartet CD. He produced three CD’s with his own ensemble The Jazz Expressions, a solo bass CD entitled “Alone”, and a recording featuring Negro Spirituals related to the Underground Railroad called Spirituals released through Unseen Rain.