Uncrowned Community Builders

Kenneth Howard Greene, a Buffalo native was a prominent jazz musician in the city in the 1950s and 60s. A drummer, he was part of a musical family. His brother James, former husband of jazz singer Dodo Greene, was house pianist at the Colored Musicians Club. Another brother, Irving "Bo Peep" Greene, was a jazz bassist. Kenny recalled that he and his brothers took piano lessons at the former Urban League Chapel Community Center in Buffalo at the insistence of their father James Sr., himself a piano player. Their mother, Prudence, was a singer. In the 1950s Greene toured worldwide with singer Della Reese and was a member of Ella Fitzgerald's Band.
After he stopped touring, he was a member of the Hackney Brothers Trio, a popular local jazz group and played the major clubs in Buffalo. He played with numerous other local bands before he stopped performing in 1968. He also was a drum instructor.
Greene was a graduate of Burgard Vocational High School and served in the Army during the Korean War. He worked for the Buffalo News for 28 years, first as a circulation manager, then as transportation manager. He retired in 1991.
Active in St. Philip's Episcopal Church, he was a lay minister and a Sunday school teacher. He also was a former president of the church's Men's Club.
He married the former Irene McLeisch in 1962. He had three daughters, Kim, Kelly and Kristie.
Greene died on August 31, 1999. A musical tribute in the Colored Musicians Club was given in Greene's honor.