Charlie Greenlea

Charles "Majeed" or "Majid" Greenlee (April or May 24, 1927 – January 23, 1993) was an American jazz trombonist who worked extensively with Archie Shepp.

Greenlee played mellophone, drums, and baritone horn in his youth, and got his early experience playing locally in Detroit. He played with Lucky Millinder and Benny Carter in the early 1940s, then with Dizzy Gillespie (1946, 1949–51). He also led his own bands around this time, working with Frank Foster and Tommy Flanagan. Late in the 1940s he converted to Islam, changing his name to Harneefan Majeed; he continued to use Charles Greenlee for professional purposes, though he is sometimes credited with his Muslim last name.

After spending some time on the hard bop scene in the early 1950s, with Gene Ammons among others, Greenlee essentially quit music from 1951 to 1957. He returned to play with Yusef Lateef (1957) and Maynard Ferguson (1959).

His lone album as leader features Alden Griggs, Charles Sullivan (tp) Suliman Hakim (as, fl) Archie Shepp (ts, ss) James Ware (bars) Hubert Eaves III (p) Buster Williams (b) Charlie Persip(d) Neil Clarke (per, cga) Jean Carn, Joe Lee Wilson (vo)

His composition "Miss Toni" appears on the Eric Dolphy album Outward Bound.

Birth and Death Data: Born (Detroit (city in and county seat of Wayne County, and largest city in State of Michigan, United States)), Died January 23, 1993 (Springfield (county seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1927 - 1949

Roles Represented in DAHR: trombone

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Mercury 2996 10-in. 9/27/1949 Fast movin' mama Teddy Stewart Orchestra ; Dinah Washington instrumentalist, trombone  
Mercury 2997 10-in. 9/27/1927 Juice head man of mine Teddy Stewart Orchestra ; Dinah Washington instrumentalist, trombone  
Mercury 2999 10-in. 9/27/1949 Richest guy in the graveyard Teddy Stewart Orchestra ; Dinah Washington instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 73688 9/24/1946 Lover come back to me Roy Eldridge Orchestra instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 73689 9/24/1946 Rockin' chair Roy Eldridge Orchestra instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 73690 9/24/1946 It's the talk of the town Roy Eldridge Orchestra instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 73691 9/24/1946 I surrender dear Roy Eldridge Orchestra instrumentalist, trombone  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Greenlea, Charlie," accessed January 3, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/318866.

Greenlea, Charlie. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 3, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/318866.

"Greenlea, Charlie." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 3 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/318866

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