Bunky Green grew up in Milwaukee. Influenced by Charlie Parker, he learned to play the alto saxophone. In the early 1960s, he accompanied Charles Mingus. Soon after he moved to Chicago where he collaborated on stage or in the studio with Ira Sullivan, Andrew Hill, Yusef Lateef, Sonny Stitt... While he made several albums during this period, including My Baby (1965), Green devoted himself primarily to performing. By the 1970s, Green had grown tired of touring and decided to concentrate almost exclusively on teaching. However, from time to time the musician would release a significant recording - Transformations (1976), Healing the Pain (1989)... In 2010, he recorded the disc Apex with alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa.