Joe Henderson | |
|---|---|
 Henderson withNeil Swainson andJon Ballantyne | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1937-04-24)April 24, 1937 Lima, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | June 30, 2001(2001-06-30) (aged 64) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Saxophone |
| Years active | 1955–1998 |
| Labels | |
Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an Americanjazztenor saxophonist and very occasional flute player. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, includingBlue Note,Milestone,Contemporary Records andVerve.
Born inLima, Ohio,[1] Henderson was one of 14 children. He was encouraged by his parents, Dennis and Irene (née Farley)[2] and older brother James T. to study music. He dedicated his first album to them "for being so understanding and tolerant" during his formative years. Early musical interests included drums, piano, saxophone and composition. According to trumpeterKenny Dorham, two local piano teachers who went to school with Henderson's brothers and sisters, Richard Patterson and Don Hurless, gave him a knowledge of the piano.[3] He was particularly enamored of his brother's record collection.
A hometown drummer, John Jarette, advised Henderson to listen to musicians likeLester Young,Stan Getz,Dexter Gordon andCharlie Parker.[3] He also likedFlip Phillips,Lee Konitz and theJazz at the Philharmonic recordings. However, Parker became his greatest inspiration. Henderson's first approach to the saxophone was under the tutelage of Herbert Murphy in high school. During this time, he wrote several scores for the school band.
By age 18, Henderson was active on theDetroit jazz scene of the mid-'50s, playing in jam sessions with visitingNew York City stars. While attending classes for flute andbass atWayne State University, he further developed his saxophone and compositional skills under the guidance of renowned teacherLarry Teal at the Teal School of Music. In late 1959, he formed his first group.[3] By the time he arrived at Wayne State University, he had transcribed and memorized so many Lester Young solos that his professors believed he hadperfect pitch. Henderson's college classmates includedYusef Lateef,Barry Harris andDonald Byrd.[4] He also studied music atKentucky State College.
Shortly prior to his army induction in 1960, Henderson was commissioned byUNAC to write some arrangements for the suite "Swings and Strings", which was later performed by a ten-member orchestra and the local dance band of Jimmy Wilkins.[3]
Henderson spent two years (1960–62) in theU.S. Army: first inFort Benning, where he competed in an Army talent show and won first place, then inFort Belvoir, where he was chosen for a world tour, with a show to entertain soldiers. While in Paris, he metKenny Drew andKenny Clarke. Then he was sent toMaryland to conclude his enlistment. In 1962, he was finally discharged and promptly moved to New York. He first met trumpeterKenny Dorham, who provided invaluable guidance, at saxophonistJunior Cook's place. That evening, they went to hearDexter Gordon atBirdland. Henderson was asked by Gordon to play something with his rhythm section and happily accepted.[3]
Although Henderson's earliest recordings were marked by a strong hard-bop influence, his playing encompassed not only thebebop tradition, butR&B,Latin andavant-garde as well. He soon joinedHorace Silver's band,[1] and provided a seminal solo on the jukebox hit "Song for My Father". After leaving Silver's band in 1966, Henderson resumed freelancing and also co-led a big band with Dorham. His arrangements for the band went unrecorded until the release ofJoe Henderson Big Band (Verve) in 1996.
From 1963 to 1968, Henderson appeared on nearly 30 albums forBlue Note, including five released under his name. The recordings ranged from relatively conservative hard-bop sessions (Page One, 1963) to more explorative sessions (Inner Urge andMode for Joe, 1966). He played a prominent role in many landmark albums under other leaders for the label, including most of Horace Silver'sSong for My Father[1] andThe Cape Verdean Blues,Grant Green'sIdle Moments,Herbie Hancock'sThe Prisoner,Lee Morgan'sThe Sidewinder,[1] and "out" albums with pianistAndrew Hill (Black Fire, 1963 andPoint of Departure, 1964)[1] and drummerPete La Roca (Basra, 1965).
In 1967, there was a brief association withMiles Davis's quintet featuringHerbie Hancock,Wayne Shorter,Ron Carter andTony Williams, although the band was never recorded. Henderson's adaptability and eclecticism would become even more apparent in the years to follow.
Signing withOrrin Keepnews's fledglingMilestone label in 1967 marked a new phase in Henderson's career.[1] He co-led the Jazz Communicators withFreddie Hubbard from 1967 to 1968.[1] Henderson was also featured on Hancock'sFat Albert Rotunda for Warner Bros. It was during this time that Henderson began to experiment with jazz-funk fusion, studio overdubbing, and other electronic effects. Song and album titles such asPower to the People,In Pursuit of Blackness, andBlack Narcissus reflected his growing political awareness and social consciousness, although Black Narcissus was named after the 1947Powell and Pressburgerfilm of the same title.
After a brief association withBlood, Sweat & Tears in 1971, Henderson moved toSan Francisco.[1] He was still signed to Milestone Records, which had recently moved to San Francisco after being acquired by Fantasy Records. Henderson wanted to be near his label, and get out of New York City. Henderson lived in San Francisco for the rest of his life, and taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1978 to 1982, according to musicologist Joel Geoffrey Harris. A performance space at theSan Francisco Jazz Center is named for him.
Though he occasionally worked withEchoes of an Era, the Griffith Park Band andChick Corea, Henderson remained primarily a leader throughout the 1980s. An accomplished and prolific composer, he began to focus more on reinterpreting standards and his own earlier compositions. Blue Note attempted to position the artist at the forefront of a resurgent jazz scene in 1986 with the release of the two-volumeState of the Tenor recorded at theVillage Vanguard in New York City.[1] The albums (withRon Carter on bass andAl Foster on drums) revisited the tenor trio form used bySonny Rollins in 1957 on his own live Vanguard albums for the same label. Henderson established his basic repertoire for the next seven or eight years, withThelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now" becoming a signature ballad feature. Following his brief return to Blue Note Records, Henderson was signed by the Italian label Red Records, for which he recorded two more albums in the piano-less trio format.
In 1991, Verve records signed Henderson to the label. That January, Henderson made a guest appearance onStephen Scott's Verve albumSomething to Consider, and worked with Verve producer and vice president Richard Seidel during the session. Henderson and Seidel had first worked together in 1979 while making Henderson'sRelaxin' at Camarillo album, which was produced by John Koenig on Contemporary Records. After Verve expressed interest in signing Henderson, the saxophonist had to quickly complete his existing contract with Red Records, which he did by recordingThe Standard Joe in March 1991. Seidel said in a 2016 interview with musicologist Joel Geoffrey Harris that he decided to offer Henderson a record deal after hearing him perform live at Fat Tuesdays in New York. Seidel served as producer on all five of Henderson's 1990s Verve studio albums. Verve adopted a 'songbook' approach to recording him, coupling it with a considerable marketing and publicity campaign, which more successfully positioned Henderson at the forefront of the contemporary jazz scene. His 1992 'comeback' albumLush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn was a commercial and critical success, and was followed by tribute albums to Miles Davis,Antonio Carlos Jobim, a big band album, and a jazz adaptation ofPorgy and Bess. On March 17th and 18th, 1998, Henderson played tenor saxophone on five tracks recorded for Terence Blanchard's albumJazz in Film, a collection of film scores, including the theme forTaxi Driver and Blanchard's own composition for theSpike Lee filmClockers.
A chain smoker, Henderson died inSan Francisco,California on June 30, 2001, after a long battle withemphysema.[5][6][7]
