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Joe Henderson

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional flautist, born in Lima, Ohio, in 1937, one of fourteen children. His greatest inspiration was Charlie Parker. At eighteen he was already playing on the Detroit jazz scene and studying with Larry Teal. From 1960 to 1962 he was in the United States Army, after which he moved to New York. Trumpeter Kenny Dorham became his mentor.

Music and breakthrough

From 1963 to 1968 he appeared on almost thirty Blue Note albums, including five under his own name. These ranged from conservative hard bop, such as Page One from 1963, to more exploratory sessions such as Inner Urge and Mode for Joe. He played an important solo on Song for My Father by Horace Silver, in whose band he played, and played on records by Lee Morgan, Grant Green and Herbie Hancock. In 1967 he signed with Milestone Records. There he experimented with jazz-funk, overdubs and electronic effects, and titles such as Power to the People and In Pursuit of Blackness showed his political awareness.

Influence

In 1971 he moved to San Francisco, where he lived for the rest of his life. In the 1980s he mainly reworked standards and his own compositions. The two-volume State of the Tenor from 1986 was recorded at the Village Vanguard. In 1991 he signed with Verve and later made an album of music by Billy Strayhorn. He died in 2001. His strength lay in his versatility: bebop, rhythm and blues, Latin and avant-garde all sounded in his playing.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Song for My Father by Horace Silver and notice Henderson's tenor solo, in which he plays bluesy and unexpected phrases over a Latin rhythm.

Discography

Studio albums

Other work

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: ArtistsHard bopModal jazz