Joe Henderson

The tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson was born on April 24, 1937 in a small city called Lima Ohio midway between Dayton and Toledo. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Lima in a family of 15 children where he was exposed to a variety of musical styles. By the time he was a high school student he was already arranging and writing music for the school band and other local outfits. It was in high school that a music teacher introduced him to the tenor saxophone. After graduation he enrolled first at the Kentucky State College to study music and then moved on to Wayne State University in Detroit. There he had as classmates several future jazz greats such as Yusef Lateef and Donald Byrd. From 1960-1962 he enlisted in the US army where he led several small jazz groups and won first place in a musical competition and was sent on a tour to entertain the troops all over Japan and Europe where he met a few of the expatriate musicians.
Early career: the Blue Note years
After being discharged from the army he traveled to New York and sat in at Birdland with Dexter Gordon and other local musicians. During one of these sessions he was introduced to the trumpeter Kenny Dorham who was so impressed by his musicianship that he arranged for Joe Henderson’s first recording session as a leader with Blue Note Records. This resulted in the record Page One (1963) which to this day remains one of his most critically acclaimed albums. This recording also spawned the standard Blue Bossa. During the following four years he led 4 other sessions for Blue Note and recorded as sideman on over to 2 dozen albums for the same label. Some of these records are today classics of not only the label but also of jazz music. Andrew Hill’s Point of Departure, Larry Young’s Unity, Horace Silver’s Song For My Father and Lee Morgan’s Sidewinder are just a few examples of those fruitful years. In addition to creating timeless music Joe Henderson’s style also evolved during this period to incorporate all genres of jazz from hard bop to avant garde from latin to soul-jazz.
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Reassessing
Radio
Album Review
- The State Of The Tenor • Live At The Village Vanguard • Volume 2 by Greg Simmons
- The Elements by Mike Jurkovic
- Mirror, Mirror by Glenn Astarita
My Blue Note Obsession
Album Review
- Mode for Joe by Greg Simmons
- In 'N Out by Greg Simmons
- Power to the People by Tom Greenland
April 24, 2020
Jazz Musician of the Day: Joe Henderson
April 24, 2019
Jazz Musician of the Day: Joe Henderson
December 06, 2018
April 24, 2018
Jazz Musician of the Day: Joe Henderson
April 24, 2017
Jazz Musician of the Day: Joe Henderson
November 08, 2016
April 24, 2016
Jazz Musician of the Day: Joe Henderson
April 24, 2015
Jazz Musician of the Day: Joe Henderson
August 14, 2014
Joe Henderson Hotplate Festival At SFJAZZ Center In San Francisco
April 24, 2014
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