SOUND PROJECTIONS

AN ONLINE QUARTERLY MUSIC MAGAZINE

EDITOR: KOFI NATAMBU

WINTER, 2020

VOLUME EIGHT NUMBER TWO

HERBIE HANCOCK

Featuring the Musics and Aesthetic Visions of:

RICHARD DAVIS

(February 22-28)

JAKI BYARD

(February 29-March 6)

CHARLES LLOYD

(March 7-13)

CHICO HAMILTON

(March 14-20)

JOHNNY HODGES

(March 21-27)

LEADBELLY

(March 28-April 3)

SIDNEY BECHET

(April 4-April 10)

DON BYAS

(April 11-17)

FLETCHER HENDERSON
(April 18-24)

JIMMY LUNCEFORD

(April 25-May 1)

KING OLIVER

(May 2-8)

WAR

(May 9-15)

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/fletcher-henderson-mn0000152490/biography

Fletcher Henderson

(1897-1952)

Artist Biography by Scott Yanow

Fletcher Henderson was very important to early jazz as leader of the first great jazz big band, as an arranger and composer in the 1930s, and as a masterful talent scout. Between 1923-1939, quite an all-star cast of top young black jazz musicians passed through his orchestra, including trumpeters Louis Armstrong, Joe Smith, Tommy Ladnier, Rex Stewart, Bobby Stark, Cootie Williams, Red Allen, and Roy Eldridge; trombonists Charlie Green, Benny Morton, Jimmy Harrison, Sandy Williams, J.C. Higginbottham, and Dickie Wells; clarinetist Buster Bailey; tenors Coleman Hawkins (1924-1934), Ben Webster, Lester Young (whose brief stint was not recorded), and Chu Berry; altoists Benny Carter, Russell Procope, and Hilton Jefferson; bassists John Kirby and Israel Crosby; drummers Kaiser Marshall, Walter Johnson, and Sid Catlett; guest pianist Fats Waller; and such arrangers as Don Redman, Benny Carter, Edgar Sampson, and Fletcher's younger brother Horace Henderson. And yet, at the height of the swing era, Henderson's band was little-known.
Fletcher Henderson had a degree in chemistry and mathematics, but when he came to New York in 1920 with hopes of becoming a chemist, the only job he could find (due to the racism of the times) was as a song demonstrator with the Pace-Handy music company. Harry Pace soon founded the Black Swan label, and Henderson, a versatile but fairly basic pianist, became an important contributor behind the scenes, organizing bands and backing blues vocalists. Although he started recording as a leader in 1921, it was not until January 1924 that he put together his first permanent big band. Using Don Redman's innovative arrangements, he was soon at the top of his field. His early recordings (Henderson made many records during 1923-1924) tend to be both futuristic and awkward, with strong musicianship but staccato phrasing. However, after Louis Armstrong joined up in late 1924 and Don Redman started contributing more swinging arrangements, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra had no close competitors artistically until the rise of Duke Ellington in 1927. By then, Henderson's band (after a period at the Club Alabam) was playing regularly at the Roseland Ballroom but, due to the bandleader being a very indifferent businessman, the all-star outfit recorded relatively little during its peak (1927-1930).
With the departure of Redman in 1927, and the end of interim periods when Benny Carter and Horace Henderson wrote the bulk of the arrangements, Fletcher himself developed into a top arranger by the early '30s. However, the Depression took its toll on the band, and the increased competition from other orchestras (along with some bad business decisions and the loss of Coleman Hawkins) resulted in Henderson breaking up the big band in early 1935. Starting in 1934, he began contributing versions of his better arrangements to Benny Goodman's new orchestra (including "King Porter Stomp," "Sometimes I'm Happy," and "Down South Camp Meeting"), and ironically Goodman's recordings were huge hits at a time when Fletcher Henderson's name was not known to the general public. In 1936, he put together a new orchestra and immediately had a hit in "Christopher Columbus," but after three years he had to disband again in 1939. Henderson worked as a staff arranger for Goodman and even played in B.G.'s Sextet for a few months (although his skills on the piano never did develop much). He struggled through the 1940s, leading occasional bands (including one in the mid-'40s that utilized some arrangements by the young Sun Ra). In 1950, Henderson had a fine sextet with Lucky Thompson, but a stroke ended his career and led to his death in 1952. Virtually all of Fletcher Henderson's recordings as a leader (and many are quite exciting) are currently available on the Classics label and in more piecemeal fashion domestically.

https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/fletcherhenderson

Fletcher Henderson

The bands Fletcher Henderson led in the 1920s and 1930s were vitally significant incubators of new developments in jazz. Henderson played a key role in bringing improvisatory jazz styles from New Orleans and other areas of the country to New York, where they merged with a dance-band tradition that relied heavily on arrangements written out in musical notation. The new music that developed at Henderson's hands and under his mentorship allowed the composer's art to flourish, yet left room for the improvisatory talents of individual jazz soloists—striking a balance that has influenced jazz ever since.

Born in Cuthbert, Georgia, on December 18, 1897, James Fletcher Henderson enjoyed the best education available, his father was a teacher and a school principal, and both his parents played the piano. Henderson started piano studies at age six, but it was the classical compositions of Europe that he was taught; his parents frowned upon vernacular or down- home black traditions. He attended prep school in Atlanta and then moved on to Atlanta University, graduating in 1920 with a degree in chemistry.

Henderson moved north in 1920 hoping for a career as a research chemist, but the best he could do was a job as a lab assistant. His musical talents turned out to be more useful when he was hired the following year by the Pace & Handy music publishing firm and then by the new black-oriented Black Swan record label. His classical background and music-notation skills attracted notice at Black Swan, and when the company prepared for a national tour by its prime property, blues vocalist Ethel Waters, Henderson became the leader of her backing group.

The experience gave Henderson an education in African- American rhythms. Then, as he led bands in various New York venues in the early 1920s, he proved to have a keen ear for emerging solo talents. His ten-piece band in 1923 included saxophonists Don Redman and Coleman Hawkins, and by the following year, when he began a 12-year residence at New York's Roseland Ballroom, the band had grown to 16 players. One of them was a recent arrival from New Orleans, a cornet player named Louis Armstrong who remained with Henderson for 14 months.

With Redman writing the band's arrangements and all the instrumentalists in the band responding in inspired ways to Armstrong's innovations as a jazz soloist, Henderson's band evolved into one of the top ensembles in the country. With Armstrong leading the way, the band recorded some of its best known works, including “Copenhagen,” “Go 'Long Mule,” “Shanghai Shuffle” and the band's first hit, “Sugar Foot Stomp.” Redman's arrangements and Henderson's own, which he began to write after Redman left to form his own band in 1927, contained the features familiar to anyone who has ever heard a classic swing recording: sectional interplay between brasses and reeds, a smooth sheen that did not foreclose a propulsive dance-floor energy, and well- conceived interludes that called upon the improvisatory skills and styles of individual players. Another important contributor to the Henderson sound was saxophonist Benny Carter, in whose arrangements the Henderson band became a natural extension of his own saxophone playing.

The orchestra recorded with dozens of record companies under a number of different names and pseudonyms including Henderson's Dance Orchestra, Henderson's Club Alabam Orchestra, The Dixie Stompers, Henderson's Happy Six Orchestra, Fletcher Henderson and his Sawin' Six, Louisiana Stompers and the Connie's Inn Orchestra.
One bandleader influenced heavily by Henderson's innovations was Duke Ellington, who credited Henderson with inspiring the sound toward which he aimed in his initial forays. Another was the white clarinetist Benny Goodman, who began purchasing Henderson's arrangements. That helped keep Henderson afloat during a difficult period that resulted from the Great Depression slowdown and from the effects of an auto crash that temporarily sidelined Henderson in 1928. With few records being made at the height of the Depression in the early 1930s, Henderson's style at the point when swing was developing and becoming a distinct genre is sparsely documented. But Goodman and other musicians have repeatedly attested to Henderson's importance. Goodman's trademark number, “King Porter Stomp,” derives largely from a Henderson arrangement. Goodman even used the same arrangements as the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra had used. The band went on to become one of the most popular of the Swing bands.

Henderson's own popularity suffered somewhat in the 1930s as his band began to face competition from those led by Ellington, Count Basie, the Dorsey Brothers, and others. His band temporarily broke up when he ran out of money to pay them after a Detroit trip in 1934. He continued to spot and hire important emerging players, however, and featured trumpeter Roy Eldridge during an extended 1936 engagement at Chicago's Grand Terrace club. They had a hit in “Christopher Columbus,” but after three years he had to disband again in 1939. Henderson went to work for Benny Goodman as a staff arranger, an occupation that had consumed much of his creative energy for the previous several years.
Thus the ensemble sound heard on Goodman's classic recordings just before the outbreak of World War II was largely Henderson's creation. Henderson gained a measure of financial security from his time with Goodman, but soon gravitated back to the bandstand. During the mid ‘40’s, he led a new band of his own, and after the war, continued his work for Goodman in ’47. He served as an accompanist once again for Ethel Waters, (1948-49) who launched a revival tour. As the large swing bands proved less and less financially viable in the years after the war, Henderson adapted by forming a sextet that appeared at New York's Café Society club.

Partly paralyzed by a stroke in 1950, Henderson died in New York on December 28, 1952. Eclipsed by the giants of swing who came after him, Henderson for a time was insufficiently appreciated for his contributions. Reissue compilations featuring his work helped resuscitate his reputation, but what really did the job was the rise of serious historical studies of jazz in the late twentieth century; musicologists traced the careers of jazz musicians and found that the paths of many of them intersected with Henderson's career.

Source: James Nadal

https://www.npr.org/2007/12/19/17370123/fletcher-henderson-architect-of-swing

NPR's 'Jazz Profiles'

Host: Nancy Wilson

Fletcher Henderson: 'Architect of Swing'

December 19, 2007

53-Minute Listen

AUDIO: https://www.npr.org/player/embed/17370123/17396418

In 1924, Fletcher Henderson hired a young trumpeter who reinvented his band's rhythmic concept. His name was Louis Armstrong. Metronome/Getty Images

Bandleader, arranger and pianist Fletcher Henderson is one of the most influential — and yet least-known — jazz masters. During his orchestra's peak years in the 1920s and '30s, he helped define the sound of big-band jazz, pioneering musical ideas which today are taken for granted.

Henderson was born in Cuthbert, Ga., on Dec. 18, 1897, and started learning piano at the age of 6. His brother Horace, also a bandleader and arranger, described how his parents stressed practicing. "My mother and father used to lock him up to practice when he was 6 or 7, and they'd hear noise, then there would be silence and they'd open the door and there would be Fletcher curled up on the floor asleep," Horace Henderson says.

By the time Henderson was in high school, he was an accomplished pianist. He attended college in Atlanta, then moved to New York City to attend graduate school at Columbia University. Once in New York, Henderson abandoned school and took a job playing songs in a music store. From there, he moved to Black Swan, one of the first black-owned record companies, as a session musician with singers such as Ethel Waters.

Henderson then met his musical partner, saxophonist and arranger Don Redman. Together, the two created an innovative and dynamic new concept for big bands. "What Don Redman did was invent a much larger orchestra by taking a woodwind instrument, clarinet, and two brass instruments, trumpet and trombone, and just expanded that," historian Gunther Schuller says. "They wanted to make the sound bigger and fuller and richer with more colors."
Henderson's orchestra included a brilliant array of musicians, from trumpeters Louis Armstrong and Roy Eldridge to saxophonists Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter. The band reached new heights of popularity and could be heard everywhere — on radio and touring coast to coast. "Fletcher Henderson must have sold an awful lot of records," said Russell Procope, a clarinetist in the orchestra, "because everyone in the whole damn neighborhood was playing Fletcher Henderson's records."

Unfortunately, the laid-back Henderson was never a good businessman: His band lost a number of gigs and eventually disbanded. Henderson went on to compose and arrange music for Benny Goodman and, with Henderson's help, Goodman's career took off; he became known as the "King of Swing." Henderson put together another band during the 1940s, but work was scarce, and that band also folded.
While on tour accompanying Ethyl Waters, Henderson fell ill. He returned to New York and later collapsed from a stroke. He never worked again and died two years later, in 1952, at the age of 55.

With his arrangements, Fletcher Henderson helped give birth to the Swing Era, and his orchestra became a touchstone for all big bands to follow. Today, jazz ensembles around the world still follow his lead.

Link to NPR's Basic Jazz Record Library:

Fletcher Henderson: 'Ken Burns Jazz: Fletcher Henderson'

Fletcher Henderson

https://syncopatedtimes.com/profiles-in-jazz-fletcher-henderson/

Fletcher Henderson: Profiles in Jazz

by Scott Yanow
August 22, 2018
Profiles In Jazz

In November 1934, Benny Goodman was in a bind. His new orchestra had just won an important time slot on the Let’s Dance radio show. While Kel Murray offered sweet dance music and Xavier Cugat played Latin music, Goodman’s band was picked to play an hour of jazz on the weekly series. The problem was that the clarinetist needed a lot of arrangements in a hurry. Fortunately for him Fletcher Henderson, whose big band had just broken up, was available and not that expensive. In a short time Henderson supplied Goodman with a couple dozen swinging arrangements and, within a few months, 70 of Henderson’s charts were in the book of the Goodman band.

Some of the arrangements were of songs that Henderson had previously recorded. Goodman slowed down some of the tempos to make them more danceable and adapted the songs for his band. BG had his first hit with Henderson’s version of “King Porter Stomp,” and to a large degree his success of the next few years in launching the Swing era and becoming its most famous bandleader was due to the arranger. It was not a one-way relationship; Goodman would constantly praise Henderson’s writing for the rest of the clarinetist’s life, giving Fletcher Henderson (who might have been forgotten altogether) his greatest fame. But ironically Goodman’s success made it harder for Henderson’s orchestra of 1936-39 to succeed, and it overshadowed all of his previous accomplishments.

Early Life

James Fletcher Henderson was born December 18, 1897, in Cuthbert, Georgia, growing up as part of a middle-class African-American family. His father was a school principal and his mother a teacher who gave him piano lessons starting when he was six. When he was 18, Henderson started attending Atlanta University, graduating in 1920 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics. By then he had picked up the nickname of “Smack,” either because of his habit of smacking his lips together or because of his talents as a baseball player in college. He moved to New York with the plan to attend Columbia University to earn a Master’s degree in chemistry but, despite getting a part-time job as a lab assistant, music soon took over his life.

Henderson found it more lucrative to work as a song demonstrator with the Pace and Handy Music Co. then as a lab assistant. He also began taking occasional jobs as a pianist with bands and made his recording debut on October 11, 1920, with singer Lucille Hegamin, performing “Dallas Blues”; unfortunately that recording has never been released. When Harry Pace ended his partnership with W.C. Handy and started Black Swan Records, he hired Henderson as the label’s musical director. Soon the pianist was appearing regularly on records, often leading pick-up bands (sometimes called Henderson’s Novelty Orchestra) that recorded tunes in a period dance band style. The blues craze was at its height during 1921-23 and Henderson was also employed to record with such singers as Ethel Walters, Katie Crippen, Lulu Whidby, Alberta Hunter, Marianna Johnson, Inez Richardson, Essie Whitman, Eddie Gray, Mary Straine, Etta Mooney, Andrew Copeland, Julia Moody, Josie Miles, Trixie Smith, Lena Wilson, Inez Wallace, Isabelle Washington, Maude Mills, Hannah Sylvester, Bessie Smith, Emma Lewis, Clara Smith, George Williams, Enda Hicks, Viola McCoy, Mary Jackson, Maggie Jones, Emma Gover, Rosa Henderson, Mary Jackson, Tudie Wells, and Hazel Meyers. Henderson also toured with Ethel Waters for a few months during 1921-22; she later said that she had to teach him how to play the blues.

Early Bands

A distinguished-looking and soft-spoken gentleman whose background was primarily in classical music, Fletcher Henderson was never considered a masterful pianist on the level of James P. Johnson. He only recorded four unaccompanied piano solos in his life (all during 1921-23) but was thought of as a decent accompanist and an attractive front man for bands.

maxresdefault 1 1 300x169 - Fletcher Henderson: Profiles in Jazz — **Early Band**

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During 1923, the nucleus of what would soon become the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra was gradually formed. Don Redman, a clarinetist and altoist, began playing with Henderson and quickly developed into one of the top arrangers. While in later years Henderson would often be given the credit for his band’s charts, he actually wrote few arrangements. Redman was his chief arranger during 1923-27. In July, Coleman Hawkins, jazz’s first significant tenor-saxophonist, became a longtime member of Henderson’s ensemble. With trumpeter Elmer Chambers contributing a solid lead and Howard Scott also added on trumpet, by January 1924 the orchestra was up to ten pieces.

1924 was the breakthrough year for Fletcher Henderson. He began with his orchestra playing regularly at the Club Alabam and in the summer, they started what would be a ten-year stint as the house band at the Roseland Ballroom. The ensemble quickly gained a reputation for its strong musicianship. Its musicians were full of pride, feeling that they could play any music put in front of them flawlessly. There were some problems though. Redman’s arrangements were futuristic and overly complex, the band was rhythmically awkward, and their solos often relied more on effects and flash than substance. While they recorded regularly throughout the first half of 1924 (including an early scat vocal by Don Redman on “My Papa Doesn’t Two-Time No Time”), the first time that the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra actually swung on records was during the second half of their July 30 recording of “Charley, My Boy.” It was a hint of what was to come.

In October, Louis Armstrong arrived from Chicago and joined the Henderson Orchestra. While the other musicians at first chuckled at Armstrong’s primitive appearance and country ways, they stopped laughing as soon as they heard him play. Armstrong’s legato lines, use of space, and ability to tell a story while infusing pop tunes with the blues (not to mention his beautiful tone and impressive technique) were light years ahead of the other musicians, something they immediately realized. They listened closely and learned fast. Redman’s arrangements were loosened up and simplified, the other musicians began emulating Armstrong’s phrases and timing, and the band began to swing. By the time Satch departed in the fall of 1925 to return to Chicago, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra had no competitors among jazz ensembles.

Mid-Career

While Fletcher Henderson was just a competent pianist and had not really developed his arranging style yet, his greatest skill in the 1920s and ’30s was as a talent scout. His orchestra featured the who’s who of black jazz, mostly younger players who were not yet known but would have major careers. Just to name a few, during 1925-34 his orchestra featured such stars as Armstrong, Joe Smith, Tommy Ladnier, Rex Stewart, Bobby Stark, Cootie Williams, and Red Allen on trumpets or cornets; trombonists Charlie Green, Benny Morton, Jimmy Harrison, Sandy Williams, J.C. Higginbotham, and Dickie Wells; clarinetist Buster Bailey; tenors Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young (although he never recorded with Henderson) and Ben Webster; altoists Benny Carter, Russell Procope, and Hilton Jefferson; bassist John Kirby; and drummers Kaiser Marshall and Walter Johnson. No other orchestra, even Duke Ellington’s, had more stars during this era. While Henderson did make a few mistakes (he did not let Louis Armstrong sing with his band and he probably should have had his younger brother Horace Henderson or guest Fats Waller take over as the regular pianist), his orchestra was at the top of its field.

Unfortunately, Fletcher Henderson was not a good businessman and his orchestra did not prosper at the level that it deserved. While there were many classic recordings in the 1920s (“Sugar Foot Stomp,” “King Porter Stomp,” Hawkins’ influential tenor chorus on “The Stampede,” “Fidgety Feet,” “St. Louis Shuffle,” “Hop Off,” and “Oh Baby” among others), things began to slow down. Don Redman’s departure in 1927 to take over McKinney’s Cotton Pickers was a blow although Benny Carter and Horace Henderson soon filled the gap. As Duke Ellington rose to prominence during 1927-28, Henderson began to fade. His orchestra only recorded ten songs in 1928, and just four apiece in 1929 and 1930 when it was near the height of its powers. While things picked up in 1931, the momentum had been lost. Ellington was now leading the way and many other big bands (such as those of Cab Calloway, Don Redman, Chick Webb, and the Casa Loma Orchestra) had become strong competitors. Henderson was no longer setting the standard.

Ironically, by 1931 Fletcher Henderson had developed into an important arranger as can be heard on his hard-swinging versions of “Honeysuckle Rose” and “The New King Porter Stomp” in 1932. His charts not only featured a swinging melody and riffs but developed as they progressed, going from one stimulating theme to another, building up from chorus to chorus. “Down South Camp Meeting,” which Henderson recorded before Goodman made his famous version, is an excellent example of his writing at its most exciting.

fletcher henderson 283x300 - Fletcher Henderson: Profiles in Jazz — **At the piano.**

However business during the Depression at the Roseland Ballroom was shaky. A frustrated Coleman Hawkins, who felt that the group had permanently stalled, left in 1934 and spent five years in Europe. While the band continued to swing and featured top-notch personnel, Henderson broke up the orchestra just before the Swing era began. Within a year, Goodman was on his way to becoming world famous and Henderson’s charts (including “Blue Skies,” “Sometimes I’m Happy,” and “When Buddha Smiles”) were being heard regularly on the radio.

Late Career

Fletcher Henderson decided to try again in 1936, forming a new big band that included such young notables as trumpeter Roy Eldridge, tenor-saxophonist Chu Berry, bassist Israel Crosby, and drummer Sid Catlett. He had a minor hit with “Christopher Columbus,” used “Stealin’ Apples” as his theme, and was off to a good start. But after three years, the competition of scores of other swing bands, many of which were based on Goodman’s, proved to be too much and he gave up in 1939.

Henderson had worked as a freelance arranger for other bands (such as Count Basie’s and of course Goodman’s) even while his was struggling, and he continued in that role throughout the remainder of the Swing era, including arranging for Will Bradley and Jimmy Dorsey. He made guest appearances as a pianist with the Benny Goodman Orchestra and was a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet for a few months in 1939 before being succeeded by the superior Johnny Guarnieri. Henderson led other short-term big bands in 1941, 1944, 1945, and 1946-47 but none lasted long or made much of an impression. During 1948-49 he returned to the beginning of his career, working as Ethel Waters’ accompanist.

In December 1950, Henderson led a sextet that played at Café Society in New York. The group, which included the great Lucky Thompson on tenor, performed forward-looking swing including Henderson’s composition “Soft Winds.” Some of the performances, which were broadcast on the radio, would later be released on a collector’s record. Unfortunately, that would be his last job.

Fletcher Henderson suffered a major stroke later in the month and never played again. He passed away two years later, on December 29, 1952, at the age of 55, the uncrowned King of Swing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 800 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings. Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag and Jazz Inside.

https://www.npr.org/2011/06/20/4543196/fletcher-henderson-ken-burns-jazz-fletcher-henderson

Review

Fletcher Henderson: 'Ken Burns Jazz: Fletcher Henderson'

A. B. Spellman

Murray Horwitz

August 1, 2001

4-Minute Listen

AUDIO: <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4543196/150877705" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"></iframe>

The cover of Ken Burns JAZZ: Fletcher Henderson

Fletcher Henderson at redhotjazz.com

[MUSIC]

A.B. SPELLMAN, National Endowment for the Arts: A truly swinging band, Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra from 1933. Murray Horwitz, this is the band which sort of made the big band. All the other big bands came out of this orchestra.

MURRAY HORWITZ, American Film Institute: That's right, A.B. Fletcher Henderson and Don Redman, and some of the other folks in the band — but those were the primary men behind this — invented a mechanism for ensemble playing that became the model for everything that followed in the swing era: the jazz big band.

[MUSIC]

SPELLMAN: They had the first great arrangements. They were the first to require the musicians to be able to read music. And they had much more discipline in their playing than any other band that had come before.

HORWITZ: That's right, and most of it comes from the personality of Fletcher Henderson, who was a serious musician. During those segregated times, he prided himself on the fact that his dance band played waltzes better than the other black dance bands. And when Louis Armstrong comes from Chicago to join the band, and everybody hears what Louis Armstrong is doing rhythmically, the band starts to take that same ensemble discipline and apply it to the discipline of swing. The world is changed forever.

[MUSIC]

SPELLMAN: The Henderson Brothers, Fletcher and Horace — along with Don Redman to do the writing. Louis Armstrong to set the aesthetic of the band, and other soloists to be included in that to bring it all along. Who would the other soloists be?

HORWITZ: The most important was Coleman Hawkins, who became the key soloist in the band. He was with the band for, I think, over 10 years, and you can hear him on this CD virtually inventing the jazz tenor saxophone.

[MUSIC]

HORWITZ: There are a few ensembles in jazz that have been academies for teaching people. One of the first was the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. There are men playing in these bands who went on to play with Duke Ellington like Ray Nance and Russell Procope. There are people who became great band leaders in their own right like John Kirby. And then there are that stunning array of soloists like Coleman Hawkins, Chu Berry, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge and a bunch of others.

[MUSIC]

SPELLMAN: The CD is called Ken Burns' Jazz: The Definitive Fletcher Henderson. It's on the Columbia label. It's in our NPR Basic Jazz Record Library. For NPR Jazz, I'm A.B. Spellman.

HORWITZ: And I'm Murray Horwitz.

Fletcher Henderson

https://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/04/04/the-jazz-diaspora-fletcher-hendersons-necessary-arrangements

History

The Jazz Diaspora: Fletcher Henderson's Necessary Arrangements

by Jeffery Taylor

April 4, 2014

The Stranger

Sun Ra and Benny Goodman are worlds apart in the vast landscape of jazz history and yet they have a common link in Fletcher Henderson. Goodman would rise to great fame and claim the title "The King of Swing" by employing Henderson to write arrangements for his band. Sun Ra, who worked primarily as an arranger in his early career, was influenced by Henderson in his formative years as a composer/arranger and worked for Henderson as such in the 1940s. That influence would hold sway over the rest of his life, even as Ra and his Arkestra traveled the spaceways, the specter of Henderson was always with them. From the hot dance bands of the early 1920s, to jazz bands of the late '20s and on into the emergence of the big band swing craze of the mid '30s and beyond, Fletcher Henderson's arrangements would dominate and all others would turn an ear in his direction.

The well-educated Henderson graduated from Atlanta University in 1920 and soon after moved to New York City to pursue a master's degree in chemistry. As we all know, music always wins and Henderson ditched his master's work in favor of tickling the ivories. He jobbed as recording director for the Black Swan label in the early '20s, as well as providing piano accompaniment for various blues singers. By 1922 he had formed his own band and in short order they were one of the hottest dance bands in town. For the next seven years his bands would feature a revolving roster of future jazz legends. His biographer Jeffrey Magee writes, "In Henderson’s prime, the only other comparable group of stars performing in public at such a consistently high level was the New York Yankees.” Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Rex Stewart, Red Allen, Roy Eldridge, Buster Bailey, Benny Carter, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Chu Berry, and Dexter Gordon are but a few of the notable names in these lineups.

Henderson's saxophonist, Don Redman, was also an important figure in these formations from 1922 to 1927 and his skills as an arranger are top notch in early jazz. Biographer Magee states, “For Redman, a piece of sheet music was not a road map but a playground or a puzzle whose parts could be altered, extended, truncated, and otherwise rearranged at will.” The formidable duo of Henderson and Redman would do much to shape the big band jazz sound of the late '20s and the ensuing craze for swing music coming out of the depression era. Evidence of their popularity and work ethic (and, of course, the desire to make some scratch) is reflected in the large amount of record labels they recorded for during their peak. You can find records by Henderson on Vocalion, Paramount, Columbia, Olympic, Ajax, Pathe, Perfect, Edison, Emerson, Brunswick, Banner, Oriole, Harmony, Diva, Velvet Tone, Melotone, Perfect, Oriole, Victor, and Decca. Henderson completists have their work cut out for them.

Growing up with cakewalks, ragtime, foxtrots, and tangos Henderson came of age when jazz was nascent and he left a lasting imprint on its form. When listening to Henderson's recordings now, they may sound quaint and old-fashioned (for some, this is a large part of the appeal), yet he must be regarded and regaled as one of the prime architects of early jazz ensemble playing and the swing band sound.

Stream or download a whole mess of Fletcher Henderson here.

http://amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu/archon/?p=creators/creator&id=794

Henderson, Fletcher Hamilton, Jr.

(1897-1952) Amistad Research Center

Historical Note:

Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was a Big Band leader, arranger, and pianist. Henderson was the first Big Band leader to adapt for orchestra the improvisational approach to melody employed by jazz combos. Unlike the lofty and impressionistic portraits of “Jungle Music” created by Duke Ellington, or the frenzied, fast-lane forays into urban “jive” culture by Cab Calloway, Henderson set the mold for several decades of straight, solid swing. His innovation in musical scoring was to pit the brass against the reeds; in either order, one section would stat the melodic theme while the other group would reply by way of accentuated riffs. Although the ensemble was considered large at twelve pieces, the aural effect was quite streamlined. His band was most influential during the 1920s and early 1930s during one of the first cycles of musical market segregation.

Born in as James Fletcher Henderson to Fletcher Hamilton Henderson and Ozie Lee Chapman in Cuthbert, Georgia, in 1897. Henderson later changed his name to Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. and in college he gained the nickname “Smack,” which remained with him throughout his life. Henderson graduated from Atlanta University in 1920, majoring in chemistry. Although he intended to complete a graduate program in chemistry at Columbia University, he supported himself by working for Pace and Handy, a successful New York City African American publishing firm. When Mr. Pace left the firm to establish Black Swan Records, Henderson followed to serve as pianist and musical director. Not only did he direct the recording sessions, but also managed to the tours of popular artists Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters. He also moonlighted with the Harlem Symphony and discovered his love for large ensembles and soon established his own jazz orchestra.

In 1922, his favored session musicians were incorporated into his first Big Band, for which he secured employment at New York City’s Club Alabam and the Plantation Club. After a six month residency at the Club Alabam in 1924, he became the first African American bandleader to play New York City’s Roseland Ballroom and continued as a regular for as long as he had a band. Often Bix Beiderbecke sat in with the band for those engagements in 1930. During the 1920s Henderson paid the highest salaries in the African American music field, although those wages were eclipsed by his competitors of the 1930s. Still, the later musicians passed up more lucrative orchestral opportunities in order to play with Henderson’s outfit. His alumni counted many jazz stars of the Swing era, including future orchestra leaders Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Benny Carter, Don Redman, Coleman Hawkins, John Kirby, plus stellar sidemen who would simply be indisputably noted as All-Stars. In the latter category such jazz stars included Hendry “Red” Allen, Lester Young, Ben Webster and Chu Berry.

Henderson’s orchestra disbanded in 1935 and soon after he was hired by Benny Goodman. For the next several years his arrangements, some of his own compositions, enabled the Goodman outfit to become the national rage to the extent that Benny became the “King of Swing.” The “King of Swing” acknowledged his debt to Henderson, not only in his 1939 autobiography, but also in his uninterrupted utilization of Henderson’s arrangements throughout the latter’s professional life. Henderson’s creativity paved the way for a major genre enjoyed by the American public with his original compositions interpreted by Goodman, including Big John Special, Sugar Foot Stop, Down South Camp Meeting, and Wrapping It Up.

In 1936, Henderson started another band for a series of extended engagements at the Grand Terrace Cafe in Chicago. Owned by Chicago gangster, Al Capone, it was the Windy City’s most popular nightspot for African American music during the 1930s, and Henderson’s orchestra maintained a residency until 1939. At the end of the residency in Chicago, Henderson returned to Goodman as arranger and pianist, but soon quit reportedly due to failing eyesight. In 1941, he organized one final orchestra that played at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. From 1946 to 1947, he arranged for Goodman again and served as concert accompanist for Ethel Waters. In 1950, he led a small yet successfully bop-tinged combo for New York City engagements at Bop City and the Cafe Society Downtown. That same year he suffered a severe stroke and passed in 1952.
Besides arrangements for Benny Goodman, Henderson contributed other charts to the bands of Isham Jones (later to become the Woody Herman Orchestra), the Dorsey Brothers, Glen Gray, Will Bradley, Teddy Hill and Jack Hylton. He was noted for having a sense of absolute pitch, and could score and entire composition in three hours without even the aid of a piano.

Note Author: Diane Galatowitsch

https://www.scaruffi.com/jazz/henderso.html

Fletcher Henderson

The first Negro big band was organized in New York in 1922 by former blues pianist Fletcher Henderson (1897), who had arrived in 1920 to study chemistry. He and his arranger Don Redman (the alto saxophonist) introduced written scores into jazz music: written music that sounded like improvised music. Tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins (who had moved to New York in 1922 and had joined Henderson in 1923) raised the standard of musicianship, incidentally making the saxophone (until then a marginal instrument) one of the distinctive features of jazz music. The partnership among these three giants (all three coincidentally born far away from New York, and college educated) was largely responsible for evolving the early standard of the big band out of the original model of King Oliver's sound. Hawkins learned the art of embellishing a melody from Louis Armstrong (who played with them in 1924 and 1925) and from Art Tatum. Redman's genius developed quickly from Dicty Blues (august 1923), the first experiment with separate reed and brass sections, to King Oliver's Dippermouth Blues with Armstrong, renamed Sugar Foot Strut (may 1925), from Walter Melrose's Copenhagen (october 1924) to The Stampede (may 1926), credited to the Dixie Stompers, a powerful example of how Redman's arrangements smoothly incorporated even the most individual solos and Hawkins' solo that signaled his break with the tradition, from Tozo (january 1927), Redman's first experiment with ternary rhythms, to Rocky Mountain Blues (january 1927), culminating with the dadaist The Whiteman Stomp (may 1927). Clarinetist Buster Bailey, trumpeter Tommy Ladnier, and trombonist Jimmy Harrison (the main stylist between Teagarden and Tommy Dorsey, who adapted Armstrong's innovations to the trombone) also contributed to the sound of the era. Redman and his cohorts invented jazz for orchestra based on the coexistence of written scores and on improvised solos, an epochal change of format for jazz music. He managed to harmonize the language of the sections of the orchestra and the language of the soloing instruments. Redman's passion for saxophones (ignored in New Orleans but already popular in white orchestras) and for clarinets (his specialty) added fire to the texture.

After Redman left in 1927, Henderson took up composing and arranging chores with the collaboration of alto saxophonist Benny Carter (who had joined in 1928), notably with Keep A Song In Your Soul (december 1930), Down South Camp Meeting (september 1934) and Wrappin' It Up(september 1934). Henderson subscribed to the same general philosophy of sound, but greatly simplified Redman's intricate arrangements. The most significant innovation of this period was the replacemente of the tuba with John Kirby's double bass, for example in Jean Schwartz's Chinatown My Chinatown (october 1930), an act (inspired by Jean Goldkette's bassist Steve Brown) that would change the rhythm section of jazz forever. In 1932 Carter left, in 1934 Hawkins left and in 1936 Kirby left too, although new talents came in (notably trumpeter Henry "Red" Allen). Henderson's last influential recordings were tenor saxophonist Leon "Chu" Berry's Christopher Columbus (march 1936) and Louis Prima's Sing Sing Sing (August 1936). He died in 1952.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher_Henderso

Fletcher Henderson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FLETCHER HENDERSON

James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952)^[1] was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musical arrangers and, along with Duke Ellington, is considered one of the most influential arrangers and bandleaders in jazz history. Henderson's influence was vast. He helped bridge the gap between the Dixieland and the swing eras. He was often known as "Smack" Henderson (because of smacking sounds he made with his lips).^[2]^[3]

Biography

Built by his father in 1888, the Fletcher Henderson House in Cuthbert, Georgia, where Henderson was born in 1897. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 17, 1982

James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson was born in Cuthbert, Georgia, in 1897. He grew up in a middle-class African-American family. His father, Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (1857–1943), was the principal of the nearby Howard Normal Randolph School from 1880 until 1942. His home, now known as the Fletcher Henderson House, is a historic site. His mother, a teacher, taught him and his brother Horace to play the piano. He began lessons by the age of six. His father would occasionally lock Fletcher in his room to practice for hours. By age 13, Henderson possessed a keen ability to read music and sense pitch.^[1] He pursued the studies with his mother and further engaged himself in lessons on European art.^[4]

Although a talented musician, Henderson decided to dedicate himself to math and science. At age 18 he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and changed his name to Fletcher Henderson, giving up James, his grandfather's name.^[5] He attended Atlanta University (where he was a member of the fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha) and graduated in 1920 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics.^[4] After graduation, he moved to New York City with the intention of attending Columbia University for a master's degree in chemistry, but no evidence proves he actually enrolled. He did get a part-time job as a lab assistant in a downtown Manhattan chemistry firm, but this only lasted a year.^[6]

In New York City, Henderson shared an apartment with a pianist who worked as a musician in a riverboat orchestra. When his roommate was too sick to perform, Henderson took his place, which soon gave him a job as a full-time replacement. In the fall of 1920 he found work as a song demonstrator with the Pace and Handy Music Co. Henderson now found that music would be more profitable than chemistry and left his job as a lab chemist to begin a life in music. When Pace left the company to start Black Swan Records, he took Henderson with him to be musical director, a job which lasted from 1921-1923. From 1920-1923, he primarily played piano accompaniment for blues singers. Henderson toured with the Black Swan Troubadours featuring Ethel Waters from October 1921 to July 1922.^[7]

His activities up to the end of 1923 were mainly recording dates for Black Swan and other labels. His band at this point was only a pick-up unit for recordings, not a regular working band. In January 1924 the recording band became the house band at the Club Alabam at 216 w. 44th st. Despite many erroneous publications otherwise, this 1924 band was Henderson's first working band.^[8]

In July 1924 the band began a brief engagement at the Roseland Ballroom. Although only meant to stay for a few months, the band was brought back for the Autumn season. Henderson called on the 23 year old cornetist Louis Armstrong to join the band. On October 13, 1924 history was made when the Henderson band began their re-engagement at Roseland with Louis Armstrong now in the orchestra. Quickly the band became known as the best African-American band in New York. By late 1924 the arrangements by Don Redman were featuring more solo work. Although Armstrong played in the band for only a year, his influence on all the Henderson band and all jazz during this time cannot be overstated.^[9]

Henderson's band boasted the formidable arranging talents of Don Redman. After Redman's departure from the band in 1927, Henderson took on some of the arranging, but Benny Carter was Redman's replacement as saxophone player and arranger from 1930–31, and Henderson also bought scores from freelance musicians (including John Nesbitt from McKinney's Cotton Pickers).^[10] Henderson developed his arranging skills from 1931 to the mid-1930s.^[11]

His band c. 1925 included Howard Scott, Coleman Hawkins (who started with Henderson in 1923, playing the tuba parts on a bass saxophone, and quickly moving to tenor saxophone and a leading solo role), Louis Armstrong, Charlie Dixon, Kaiser Marshall, Buster Bailey, Elmer Chambers, Charlie Green, Ralph Escudero, and Don Redman.

In 1925, with Henry Troy, he wrote "Gin House Blues", recorded by Bessie Smith and Nina Simone among others. His other compositions include "Soft Winds".

Henderson recorded extensively in the 1920s for nearly every label, including Vocalion, Paramount, Columbia, Olympic, Ajax, Pathé, Perfect, Edison, Emerson, Brunswick, and the dime-store labels Banner, Oriole, Regal, Cameo, and Romeo.

From 1925–1930, he recorded primarily for Columbia and Brunswick/ Vocalion under his own name and a series of acoustic recordings as the Dixie Stompers for Harmony Records and associated dime-store labels (Diva and Velvet Tone).

During the 1930s, he recorded for Columbia, Crown (as "Connie's Inn Orchestra"), ARC (Melotone, Perfect, Oriole, Vocalion), Bluebird, Victor, and Decca. Starting in the early 1920s, he recorded popular hits and jazz tunes. In 1924 he and his band recorded 80 sides. His version of the pop tune "I Can't Get the One I Want", recorded about June 19, 1924, was issued on at least 23 labels.

In addition to Armstrong, lead trumpeters included Henry "Red" Allen, Joe Smith, Rex Stewart, Tommy Ladnier, Doc Cheatham and Roy Eldridge. Lead saxophonists included Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, Benny Carter and Chu Berry. Sun Ra also worked as an arranger during the 1940s, during Henderson's engagement at the Club DeLisa in Chicago. Sun Ra said that on first hearing Henderson's orchestra as a teenager he assumed that they were angels because no human could produce such beautiful music.^{[citation needed]}

Although Henderson's band was popular, he had little success in managing it. His lack of recognition outside of Harlem had to do more with the times in which he lived, apparently lackluster management, and the hard times that resulted after the 1929 stock market crash. Fletcher had a knack for finding talent, but he did not have much luck keeping it. On many occasions he lost talented members to other bandleaders. He also had trouble with finances. When the band split up in 1934, he was forced to sell some of his popular arrangements to Benny Goodman to keep them together.^[4]

After about 1931, his own arrangements became influential. In addition to arrangements for his band, he wrote arrangements for Teddy Hill, Isham Jones and Benny Goodman. He injured his shoulder in an auto accident in 1928. His wife, Leora, blamed the accident for his diminishing success. She said that John Hammond and Benny Goodman bought Henderson's arrangements to support him, that Goodman always gave Henderson credit for the arrangements and said that he played them better than his own. In addition, Goodman and Hammond organized broadcasts and recordings to help Henderson when he was ill.^[12] Four decades later, two of his songs, "Queer Notions" and "Yeah, Man!" were performed in the movie Kansas City.

Benny Goodman

In 1935, Goodman's Orchestra was selected as a house band for the NBC radio program Let's Dance. Since Goodman needed new charts every week for the show, his friend John Hammond suggested that he purchase some from Henderson. Many of Goodman's hits from the swing era were played by Henderson and his own band in the late 1920s and early 1930s, usually as head arrangements, which he transcribed from his own records and then sold to Goodman. However, his brother Horace Henderson recounted (in Ross Firestone's biography of Goodman, Swing, Swing, Swing) that the clarinetist made heavy demands on Henderson for fresh charts while his band was engaged for the Let's Dance show in 1934–35, and that he himself helped his brother complete some of them. The singer Helen Ward also stated that Henderson was delighted to hear the Goodman Orchestra realize his creations with such impeccable musicianship.

In 1939, Henderson disbanded his band and joined Goodman's, first as pianist and arranger and then working full-time as staff arranger.^[11] He re-formed bands of his own several times in the 1940s and toured with Ethel Waters again in 1948–1949. Henderson suffered a stroke in 1950, resulting in partial paralysis that ended his days as a pianist.^[11] He died in New York City in 1952, eleven days after his 55th birthday.

Contributions to jazz and the Harlem Renaissance

Henderson, along with Don Redman, established the formula for swing music. The two broke the band into sections (sax section, trumpet section etc.). These sections worked together to create a unique sound. Sometimes, the sections would play in call-and-response style, and at other times one section would play supporting riffs behind the other.^[10] Swing, its popularity spanning over a decade, was the most fashionable form of jazz ever in the United States.

Henderson was also responsible for bringing Louis Armstrong from Chicago to New York in October 1924, thus flipping the focal point of jazz in the history of the United States (although Armstrong left the band in November 1925 and returned to Chicago).

Henderson also played a key role in bringing improvisatory jazz styles from New Orleans and other areas of the country to New York, where they merged with a dance-band tradition that relied heavily on arrangements written out in musical notation.^[13]

A museum is being established in his memory in Cuthbert, Georgia.^[14]

Henderson differed from other musicians in his time. He made the idea of playing jazz exclusively popular to ambitious, young, black musicians. He made it financially stable and a way to seize cultural power during the time. Henderson was genuine when it came to the appearance of the band. He was all for making an impact on the era. Henderson would intensely see to it that each member had a clean-shaven face, a tuxedo, and polished shoes. It was recorded that he would do this before every performance, especially ones in predominantly white communities, such as Times Square. The men in his band had strong connections to the emerging group of blacks in Harlem. Henderson created a band that was capable of playing dance music and complex arrangements. Louis Metcalf said, "The sight of Fletcher Henderson's men playing behind music stands brought on a learning-to-read-music kick in Harlem which hadn't cared before it. There were two years of real concentration. Everybody greeted you with 'How's studying?'"^[15]

Band members timeline

This list is compiled from a 1971 letter to Chester Krolewicz.^{[citation needed]} from Walter C. Allen, of Stanhope, New Jersey, entitled "Mailing List of Fletcher Henderson Alumni", asking for information on each band member, such as date and place of birth, early musical training and other bands they played with. The list appears to include members not listed in the above article.

Chester J. Krolewicz ("Chet Kruly" Stromberg), guitar: fall of 1943
Vernon L. Smith, trumpet: period around 1942
Walter "Woogie" Harris, trombone: 1942–1944
Riley C. Hampton, alto sax, clarinet, arranger and musical director: 1942–1943 and 1946–1947
H. Ray Crawford, tenor sax and arranger: 1942–1943
Grover C. Lofton, baritone, other reeds, arranger, and band manager: 1942–1944. He also arranged for Billy Eckstine, and Duke Ellington.
George "Chaney" E. Floyd, vocalist: 1942–1947
Gordon Austin, trombone: 1942–1943
Frank Pronto, saxes: fall 1943 to early 1944
Tony DiNardi, trumpet: 1944
Robert S. Claese, trombone: early 1944
Elisha Hanna, trumpet: 1945–1947
Joseph D. Brown, trombone: 1945–1947

Selected discography

A Study in Frustration, Columbia, 1961
Hocus Pocus, Bluebird Records, 1992
Tidal Wave, GRP, 1994
Ken Burns Jazz: Fletcher Henderson, Columbia/Legacy, 2000
Sweet and Hot, Le Chant du Monde, 2007
First Impressions 1924–1931 Vol. 1, Decca Jazz Heritage Series, DL 9227
Swing's the Thing 1931–1934 Vol. 2, Decca Jazz Heritage Series, DL 79228

As arranger for Benny Goodman Orchestra

Sing, Sing, Sing (1992) (Bluebird/RCA)
The Harry James Years, Vol. 1 (1993) (Bluebird/RCA)
The Best of the Big Bands [under Goodman's name] (1933-1946/1989) (Columbia)
Genius of the Electric Guitar (Recorded under Goodman sextet's name, released under Charlie Christian's name) (1939–1941/1990) (Columbia)

References

Cohassey, John (1996). "Fletcher Henderson". encyclopedia.com.

Mancuso, Chuck (1996). Popular Music and the Underground: Foundations of Jazz, Blues, Country & Rock 1900 - 1950. Durham Companies Publishing. p. 138. ISBN 0-8403-9088-2.

Meddings, Mike. "WWI Draft Registration Cards 4". Doctorjazz.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-18.

"Fletcher Henderson, in Jazz (film by Ken Burns), Selected Artist Biography". pbs.org. Retrieved 2016-02-23.

Fletcher Henderson at the Encyclopædia Britannica

Allen, Walter (1973). Hendersonia (2 ed.). Jazz Monographs. p. 6.

Allen, Walter (1973). Hendersonia (2 ed.). pp. 10–35.

Allen, Walter (1973). Hendersonia (2 ed.). pp. 76–84.

Allen, Walter (1973). Hendersonia (2 ed.). pp. 112–166.

"Fletcher Henderson, in Jazz (film by Ken Burns), Selected Artist Biography". PBS. 1934-09-25. Retrieved 2013-10-18.

Yanow, Scott (1952-12-29). "Fletcher Henderson Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-10-18.

Reading Jazz, ed. Robert Gottlieb

"Fletcher Henderson". Musicians.allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 2013-10-18.

"Jazz Near You - Publicity Firm: Fletcher Henderson Museum [in Cuthbert, GA]". Allaboutjazz.com. 2013-03-17. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2013-10-18.

Magee, Jeffrey (2000). "Before Louis: When Fletcher Henderson Was the 'Paul Whiteman of the Race'". American Music 18.4: 391–425.

Henderson, Fletcher

In the 1930s, Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952) helped define the swing era sound with his own band's performances and big band arrangements he wrote for Benny Goodman. Born in Georgia, James Fletcher Henderson was the son of two educators. Growing up, his mother taught him to play the piano. Henderson did not intend to pursue a career in music, opting instead to study chemistry and math at Atlanta University. His career aspirations were limited by racism in 1920s New York, and Henderson found work demonstrating songs for a music publishing company. In 1921, he moved to Black Swan records, where he served as a session pianist.

With the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, Henderson became the leader of his own band. In 1924, the orchestra landed a regular gig at New York City's Roseland Ballroom, where they stayed for ten years. That same year, Henderson hired Louis Armstrong to join the group. After musical director Don Redman departed in 1927, Henderson soon stepped into arranging duty. He proved to be gifted in this area, creating pieces that would usher in swing music's reign of popularity. Despite the band's high profile members, Henderson's business struggled, and he ended up selling some of his arrangements to Benny Goodman, who was starting his own band. Henderson was then forced to see the white bandleader reach a stratospheric level of success—using Henderson's arrangements of songs like "King Porter Stomp," "Sometimes I'm Happy" and "Wrappin' It Up"—that had eluded him. Though Goodman was up front about Henderson's contributions to his band, it was still a bitter pill for Henderson to swallow. In 1939, he became a staff arranger for Goodman.

In the 1940s, Henderson tried his hand at bandleading once more, though he maintained an association with Goodman, while also sending arrangements to other bands. Henderson retired after having a stroke in 1950, and died in New York City on December 29, 1952, at the age of 55.

https://pastdaily.com/2019/04/28/fletcher-henderson-and-his-orchestra-live-in-culver-city-1945-past-daily-downbeat/

Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra – Live In Culver City – 1945 – Past Daily Downbeat

by gordonskene

April 28, 2019

Daily Downbeat

Fletcher Henderson and confreres laying a solid on Washington Boulevard.

Fletcher Henderson – live at Casa Mañana – Culver City – September 1945 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

Dipping into the archives this weekend for a club date from 1945 with the legendary Fletcher Henderson and his orchestra, recorded at Casa Mañana in Culver City, California in September of that year.

Fletcher Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musical arrangers and, along with Duke Ellington, is considered one of the most influential arrangers and bandleaders in jazz history. Henderson’s influence was vast. He helped bridge the gap between the Dixieland and the swing eras. He was often known as “Smack” Henderson (apparently because of his skill as a batter playing baseball in college).

Henderson, along with Don Redman, established the formula for swing music. The two broke the band into sections (sax section, trumpet section etc.). These sections worked together to create a unique sound. Sometimes, the sections would play in call-and-response style, and at other times one section would play supporting riffs behind the other. Swing, its popularity spanning over a decade, was the most fashionable form of jazz ever in the United States.

Henderson differed from other musicians in his time. He made the idea of playing jazz exclusively popular to ambitious, young, black musicians. He made it financially stable and a way to seize cultural power during the time. Henderson was genuine when it came to the appearance of the band. He was all for making an impact on the era. Henderson would intensely see to it that each member had a clean-shaven face, a tuxedo, and polished shoes. It was recorded that he would do this before every performance, especially ones in predominantly white communities, such as Times Square. The men in his band had strong connections to the emerging group of blacks in Harlem. Henderson created a band that was capable of playing dance music and complex arrangements. Louis Metcalf said, “The sight of Fletcher Henderson’s men playing behind music stands brought on a learning-to-read-music kick in Harlem which hadn’t cared before it. There were two years of real concentration. Everybody greeted you with ‘How’s studying?'”

THE MUSIC OF FLETCHER HENDERSON: AN EXTENSIVE VIDEO OVERVIEW, A CROSS SECTION OF RECORDINGS, MUSICAL ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY, PLUS VARIOUS INTERVIEWS WITH FLETCHER HENDERSON: