Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson绝对是一位好好先生。打从他于六三年退伍后，便一直效力于Blue Note公司，成为其中一位录音产量最为丰富的萨斯风手。1987年Joe Henderson被名制作Michael Cuscuna力邀重投Blue Note，录制了一辑在Village Vanguard的现场录音作品《The State of The Tenor》。九十年代的Joe Henderson终被具市场说服力的包装，而获得广大爵士乐迷的青睐，甚至赢得了葛莱美爵士奖项。可幸的是，不论在任何乐风队型之下，Joe Henderson的吹奏，依旧是在Blue Note中所认识的Joe Henderson。现今的Joe Henderson虽然年岁已大，但他的创作慾望并未因此而减低，从他整个演奏生涯来看，Henderson其实也要到了90年代之后，才获得与他实质成就相符的肯定与崇敬。除了1992、1993年连续两年获得重拍杂志（Down Beat）乐评最佳乐手的奖项之外，92年他的名气甚至可以大到可以在各大小杂志，上至New York Times下到Newsweek上看到关于他的报导，1993年还荣获白宫的邀请参加演出，除了John Coltrane与Sonny Rollins两位萨克斯风大师之外，Joe Henderson可以说是另外一位70年代影响深远的另一位爵士巨匠。

by  Scott Yanow
Joe Henderson is proof that jazz can sell without watering down the music; it just takes creative marketing. Although his sound and style were virtually unchanged from the mid-60s, Joe Hendersons signing with Verve in 1992 was treated as a major news event by the label (even though he had already recorded many memorable sessions for other companies). His Verve recordings had easy-to-market themes (tributes to Billy Strayhorn, Miles Davis, and Antonio Carlos Jobim) and, as a result, he became a national celebrity and a constant poll winner while still sounding the same as when he was in obscurity in the 1970s.

The general feeling is that it couldnt have happened to a more deserving jazz musician. After studying at Kentucky State College and Wayne State University, Joe Henderson played locally in Detroit before spending time in the military (1960-1962). He played briefly with Jack McDuff and then gained recognition for his work with Kenny Dorham (1962-1963), a veteran bop trumpeter who championed him and helped Henderson get signed to Blue Note. Henderson appeared on many Blue Note sessions both as a leader and as a sideman, spent 1964-1966 with Horace Silvers Quintet, and during 1969-1970 was in Herbie Hancocks band. From the start, he had a very distinctive sound and style which, although influenced a bit by both Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, also contained a lot of brand new phrases and ideas. Henderson had long been able to improvise in both inside and outside settings, from hard bop to freeform. In the 1970s, he recorded frequently for Milestone and lived in San Francisco, but was somewhat taken for granted. The second half of the 1980s found him continuing his freelancing and teaching while recording for Blue Note, but it was when he hooked up with Verve that he suddenly became famous. Virtually all of his recordings are currently in print on CD, including a massive collection of his neglected (but generally rewarding) Milestone dates. On June 30, 2001, Joe Henderson passed away due to heart failure after a long battle with emphysema.