Horace Henderson

Horace Henderson ( born November 22, 1904 in Cuthbert, Georgia, † August 29, 1988 in Denver, Colorado ) was an American jazz pianist, arranger and bandleader. He is the brother of bandleader Fletcher Henderson.

Life

Horace Henderson began playing the piano at age 14. During his studies, he began at the Atlanta University and continued at the Wilberforce University in Ohio, he founded the band "The Wilberforce Collegians ", in which he wrote his classmate Benny Carter and Rex Stewart and Castor McCord played. Together they performed, among others, in New York. From this band later went out the " Horace Henderson Orchestra" and 1928 the " Dixie Stompers ". He then worked with Sammy Stewart and organized in 1928 his old band "The Collegians " new, which was acquired in 1931 by Don Redman.

Horace Henderson was but further pianist and arranger of the band before he worked 1933/4 ( 1933 recordings as a sideman ) and 1936 for the " Fletcher Henderson Orchestra" his brother as an arranger ( "Hot and Anxious ", " Christopher Columbus " in 1936 a hit was, " I found a new baby "). But in the 1930s, he also worked for many other swing bands like those of Charlie Barnet, the "Casa Loma Orchestra", Tommy Dorsey, Earl Hines, Jimmie Lunceford and Benny Goodman. With Goodman many of his arrangements were also nationally broadcast live on the radio ( " Sing, Sing, Sing ", " Big John's Special" for Gene Krupa, "String of Pearls ", "Japanese Sandman ", " Jenny Walk Walk", also for Krupa ).

1937 to 1940 he again had his own orchestra (Pickup 1940) in Chicago. 1942/3 he was briefly in the army, then back at his brother. He accompanied Lena Horne and had his own groups from 1945 to 1950 in Los Angeles. After that he played in Minneapolis, Las Vegas and most recently in Denver, where he also lived in the 1960s.

Henderson was life in the shadow of his brother Fletcher Henderson, but contributed significantly to its success as an arranger at ( the songbook of the band contained almost as many arrangements of him as Fletcher Henderson ). He has been recognized in Gunther Schuller's standard work " The Swing Era" as one of the leading arrangers of the classic big band jazz by Duke Ellington.