Collection: Joe Henderson

Born 24 April 1937 in Lima, Ohio, into a family of 15 children, Joe Henderson started on drums before switching to tenor saxophone at age 13. He transcribed and memorised Charlie Parker solos and was influenced by Lester Young, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, and Warne Marsh. Henderson moved to New York in summer 1962 and met trumpeter Kenny Dorham, joining his quintet. His first recording was Dorham's Una Mas in April 1963. His leader debut Page One was recorded for Blue Note in June 1963, featuring his composition "Recorda-Me" and Dorham's "Blue Bossa", both of which became jazz standards. He signed to Blue Note and appeared on close to 30 albums from 1963 to 1968. In 1964, he joined Horace Silver's quintet and remained until 1966, appearing on Song for My Father. Key sideman appearances included Lee Morgan's The Sidewinder, Andrew Hill's Point of Departure, and Herbie Hancock's The Prisoner.

Henderson composed "Inner Urge", another jazz standard. From 1969 to 1970, he was in Herbie Hancock's Sextet and briefly joined Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1971. He recorded for Milestone Records through the 1970s, including Power to the People (1969) and The Elements (1973). He moved to San Francisco in the mid-1970s and taught at San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1978 to 1982. In 1985, he returned to Blue Note with The State of the Tenor, recorded live at the Village Vanguard. He signed to Verve in 1991 and released Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn (1992), which sold over 450,000 copies worldwide and won a Grammy, earning Down Beat's triple crown: jazz musician of the year, top tenor saxophonist, and record of the year. He suffered a stroke in 1998 and stopped performing. Henderson died on 30 June 2001 in San Francisco, aged 64.