Tenor Saxophone, Composer (1937-2001)

Born 24 April 1937 in Lima, Ohio, into a family of 15 children, Joe Henderson switched from drums to tenor saxophone at age 13. He transcribed Charlie Parker solos and was influenced by Lester Young, Stan Getz, and Warne Marsh. After serving in the US Army from 1960 to 1962, he moved to New York in summer 1962 and joined Kenny Dorham's 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 jazz standards. From 1963 to 1968, he appeared on close to 30 Blue Note albums. He joined Horace Silver's quintet from 1964 to 1966, appearing on Song for My Father. Key sideman work included Lee Morgan's The Sidewinder, Andrew Hill's Point of Departure, and Herbie Hancock's The Prisoner.

From 1969 to 1970, Henderson 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). He moved to San Francisco mid-1970s and taught at San Francisco Conservatory 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. He suffered a stroke in 1998 and stopped performing. Henderson died on 30 June 2001 in San Francisco, aged 64.