By Chris M. Slawecki
Fletcher Hamilton "Smack" Henderson, Jr.
Pianist, Arranger, Bandleader
Born 18 December 1897; Died 29 December 1952
Though not an innovative pianist or composer, Fletcher Henderson helped establish the structure of the swing big-band and developed influential
arrangements for both his own and Benny Goodman's orchestras. Henderson
was also a great musical facilitator most first-tier jazzmen of the
1920s and '30s appeared in some configuration of his Orchestra.
Henderson was born in Cuthbert, GA, and studied piano with his mother, a teacher. He earned a degree in chemistry and mathematics and moved to
New York City at age 22 to find work in his field, but eventually took
work as song demonstrator for Pace & (W.C.) Handy's publishing company.
When Harry Pace formed Black Swan, the first black recording company,
Henderson joined. He began assembling groups to support Black Swan's
vocalists (serving as pianist for Ethel Waters, Ma Rainey, Alberta
Hunter and Bessie Smith), then finding work for these bands, and wound
up playing engagements near Broadway.
After an acclaimed stay at Club Alabam, Henderson and his Orchestra
accepted an engagement at the Roseland Ballroom in 1924. Henderson was
still trying to reconcile the "rag-time" he heard emerging from Black
Swan with the "urbane" European music he studied in his youth (Waters
was so unimpressed with Henderson's piano touch she insisted he study
James P. Johnson records). His recruitment of Louis Armstrong that year
helped accelerate this process.
Henderson's 1924 band also included arranger Don Redman and Coleman Hawkins, who remained with Henderson for a decade and who seemed particularly liberated by Armstrong. Armstrong only stayed just over one year but left an indelible impression, evident in the swagger of "Sugar
Foot Stomp," Henderson and Redman's take on King Oliver's "Dippermouth
Blues." Fletcher's brother Horace contributed dozens of significant
arrangements after Redman left in 1927.
The Orchestra's nationally broadcast engagement at Roseland lasted a
decade and featured some of the era's most progressive musicians and
arrangements. These circumstances might have brought Henderson fame and
fortune, but effectively accomplished neither. The Orchestra more or
less flourished until about '34; by this time, Henderson was
contributing to the band's book, including a swinging recast of Jelly
Roll Morton's "King Porter Stomp." Ben Webster briefly came aboard in
'34, but by 1935, he, Hawkins, Carter, and Stewart were gone.
In financial difficulty, Henderson disbanded the Orchestra and sold some
of his best arrangements to Benny Goodman in 1935. Perhaps stung,
Henderson formed a new band and scored one more hit record with his 1936
ensemble including Roy Eldridge, Big Sid Catlett and Chu Berry. He
disbanded that and went to work as an arranger for Goodman, the
bandleader emerging as "The King of Swing," again in 1939. Henderson
worked for Goodman and others until he suffered a stroke from which he
never recovered in 1950. Two years later, partially paralyzed, he
collapsed on the street and died.
Fletcher Henderson supervised most of the changes (such as the rhythm
section's transition from tuba to bass, and from banjo to guitar) which
resulted in the large jazz ensemble format that endured from the
mid-1920s well into the 1940s. Between his formal training,
circumstances and professional experiences, he was uniquely qualified to
forge the synthesis of African-American and European traditions, and the
art of improvisation, culminating in the orchestral jazz called swing.
MAJOR WORKS:
A Study In Frustration/Thesaurus of Classic Jazz (Columbia, 1995)
The Complete Fletcher Henderson: RCA Bluebird (RCA Bluebird, 1976)
SUGGESTED LISTENING:
First Impressions 1924-1931 (MCA, 1980)
Live At The Grand Terrace Chicago 1938 (Jazz Unlimited, 1994)
FURTHER READING:
Swing Changes : Big-Band Jazz in New Deal America by David W. Stowe (Harvard University Press, 1994)
Jazz Masters of the Thirties (MacMillan Jazz Masters Series) by Rex Stewart (De Capo Press, 1988)
Published courtesy of Brown Partworks. Taken from the "Music in the 20th Century" encyclopedia, published by M. E. Sharpe Inc.
