Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson was born in 1937 in Lima, Ohio, and died in 2001. He was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional flutist, known for his rich tone, rhythmic strength, melodic imagination, and highly individual post-bop style. The National Endowment for the Arts lists him as a 1999 NEA Jazz Master and describes him as one of the most distinctive tenor saxophone voices to emerge during the 1960s.

His important albums include Page One, Our Thing, In ’N Out, Inner Urge, Mode for Joe, Power to the People, The State of the Tenor, Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn, So Near, So Far, Double Rainbow, and Big Band. Well-known tracks include “Blue Bossa,” “Recorda Me,” “Inner Urge,” “Black Narcissus,” “Isotope,” “Punjab,” “La Mesha,” and “Lush Life.” Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music list several of these among his top songs and albums.

Joe Henderson is known for bridging hard bop, post-bop, modal jazz, and later acoustic jazz revival styles. His 1992 album Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn became a major critical and commercial success and won a Grammy, helping bring him renewed attention in the 1990s.