Luther Henderson - Biography

Born March 14th, 1919; Kansas City, MO; died July 29th, 2003

Jazz mastery is not always defined by those in the spotlight of public acclaim. Often pure mastery is embodied in those who labor gloriously in the trenches, dressing, draping, broadening, coloring, and overall enhancing the music of others. Listeners may know the composer, but often the work of the arranger is just as important to the ultimate finished product. Such is the work of Luther Henderson, composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist. His work has graced not only the bandstand, but the Broadway stage, the silver screen, and the recording studio. He's an unsung hero and a jazz master.

Growing up in Kansas City, one of the historic cauldrons of black music, young Luther's parents were both aspiring musicians who earned their living as schoolteachers. In 1934 a small segment of the public caught a glimpse of what was to come when Luther won an Apollo Theater amateur contest. After majoring in mathematics at City College of New York, he matriculated in his true calling at Julliard, where he earned a B.S. degree in Music in 1942. He left there for graduate music studies at New York University, but not before a stint as arranger with the U.S. Navy Band at the famed Great Lakes Naval Station, a veritable hotbed of future jazz talent. And starting in 1944 he entered the Duke Ellington orbit, where his arranging credits include Ellington's commission for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Three Black Kings. His work with Ellington also included several of the maestro's large scale works for voice and orchestra. Duke often referred to Luther as his classical right arm.

In 1947 Henderson began a rewarding three-year stint as pianist and music director for Lena Horne. His arrangements have enhanced a number of other singers, including fellow American Jazz Master Nancy Wilson (for whom he penned the song Ten Good Years for her Coconut Grove album), Eartha Kitt, and Carmen McRae. For the remainder of his musical life he has led a storied career scoring for theater. Among his credits are the theatrical celebrations of the work of historic jazzmen Fats Waller (Ain't Misbehavin') and Jelly Roll Morton (Jelly's Last Jam). Luther's theater orchestrating credits also include Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, Jazzbo Brown, The All Night Strut, Purlie, That's Entertainment, Doctor Jazz, Siren Song, and Ethel Waters: Crystal Tree, among many others. In more recent times Luther Henderson has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with the chamber ensemble Canadian Brass, with whom he has scored Ellington and Waller's music. Luther Henderson passed on to ancestry July 29, 2003, soon after his selection as a 2004 American Jazz Master.

Select Discography

• with Canadian Brass, Take The "A" Train, CBS
• Broadway cast album: Jelly's Last Jam, Mercury
• with Duke Ellington, A Drum is a Woman, Columbia
• with Duke Ellington, The Symphonic Ellington, Columbia
• Luther Henderson Orchestra, Clap Hands, Columbia

Select Bibliography

• Jelly's Last Jam, by George C. Wolfe (editor), Theatre Communications Group 1993
• Music is My Mistress, by Duke Ellington, DaCapo Press 1988

Select Videography

• My Favorite Broadway - The Leading Ladies, 1999

NEA Jazz Masters 2004 Fellowships Recipients