Bobby Henderson (April 16, 1910 – December 9, 1969) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician, who also performed under the name Jody Bolden.

Biography

Bobby Henderson was born in New York City on April 16, 1910, to a single mother, who was middle-aged at the time he was born. He was her only child, and he lived with her for much of his life. Henderson began playing piano at the age of nine, and some years later studied bookkeeping in college. He left college suddenly one day, without notice or regret, to become a professional musician. During his career in music, he was known as a warm, kind and gentle person, who lived quietly with his mother. Henderson was a great admirer of pianist

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

, with whom Henderson had an opportunity to play, informally. After Waller's death, in 1943, Henderson was regarded as the successor to Waller. This did not occur, as Henderson had largely disappeared from music at that time Julia Blackburn
''With Billie''
(

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint with editorial independence. It is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.Random House, Inc. Datamonitor Company Profiles Authority: Retrieved 6/20/2007, from EBSCO Host Business Source ...

, 2005), pp. 89-90. Henderson was briefly engaged to the teenaged

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

in 1934, whom he met and accompanied at the nightclub Pod's and Jerry's, but on December 1 that year the ''

New York Age ''The New York Age'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1887. It was widely considered one of the most prominent African-American newspapers of its time.

'' announced that he was no longer engaged to her. Subsequent to the termination of his engagement to Billie Holiday, Henderson went into self-imposed exile for over twenty years. He changed his name to Jody Bolden, in honor of jazz

cornetist The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopra ...

Buddy Bolden Charles Joseph "Buddy" Bolden (September 6, 1877 – November 4, 1931) was an African American cornetist who was regarded by contemporaries as a key figure in the development of a New Orleans style of ragtime music, or "jass", which later c ...

who had schizophrenia and died in an asylum in 1931. Henderson was rediscovered and recorded by John Hammond in 1956, and appeared at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

in 1957; a recording appeared on an album shared with

Ruby Braff Reuben "Ruby" Braff (March 16, 1927 – February 9, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Garry Moore television show and described Ruby as "the Ivy League Louis Armstrong". Braff ...

and

Pee Wee Russell Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell (March 27, 1906 – February 15, 1969), was an American jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but he eventually focused solely on clarinet. With a highly individualistic and sp ...

's group. Hammond had first known Henderson in the 1930s, during Henderson's time playing with Holiday. At the time of the termination of his engagement to Holiday, Henderson had been contracted by Hammond for an important recording session, which Henderson did not attend, and instead disappeared. Henderson died in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, in 1969.

Selected discography

*'' The Ruby Braff Octet with Pee Wee Russell & Bobby Henderson at Newport'' (Verve, 1957) * Bobby Henderson / Sir Charles Thompson /

Ray Bryant Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (December 24, 1931 – June 2, 2011) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1931. His mother was an ordained minister who had tau ...

- ''Key One Up'' (Vanguard, 1954–58) * Bobby Henderson - "Last Recordings CR 122" (CHIAROSCURO, 1969) With Joe Williams *''

A Night at Count Basie's ''A Night at Count Basie's'' is a live album by vocalist Joe Williams recorded at Count Basie's nightclub in Harlem in 1956 and released on the Vanguard label.1910 births 1969 deaths Stride pianists 20th-century American pianists American male pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians