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James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musical arrangers and his influence was vast. He was often known as Smack Henderson (apparently due to his college baseball hitting skills). Fletcher is ranked along with Duke Ellington as one of the most influential arrangers and band leaders in jazz history, and helped bridge the gap between the dixieland and swing era. ==Biography== Fletcher Henderson was born in Cuthbert, Georgia in 1897. His father, Fletcher H. Henderson Sr. (1857–1943), was the principal of the nearby Howard Normal Randolph School from 1880 until 1942. His home, now known as the Fletcher Henderson House, is a historic site. Henderson attended Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated in 1920. After graduation, he moved to New York City to attend Columbia University for a master's degree in chemistry. However, he found his job prospects in chemistry to be very restricted due to his race, and turned to music for a living.〔 He was recording director of the fledgling Black Swan label from 1921–1923.〔 Throughout the early and mid-1920s, Henderson provided solo piano accompaniment for many blues singers. He also led the backing group for Ethel Waters during one of her national tours. Prior to mid-1923, Henderson's group was not technically a jazz band yet (more like a dance band), though its music was inflected with the ragtime rhythms that had been popular for some time. In 1922 he formed his own band, which was resident first at the Club Alabam, then at the Roseland Ballroom, and quickly became known as the best African-American band in New York. In the 1920s, he did not do very many band arrangements. By late 1923 and into 1924, the arrangements by Don Redman were featuring more solo work. But when Louis Armstrong joined his orchestra in 1924 (for only a year), Henderson realized there could be a much richer potential for jazz band orchestration. Henderson's band also boasted the formidable arranging talents of Don Redman (from 1922 to 1927). After Redman's departure from the band in 1927, Henderson took on the some of the arranging, but Benny Carter was Redman's replacement as saxophone player and arranger from 1930–31, and Henderson also bought scores from freelance musicians (including from John Nesbitt from McKinney's Cotton Pickers). As an arranger, Henderson came into his own from 1931 into the mid-1930s.〔 His band circa 1925 included Howard Scott, Coleman Hawkins (who started with Henderson in 1923 playing the low tuba parts on bass saxophone and quickly moved to tenor and a leading solo role), Louis Armstrong, Charlie Dixon, Kaiser Marshall, Buster Bailey, Elmer Chambers, Charlie Green, Ralph Escudero and Don Redman. In 1925, along with fellow composer Henry Troy, he wrote "Gin House Blues", recorded by Bessie Smith and Nina Simone amongst others. His other compositions include the popular jazz composition "Soft Winds". Henderson recorded extensively in the 1920s for nearly every label, including Vocalion, Paramount, Columbia, Olympic, Ajax, Pathe, Perfect, Edison, Emerson, Brunswick, and the dime store labels including Banner, Oriole, Regal, Cameo, Romeo, etc. From 1925–1930, he recorded primarily for Columbia, and Brunswick/ Vocalion under his own name, as well as recording a series of acoustic recordings under the name The Dixie Stompers for Columbia's Harmony and associated dime store labels (Diva and Velvet Tone). During the 1930s, he recorded for Columbia, Crown (as "Connie's Inn Orchestra"), ARC (Melotone, Perfect, Oriole, etc.), Victor, Vocalion and Decca. Starting in the very early 1920s, Henderson recorded current popular hits, as well as jazz tunes. As a result, Henderson and his band were extremely prolific: in 1924, they recorded 80 individual sides. His version of the pop tune, "I Can't Get The One I Want", recorded c. June 19, 1924 was issued on at least 23 labels. At one time or another, in addition to Armstrong, lead trumpeters included Henry "Red" Allen, Joe Smith, Rex Stewart, Tommy Ladnier, Doc Cheatham and Roy Eldridge. Lead saxophonists included Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, Benny Carter and Chu Berry. Sun Ra also worked as an arranger during the 1940s, during Henderson's engagement at the Club DeLisa in Chicago. Sun Ra said that on first hearing Henderson's orchestra as a teenager he assumed that they must be angels because no human could produce such beautiful music. Although Fletcher's band was quite popular, he had little success in managing it. But much of his lack of recognition outside of Harlem had to do more with the times in which he lived, and the hard times that resulted after the 1929 stock market crash. However, because many of Henderson's records (Columbia, Brunswick, Vocalion, Victor and those issued on the many of the dime store labels) still turn up at junk stores, flea markets, collectors stores, on eBay and on private record auctions, there's no denying how popular his band truly was. After about 1931, his own arrangements became influential. In addition to his own band, he arranged for several others, including those of Teddy Hill, Isham Jones and, most famously, Benny Goodman. Henderson's wife, Leora, said that a major turning point in his life was an auto accident which happened in 1928. Henderson's shoulder was injured, and he apparently sustained a concussion. Leora claimed that Fletcher was never the same, and that after this point he lost his ambition and became careless. According to Leora, the accident was a major cause of Henderson's diminishing success. She also claims that John Hammond and Benny Goodman arranged to buy Henderson's arrangements as a way to support him, and points out that Goodman always gave Henderson credit for the arrangements, and said that the Henderson band played them better than his own. In addition, Goodman and Hammond arranged broadcasts and recordings to benefit Henderson when he was ill.〔''Reading Jazz'', ed. Robert Gottlieb〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fletcher Henderson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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