The Uncrowned King of Swing : Fletcher Henderson and Big Band Jazz

If Benny Goodman was the "King of Swing," then Fletcher Henderson was the power behind the throne. Now Jeffrey Magee offers a fascinating account of Henderson's musical career, throwing new light on the emergence of modern jazz and the world that created it. Drawing on an unprecedented combination of sources, including sound recordings and hundreds of scores that have been available only since Goodman's death, Magee illuminates Henderson's musical output, from his early work as a New York bandleader, to his pivotal role in building the Kingdom of Swing. He shows how Henderson, standing at the forefront of the New York jazz scene during the 1920s and '30s, assembled the era's best musicians, simultaneously preserving jazz's distinctiveness and performing popular dance music that reached a wide audience. Magee reveals how, in Henderson's largely segregated musical world, black and white musicians worked together to establish jazz, how Henderson's style rose out of collaborations with many key players, how these players deftly combined improvised and written music, and how their work negotiated artistic and commercial impulses. Whether placing Henderson's life in the context of the Harlem Renaissance or describing how the savvy use of network radio made the Henderson-Goodman style a national standard, Jeffrey Magee brings to life a monumental musician who helped to shape an era. "An invaluable survey of Henderson's life and music." —Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times "Magee has written an important book, illuminating an era too often reduced to its most familiar names. Goodman might have been the King of Swing, but Henderson here emerges as that kingdom's chief architect." — Boston Globe "Excellent.... Jazz fans have waited 30 years for a trained musicologist...to evaluate Henderson's strengths and weaknesses and attempt to place him in the history of American music." —Will Friedwald, New York Sun Library Journal In this first comprehensive biography of jazz pianist, bandleader, and arranger Fletcher Henderson, Magee (musicology, Indiana Univ.) does an excellent job of placing his subject in the context of uncertain social changes in the African American community. He demonstrates how the transition from sheet music to records-especially those by African Americans-influenced the college-educated Henderson, who moved from Atlanta to New York City to become first a song plugger and then an accompanist for the pioneering African American record label Black Swan. Unlike other jazz scholars, Magee persuasively contends that Henderson's refined yet hot big band of the 1920s and early 1930s combined a traditional emphasis on untutored African American improvisation with the Harlem Renaissance's upwardly mobile, integrationist focus on European orchestration. The author shows how Henderson's arrangements for Benny Goodman helped launch a fiery yet commercial swing music that symbolized the optimism of the New Deal. Well researched and highly readable, this work will prove most useful to music scholars who want to know more about Henderson's musical accomplishments. General readers will be interested in the confluence of the bandleader's career and the social changes occurring in the African American community.-Dave Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information. If Benny Goodman was the "King of Swing," then Fletcher Henderson was the power behind the throne. Now Jeffrey Magee offers a fascinating account of Henderson's musical career, throwing new light on the emergence of modern jazz and the world that created it.Drawing on an unprecedented combination of sources, including sound recordings and hundreds of scores that have been available only since Goodman's death, Magee illuminates Henderson's musical output, from his early work as a New York bandleader, to his pivotal role in building the Kingdom of Swing. He shows how Henderson, standing at the forefront of the New York jazz scene during the 1920s and '30s, assembled the era's best musicians, simultaneously preserving jazz's distinctiveness and performing popular dance music that reached a wide audience. Magee reveals how, in Henderson's largely segregated musical world, black and white musicians worked together to establish jazz, how Henderson's style rose out of collaborations with many key players, how these players deftly combined improvised and written music, and how their work negotiated artistic and commercial impulses.Whether placing Henderson's life in the context of the Harlem Renaissance or describing how the savvy use of network radio made the Henderson-Goodman style a national standard, Jeffrey Magee brings to life a monumental musician who helped to shape an era."An invaluable survey of Henderson's life and music."--Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times"Magee has written an important book, illuminating an era too often reduced to its most familiar names. Goodman might have been the King of Swing, but Henderson here emerges as that kingdom's chief architect."--Boston Globe"Excellent.... Jazz fans have waited 30 years for a trained musicologist...to evaluate Henderson's strengths and weaknesses and attempt to place him in the history of American music."--Will Friedwald, New York Sun If Benny Goodman was the "King of Swing," then Fletcher Henderson was the power behind the throne. Now Jeffrey Magee offers a fascinating account of Henderson's musical career, throwing new light on the emergence of modern jazz and the world that created it. Drawing on an unprecedented combination of sources, including sound recordings and hundreds of scores that have been available only since Goodman's death, Magee illuminates Henderson's musical output, from his early work as a New York bandleader, to his pivotal role in building the Kingdom of Swing. He shows how Henderson, standing at the forefront of the New York jazz scene during the 1920s and '30s, assembled the era's best musicians, simultaneously preserving jazz's distinctiveness and performing popular dance music that reached a wide audience. Magee reveals how, in Henderson's largely segregated musical world, black and white musicians worked together to establish jazz, how Henderson's style rose out of collaborations with many key players, how these players deftly combined improvised and written music, and how their work negotiated artistic and commercial impulses. Whether placing Henderson's life in the context of the Harlem Renaissance or describing how the savvy use of network radio made the Henderson-Goodman style a national standard, Jeffrey Magee brings to life a monumental musician who helped to shape an era. "An invaluable survey of Henderson's life and music." --Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times "Magee has written an important book, illuminating an era too often reduced to its most familiar names. Goodman might have been the King of Swing, but Henderson here emerges as that kingdom's chief architect." -- Boston Globe "Excellent.... Jazz fans have waited 30 years for a trained musicologist...to evaluate Henderson's strengths and weaknesses and attempt to place him in the history of American music." --Will Friedwald, New York Sun "If Benny Goodman was the "King of Swing," then Fletcher Henderson was the power behind the throne. Not only did Henderson arrange the music that powered Goodman's meteoric rise, he also helped launch the careers of Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins, among others. Now Jeffrey Magee offers an account of this pivotal bandleader, throwing new light on the emergence of modern jazz and the world that created it." "Drawing on an unprecedented combination of sources, including sound recordings, obscure stock arrangements, and hundreds of scores that have been available only since Goodman's death, Magee illuminates Henderson's musical output, from his early work as a New York bandleader, to his pivotal role in building the Kingdom of Swing. He shows how Henderson, standing at the forefront of the New York jazz scene during the 1920s and '30s, assembled the era's best musicians, simultaneously preserving jazz's distinctiveness and performing popular dance music that reached a wide audience." "Magee reveals how, in Henderson's largely segregated musical world, black and white musicians worked together to establish jazz, how Henderson's style rose out of collaborations with many key players, how these players deftly combined improvised and written music, and how their work negotiated artistic and commercial impulses. And we see how, in the depths of the Depression, record producer John Hammond brought together Henderson and Goodman, a fortuitous collaboration that changed the face of American music." "Whether placing Henderson's life in the context of the Great Migration or the Harlem Renaissance or describing how the savvy use of network radio made the Henderson-Goodman style a national standard, Jeffrey Magee brings to life a monumental musician who helped to shape an era."--BOOK JACKET Frontmatter Preface: Crossing the Tracks in Cuthbert (page ix) Introduction: Out of the Jazz Tradition (page 1) 1. A New Negro from the Old South (page 12) 2. The "Paul Whiteman of the Race" (page 27) 3. Inside the Strain: The Advent of Don Redman (page 39) 4. A New Orleans Trumpeter in a New York Band (page 72) 5. A Paradox of the Race? (page 97) 6. Beyond the Ballroom (page 120) 7. Connie's Inn Orchestra (page 136) 8. Playing in the Mud (page 166) 9. Building the Kingdom of Swing (page 189) 10. Never Say "Never Again" (page 233) Appendix: Fletcher Henderson's Arrangements for Benny Goodman (page 245) Notes (page 273) Bibliography (page 293) Discography (page 301) Acknowledgments (page 305) Credits (page 309) Index (page 311) Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952) Is A Major Figure In The History Of Jazz. This Volume Is The First Interpretive Study Of His Music And Career. Out Of The Jazz Tradition -- A New Negro From The Old South -- The Paul Whiteman Of The Race -- Inside The Strain : The Advent Of Don Redman -- A New Orleans Trumpeter In A New York Band -- A Paradox Of The Race? -- Beyond The Ballroom -- Connie's Inn Orchestra -- Playing In The Mud -- Building The Kingdom Of Swing -- Never Say Never Again. Jeffrey Magee. Fletcher Henderson's Arrangements For Benny Goodman: P. [245]-271. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [273]-300), Discography (p. [301]-303), And Index. IN HIS CLASSIC BOOK of criticism The Jazz Tradition, Martin Williams explored the work of individual musicians who, in his view, constructed a continuous artistic lineage and collectively ensured the survival and development of the music.