Joe Henderson was encouraged by his parents and older brother James T. to study music. He dedicated his first album to them "for being so understanding and tolerant" during his formative years. Early musical interests included drums, piano, saxophone and composition. According to Kenny Dorham, two local piano teachers who went to school with Henderson's brothers and sisters, Richard Patterson and Don Hurless, gave him a knowledge of the piano. He was particularly enamored of his brother's record collection. It seems that a hometown drummer, John Jarette, advised Henderson to listen to musicians like Lester Young, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon and Charlie Parker. He also liked Flip Phillips, Lee Konitz and the Jazz at the Philharmonic recordings. However, Parker became his greatest inspiration. His first approach to the saxophone was under the tutelage of Herbert Murphy in high school. In this period of time, he wrote several scores for the school band and rock groups.
By eighteen, Henderson was active on the Detroit jazz scene of the mid-'50s, playing in jam sessions with visiting New York stars. While attending classes of flute and bass at Wayne State University, he further developed his saxophone and compositional skills under the guidance of renowned teacher Larry Teal at the Teal School of Music. In late 1959, he formed his first group. By the time he arrived at Wayne State University, he had transcribed and memorized so many Lester Young solos that his professors believed he had perfect pitch. Classmates Yusef Lateef, Barry Harris and Donald Byrd undoubtedly provided additional inspiration. He also studied music at Kentucky State College.
Shortly prior to his army induction in 1960, Henderson was commissioned by UNAC to write some arrangements for the suite "Swings and Strings", which was later performed by a ten-member orchestra and the local dance band of Jimmy Wilkins.
He spent two years (1960–1962) in the U.S. Army: firstly in Fort Benning, where he even competed in the army talent show and won the first place, then in Fort Belvoir, where he was chosen for a world tour, with a show to entertain soldiers. While in Paris, he met Kenny Drew and Kenny Clarke. Then he was sent to Maryland to conclude his draft. In 1962, he was finally discharged and promptly moved to New York. He first met trumpeter Kenny Dorham, an invaluable guidance for him, at saxophonist Junior Cook's place. That very evening, they went to see Dexter Gordon playing at Birdland. Henderson was asked by Gordon himself to play something with his rhythm section; needless to say, he happily accepted.
Although Henderson's earliest recordings were marked by a strong hard-bop influence, his playing encompassed not only the bebop tradition, but also rhythm & blues, Latin and avant-garde as well. He soon joined Horace Silver's band and provided a seminal solo on the jukebox hit "Song for My Father". After leaving Silver's band in 1966, Henderson resumed freelancing and also co-led a big band with Kenny Dorham. His arrangements for the band went unrecorded until the release of Joe Henderson Big Band (Verve) in 1996.
From 1963 to 1968, Joe appeared on nearly thirty albums for Blue Note, including five released under his name. The recordings ranged from relatively conservative hard-bop sessions (Page One, 1963) to more explorative sessions (Inner Urge and Mode for Joe, 1966). He played a prominent role in many landmark albums under other leaders for the label, including most of Horace Silver's swinging and soulful Song for My Father, Herbie Hancock's dark and densely orchestrated The Prisoner, Lee Morgan's hit album The Sidewinder and "out" albums with pianist Andrew Hill (Black Fire 1963 and Point of Departure, 1964) and drummer Pete La Roca (Basra, 1965).
In 1967, there was a notable, but brief, association with Miles Davis's quintet featuring Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, although the band was never recorded. Henderson's adaptability and eclecticism would become even more apparent in the years to follow.
Signing with Orrin Keepnews's fledgling Milestone label in 1967 marked a new phase in Henderson’s career. He co-led the Jazz Communicators with Freddie Hubbard from 1967-1968. Henderson was also featured on Hancock's Fat Albert Rotunda for Warner Bros. It was during this time that Henderson began to experiment with jazz-funk fusion, studio overdubbing, and other electronic effects. Song and album titles like Power to the People, In Pursuit of Blackness, and Black Narcissus reflected his growing political awareness and social consciousness, although the last album was named after the Powell and Pressburger film of 1947.
After a brief association with Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1971, Henderson moved to San Francisco and added teaching to his résumé.
Though he occasionally worked with Echoes of an Era, the Griffith Park Band and Chick Corea, Henderson remained primarily a leader throughout the 1980s. An accomplished and prolific composer, he began to focus more on reinterpreting standards and his own earlier compositions. Blue Note attempted to position the artist at the forefront of a resurgent jazz scene in 1986 with the release of the two-volume State of the Tenor recorded at the Village Vanguard in New York City. The albums (with Ron Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums) revisited the tenor trio form used by Sonny Rollins in 1957 on his own live Vanguard albums for the same label. Henderson established his basic repertoire for the next seven or eight years, with Monk's "Ask Me Now" becoming a signature ballad feature.
It was only after the release of An Evening with Joe Henderson, a live trio set (featuring Charlie Haden and Al Foster) for the Italian independent label Red Records that Henderson underwent a major career change: Verve took notice of him and in the early 1990s signed him. That label adopted a 'songbook' approach to recording him, coupling it with a considerable marketing and publicity campaign, which more successfully positioned Henderson at the forefront of the contemporary jazz scene. His 1992 'comeback' album Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn was a commercial and critical success and followed by tribute albums to Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim and a rendition of the George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess.
On June 30, 2001, Joe Henderson died due to heart failure after a long battle with emphysema.
Earth
Joe Henderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Time
Time
Time
The suffocator of the moment now
Dreams of tomorrow
Where we will find the missing pieces
And on a new journey to wholeness
Time
Time
Peace
Love
Hope
Moving on the wings of the moment now
Time
Time
Time
Children of the soil rejoice
Yesterday was
Tomorrow never is
Time is now
Time
Time is only love
In Joe Henderson's "Earth" the lyrics make a powerful statement about the importance of time and how we need to seize the moment. The repetition of "Time" brings attention to it being a central theme of the song. The lyricist highlights how time can limit us, referring to it as the "suffocator of the moment now." It is all too easy to get caught up in the past or future but in doing so, we can miss what is happening in the present. The song urges listeners to dream of tomorrow to find missing pieces but to ultimately focus and move forward in the moment.
The song's message of hope is also emphasized, with the lyrics "Peace, love, hope moving on wings of the moment now." When we are present in the moment, we have the opportunity to create peace, love, and hope for ourselves and those around us. The words "Children of the soil rejoice" suggest that as the earth's inhabitants, we all have a shared purpose and a reason to celebrate.
The final lines of the song really drive home the message of the song: "Time is now, time, time is only love." Time is a precious resource and we need to use it wisely. Living in the present with love is the key to wholeness.
Line by Line Meaning
Time
The unstoppable force that governs our lives
Time
The fleeting moments that pass us by
Time
The constant reminder of our mortality
Time
The precious gift to cherish and make the most of
The suffocator of the moment now
The force that steals away the present and turns it into the past
Dreams of tomorrow
Ambitions and aspirations for a better future
Where we will find the missing pieces
The hope of finding completeness and fulfillment
And on a new journey to wholeness
The quest for self-discovery and personal growth
Time
The constant reminder that nothing lasts forever
Time
The precious resource that we should value and use wisely
Time
The common denominator that unites us all
Peace
The state of tranquility and harmony we all seek
Love
The universal language that connects us all
Hope
The light that shines in the darkness of uncertainty
Moving on the wings of the moment now
Living in the present and enjoying every second of it
Time
The measure of our lives, in which we leave our marks
Time
The ticker that counts down our days, moment by moment
Children of the soil rejoice
All the people of the earth, celebrate your existence
Yesterday was
The memories of the past we cannot change
Tomorrow never is
The uncertainty of the future we cannot predict
Time is now
The present moment is the most important one
Time
The only constant in our ever-changing lives
Time is only love
The one thing that truly lasts, and that is worth our attention and care
Writer(s): Joe Henderson, Kenneth Earl Nash
Contributed by Kaitlyn T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@rolandahines
The way I MELLOW out and relax when I hear this makes me wanna cry. It transcends me to TRANQUILITY and keeps me SUSPENDED...Most of the conventional music we hear today is like a big SUGAR RUSH....you get lifted...and you SPIRAL down so FAST. This music is CLASSIC, RESILIENT, WELL-THOUGHT. Brilliant. Rest in Peace, Divine Alice Coltrane. Your music will ALWAYS BREATHE!
@jasonpfinch
Me too.
@obi8861
shut up pleb
@mikelevines
This is such a great description of what this song does. Thank you for your words!
@roderickberry2508
This is from the album elements. This is a great piece of work. You got put your ears on and your heart up front for this and bring a good pair of walkin shoes cause you gonna travel
@lovejoy11_11
Z]😊😊😊😊
@parklee7659
I never gonna loose this masterpiece again
@mm92884
This is so beautiful. So much soul and spirit.... Takes one to some place else 🙏
@sambac2053
Joe Henderson - tenor sax, flute, alto flute
Alice Coltrane - piano, harp, Tambura, harmonium
Charlie Haden - bass
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler - drums (1, 4)
Kenneth Nash - narrator (4), flute (3), congas, North African Sakara Drum, bells, gong, percussion
Baba Duru Oshun - percussion, Tabla
Michael White - violin
@esdiego
i can't imagine the recording process of this track...so much free flowing rythms and feeling. it's well beyond the comprehension of anyone but the artist themselves.