Joe Henderson--The Greatest Sideman Ever?

Don’t take the title literally. In reality, there is no greatest (fill in the blank) ever in just about any category of an art form. All of this is subjective; although through consensus, we are able to reach some conclusions (at least that’s what we believe). Why do I call Joe Henderson the greatest sideman ever? It just seems that so many great recordings, especially during the hard-bop era, feature him where's not just another instrumentalist, but a major contributor. He has proven to be very distinctive—one of the more easily recognizable voices on the tenor saxophone. Just a few seconds, and you know it must be Joe.

Here are just a few of the great albums he’s appeared on as a sideman. I started to list ten, but I’ll leave the last one for the insertion of your favorite.

Black Fire-Andrew Hill

Idle Moments-Grant Green

Point of Departure-Andrew Hill

Red Clay-Freddie Hubbard

Rumproller-Lee Morgan

Sidewinder-Lee Morgan

Song For My Father-Horace Silver

Una Mas-Kenny Dorham

Unity-Larry Young

Your Favorite (email your suggestion)

In no way do I mean to disparage his work as a leader—those have their own greatness.

By the way, could Joe Henderson’s greatness be related to his Detroit connection? Yes, the great jazz city, Detroit—a deserving topic to be explored at another time.

Check out Joe here with the Superstar Quintet (Henderson-tenor sax, Tony Williams-drums, Ron Carter-bass, Kenny Barron-piano and Freddie Hubbard-trumpet), performing live at the 1982 North Sea Jazz Festival.