Similar Artists:
Influenced By:
- Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
- Genres: Jazz
- Instrument: Bandleader, Drums
- Representative Albums: "Less Is More
Biography
In the tradition of Philadelphia drummers such as Bobby Durham and Mickey Roker, Robert H. Henderson swings so hard that some normally tight-lipped critics have claimed he can do anything the great bop drummers such as Art Blakey and Max Roach can do. He has chosen to use his middle initial in his credits and stage name, presumably to keep a distance from other performers in the same genre named Robert Henderson, Bobby Henderson, and so forth. There is one right in Philadelphia, an arranger whom the drummer may even have noshed on bratwurst with back in the heyday of the venue called Ortlieb's Jazzhaus.While the initial is distinctive, this drummer remains known mostly on his home turf. In the tradition of another Philadelphia bandleader named Sun Ra, Henderson has released material on his own label, shedding light on cohorts such as tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna, pianists Paul Pelusi and Thomas Lawton, and bassist Pete Colangelo. Critics who praise the skills of the drummer have also tended to remark on the ordinary nature of the group's repertoire, maybe a reason Henderson's efforts as a bandleader are not better known. He has been active in Philly since the '60s, when he began gigging with rhythm and blues artists such as Puff and Floyd McDaniel. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
