Fletcher Henderson was criticised for what?

Answer 1

Fletcher Henderson was personally criticised for his lack of business acumen, as well as his casual leadership style i.e. want of assertiveness. He certainly was no taskmaster like Benny Goodman.

According to numerous critics, Fletcher Henderson's music is often castigated for its alleged superficiality, which is patently absurd: the recordings speak for themselves. Those critics often start with the assumption of the superiority and more refined character of Duke Ellington's music.

After Duke Ellington's European tours and around 1935, there was a marked decline with Fletcher's band, although, there were still some great numbers to come. But certainly not from the mid 20s and early 30s when Fletcher Henderson's band was at the top, along with Chick Webb's band in the early thirties, it could be also argued. This type of criticism is also unfair for the Duke himself rated highly Fletcher's band, and also acknowledged its significant influence over his in a number of ways e.g. "showcasing distinctive individual players" [Gale Encyclopedia of Biography].

What ails most with this type of "idée reçue" (preconceived idea) is that Fletcher Henderson's music is constantly used to act as a foil to Duke Ellington's, in order belittle the former and enhance the latter. This type of polemic mars many of otherwise informative books on jazz.

The recordings speak for themselves indeed: Fletcher Henderson's output being quite considerable, it is inevitable, given the commercial imperatives of the day, that his band recorded some quite mediocre numbers, we could almost have done without...

But also to take in consideration when comparing the two bands' output, Duke Ellington had a longer productive career (thanks heaven no major car accident or stroke), which started to blossom in the late thirties, especially after taking on the young and talented arranger-composer Billy Strayhorn.

One of the worst examples of this type of polemical approach is that encountered in the pages of Lucien Malson [Des musiques du jazz 1983]. On page 108 the author hints, without actually naming Fletcher Henderson in person, in his concluding section on Duke Ellington, that his music is much more than mere 'ear candy' for the ballroom: "Il y a là bien plus qu'un produit de consommation destiné aux salles de bal." Here, I must refrain from using expletives involving lavatory matters or sexual intercourse.