Ernie Henry

[Bright Moments]

short but productive career

great on brilliant corners

only 3 sessions as leader

how did he die?

[Larry Kart]

Take a wild guess.

[BruceH]

Heroin?

BTW, I thought he put out two albums as a leader.

[Larry Kart]

Heroin?

BTW, I thought he put out two albums as a leader.

In some form or other.

Two dates while he was alive, Presenting Ernie Henry and Seven Standards and a Blues, and a posthumous collection of previously unissued material, Last Chorus, that might not have emerged but for his death.

[Bright Moments]

Henry, Ernie [Ernest Albert] (New York, 3 Sept 1926 - New York, 29 Dec 1957)

Alto saxophonist

He learned violin as a child but changed to saxophone at the age of 12. In 1947 Tadd Dameron began to show an interest in his playing and made him known to musicians who worked in the clubs on 52nd Street; as a result he performed with Dameron, Fats Navarro, Charlie Ventura, Max Roach, Georgie Auld, and Kenny Dorham. After working with Dizzy Gillespie's big band (1948-9) Henry joined Illinois Jacquet (1950), with whom he recorded in 1952. He played only occasionally from 1952 until 1956, but then became a member of Thelonious Monk's group, with which he made some particularly fine recordings (1956, 1957). He also recorded with Matthew Gee (1956) and Dorham (1957), and as a leader. In 1957 he performed and recorded with Gillespie's re-formed big band. Although Henry's playing in the late 1940s and early 1950s was influenced by Charlie Parker, his later recordings show that he was beginning to develop a strongly individual style.

Lawrence Koch

The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, © Macmillan Reference Ltd 1988

[Bright Moments]

from the concord website:

ABOUT ERNIE HENRY

A forgotten name in jazz history but a potentially significant voice in the mid-1950s, Ernie Henry (1926-1957) was a fine alto saxophonist who had his own sound, coming out of the Charlie Parker tradition.

Henry started on violin when he was eight but switched to alto four years later. He matured during the bebop era and was discovered by Tadd Dameron, who hired him for his band in 1947. After that group broke up, Henry had opportunities to play with many of the giants of the era including Fats Navarro, Charlie Ventura, Georgie Auld, Kenny Dorham, Max Roach, and the Dizzy Gillespie big band (1948-1949). He toured with Illinois Jacquet during 1950-1952 and, after a few years off the scene, returned in 1956. In what would be his last two years before drugs led to his premature death, Ernie Henry recorded on Thelonious Monk’s Brilliant Corners album, worked with Charles Mingus, and toured with the new Dizzy Gillespie big band.

During his final 16 months, Ernie Henry led three albums for Riverside. Presenting Ernie Henry, a quintet date with trumpeter Kenny Dorham and pianist Kenny Drew, has five of Henry’s obscure originals plus fine versions of “Gone with the Wind” and “I Should Care.” Last Chorus, which was released posthumously, has an alternate take apiece from the other two projects but mostly features Henry in a hard bop octet with trumpeter Lee Morgan and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson. Seven Standards and a Blues, recorded just three months before Henry’s death, is the altoist’s best showcase since he is the only horn in a quartet with pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Wilbur Ware, and drummer Philly Joe Jones.

Ernie Henry could have done so much more, but at least his three Riverside sets and his sideman projects form a strong musical legacy.

[Bright Moments]

from discog:

Ernie Henry / artists (E)

Real Name: Ernie Henry

In Groups: Dizzy Gillespie Big Band

Name Variations: All | Ernie Henry | E. Henry

Appears On:

Brilliant Corners (CD) Riverside Records

Brilliant Corners (CD, Album, RM) Riverside Records, Original Jazz Classics

Grand Orchestre - Pasadena 1948 (LP) Mode Disques

I Giganti Del Jazz Vol. 2 (LP) Things To Come Curcio

Brilliance (2xLP, RE) Milestone Records 1975

Dizzy Gillespie (1946 - 1949) (LP) AMIGA 1976

Afro Blue (CD) Tin Tin Deo Blue Note 1993

Dizzy Gillespie - Jazz Masters 10 (CD) Manteca, Birks' Works Verve Records 1993

The Gold Collection - Classic Performances (2xCD) Tangorine Retro (2) 1997

Ken Burns Jazz (CD, Album) Columbia 2000

Workshop (CD, Album, Mono) Oh Henry Past Perfect Silver Line 2001

[jazzbo]

Those two new live Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra cds have some nice Ernie Henry solos!

[Bright Moments]

well - i can't find anything about "how" he died - only some vague references to "drugs"

[AllenLowe]

are there any interviews, anywhere?

[Bright Moments]

Take a wild guess.

if you really know - please share.

-_-

[paul secor]

Paule Marshall dedicated her novel, The Fisher King:

For the Memory of

my cousin, Sonny Clement, baritone sax

Earl Griffith, vibes

Ernie Henry, alto sax

I wrote Ms. Marshall a letter asking about the dedication, and she answered, saying that Earl Griffith and Ernie Henry were childhood friends. She also said that Ernie Henry died as the reult of a drug overdose.

Edited January 10, 2008 by paul secor

[BillF]

He can be heard with the Tadd Dameron Sextet on "Our Delight", The Squirrel", "The Chase" and "Dameronia". Not sure where these tracks are currently available. I have them on The Fabulous Fats Navarro Vol 1 (Blue Note BLP 1531).

[Bright Moments]

Paule Marshall dedicated her novel, The Fisher King:

For the Memory of

my cousin, Sonny Clement, baritone sax

Earl Griffith, vibes

Ernie Henry, alto sax

I wrote Ms. Marshall a letter asking about the dedication, and she answered, saying that Earl Griffith and Ernie Henry were childhood friends. She also said that Ernie Henry died as the reult of a drug overdose.

thanks for the great anecdote!!

unfortunately we still only have the vague "drug overdose" cause of death - no details.

[JSngry]

What kind of details do you need about a heroin overdose?

[ghost of miles]

Been wanting to do a show about him for some time. Thanks for the tip re: those new Diz CDs, Lon. Haven't picked them up yet, but I will.

[Larry Kart]

Take a wild guess.

if you really know - please share.

-_-

No, I don't know for sure, but I'll bet that either it was an outright overdose, general debilitation from drug use over time, or (a la Sonny Clark) a specific incident where someone is so completely out of it that and on the streets that one night he is exposed to the elements to a dangerous degree. If physical violence had been involved, I think I would have heard about that. In those days, in the jazz press, such things usually weren't talked about openly. There were one or two standard phrases -- can't recall them now -- that were understood to mean than X had been a drug addict and had died from an overdose or from one of many drug-related causes. Arguably, no alto saxophonist of talent -- with the possible exception of Jackie McLean on "Jackie McLean and Co." -- ever sounded more strung-out than Ernie Henry did. I recall an old Martin Williams Down Beat review of either "Presenting Ernie Henry" or "Seven Standards and a Blues" (or maybe it was "Brilliant Corners") in which, taking note of Henry's sharpish intonation and at times extreme effortfulness of articulation, he wondered whether Henry really could play much at all (as in, were these things a matter of choice or sheer infirmity) and also implied that those who were drawn to Henry's playing were in some sense voyeurs of pain. Martin, of course, was quite a puritan, but he does have a point. Henry's effortfulness is related to Monk's in that it is truly musically expressive of just what Henry, one feels fairly sure, is trying to bring off; on the other hand, he does falter at times, even by his own standards/narrow margins. As for the nature of what Henry expressed emotionally, while I'd say it would be voyueristic to prize Bird's "Lover Man" because it sounds like what it actually is, a man having a breakdown (and Martin may have had that in the back of his mind), Henry doesn't strike me that way. His limitations as an instrumentalist led him to come up with some unique, musically interesting moves (like a drowning man who invents a new swim stroke), while the "cry" of his playing never seemed external or self-regarding (as IMO Frank Morgan's sometimes did); rather, that aspect of Henry, listened to at the time (before his death), seemed like a dangerous, powerful act of realism, for him and to some degree, and along similar lines, for the listener. It sure was no vacation.

[jazzbo]

I think it was the "personal problem" sort of drug overdose. . . .

[BruceH]

Heroin?

BTW, I thought he put out two albums as a leader.

In some form or other.

Two dates while he was alive, Presenting Ernie Henry and Seven Standards and a Blues, and a posthumous collection of previously unissued material, Last Chorus, that might not have emerged but for his death.

That's what I thought.

[Larry Kart]

I think it was the "personal problem" sort of drug overdose. . . .

Right -- "personal problems." As opposed to getting run over by a truck, which would be impersonal.

[Larry Kart]

Another Henry-like altoist who fortunately lived longer was Clarence Sharpe.

[Bright Moments]

What kind of details do you need about a heroin overdose?

well - lets first start with this:

no one confirmed that it was heroin - yet.

[Bright Moments]

Take a wild guess.

if you really know - please share.

-_-

No, I don't know for sure, but I'll bet that either it was an outright overdose, general debilitation from drug use over time, or (a la Sonny Clark) a specific incident where someone is so completely out of it that and on the streets that one night he is exposed to the elements to a dangerous degree. If physical violence had been involved, I think I would have heard about that. In those days, in the jazz press, such things usually weren't talked about openly. There were one or two standard phrases -- can't recall them now -- that were understood to mean than X had been a drug addict and had died from an overdose or from one of many drug-related causes. Arguably, no alto saxophonist of talent -- with the possible exception of Jackie McLean on "Jackie McLean and Co." -- ever sounded more strung-out than Ernie Henry did. I recall an old Martin Williams Down Beat review of either "Presenting Ernie Henry" or "Seven Standards and a Blues" (or maybe it was "Brilliant Corners") in which, taking note of Henry's sharpish intonation and at times extreme effortfulness of articulation, he wondered whether Henry really could play much at all (as in, were these things a matter of choice or sheer infirmity) and also implied that those who were drawn to Henry's playing were in some sense voyeurs of pain. Martin, of course, was quite a puritan, but he does have a point. Henry's effortfulness is related to Monk's in that it is truly musically expressive of just what Henry, one feels fairly sure, is trying to bring off; on the other hand, he does falter at times, even by his own standards/narrow margins. As for the nature of what Henry expressed emotionally, while I'd say it would be voyueristic to prize Bird's "Lover Man" because it sounds like what it actually is, a man having a breakdown (and Martin may have had that in the back of his mind), Henry doesn't strike me that way. His limitations as an instrumentalist led him to come up with some unique, musically interesting moves (like a drowning man who invents a new swim stroke), while the "cry" of his playing never seemed external or self-regarding (as IMO Frank Morgan's sometimes did); rather, that aspect of Henry, listened to at the time (before his death), seemed like a dangerous, powerful act of realism, for him and to some degree, and along similar lines, for the listener. It sure was no vacation.

thank you for that post!

[bichos]

from "roots of modern jazz vol. 7" by dieter salemann assisted by dieter hartmann & michel vogler "ernie henry - band routes, engagements, solography, discographical informations in chronological order" (published by jazz circle basel, august 1988):

"december 29, 1957, n.y.c.:

ernie henry died from an overdosis of heroin. his mother found him lying on the couch and thaught that he only was drunken. she failed to call the doctor at once."

more details i don´t have.......

keep boppin´

marcel

[Bright Moments]

from "roots of modern jazz vol. 7" by dieter salemann assisted by dieter hartmann & michel vogler "ernie henry - band routes, engagements, solography, discographical informations in chronological order" (published by jazz circle basel, august 1988):

"december 29, 1957, n.y.c.:

ernie henry died from an overdosis of heroin. his mother found him lying on the couch and thaught that he only was drunken. she failed to call the doctor at once."

more details i don´t have.......

keep boppin´

marcel

good job marcel!

i am curious what the obit said.