Media Billie Holiday + Strange Fruit
Billie Holiday had a hit record with the song 鈥淪trange Fruit鈥 in the 1930s, bringing light to the horror of lynching in the American South.
Born
December 18, 1897
Died
December 29, 1952
Country
United States of America
Although Fletcher Henderson moved to New York intending to become a chemist, he wound up mixing sounds, not compounds. Chemistry work was hard to come by, so Henderson took piano-playing gigs with various big-band jazz groups.
In January 1924, he landed a job at a well-known dance hall, the Roseland Ballroom. There Henderson and his orchestra pioneered a new sound that paired perfectly with the latest dance crazes, notably the Lindy Hop.
When arranger Don Redman joined Henderson, their combined genius helped usher in the Swing Era’s “big-band sound,” which featured complex exchanges among the reed, brass, and rhythm sections—a significant advance from the traditional jazz reliance on instrumental solos.
Written solos added harmonic depth to this new musical formula. The solos may have sounded improvised, but every note had been carefully scored. One example is his 1926 arrangement of “The Henderson Stomp” (below), which featured Fats Waller on the piano. Redman’s genius shined in this composition, in which he innovatively incorporated Harlem stride (characterized by a syncopated rhythm played by a pianist’s left hand).
The Music of
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A true jazz visionary, Henderson hired such up-and-coming talents as Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, and Coleman Hawkins to play in his orchestra. He also earned respect for jazz from the national public and from the “Talented Tenth” (a phrase for the concept of an elite group of highly educated Black leaders), who often disregarded jazz tunes for not being “serious” music.
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Bessie Smith often sang with Henderson’s Orchestra. |
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He lived in the Dunbar Apartments. |
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He was recording manager at Pace Phonograph Company. |
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Henderson’s Orchestra competed in the Savoy Ballroom’s Battle of the Bands. |
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Bill “Bojangles” Robinson danced with the orchestra at an NAACP benefit. |
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Pianist Fats Waller jammed with the orchestra. |
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Singer Ethel Waters taught Henderson how to accompany her voice. |
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Billie Holiday had a hit record with the song 鈥淪trange Fruit鈥 in the 1930s, bringing light to the horror of lynching in the American South.
Learn the basics of jazz music and how the art form works. Along with his band, Jason Moran shows you how jazz is more like skateboarding and football than you would think, as well as plays original and classic jazz standards.
From Fairmont Street to U Street, from the Howard Theater to the Bohemian Caverns, take a tour through jazz history with Billy Taylor and Frank Wess, who lead listeners through their hometown鈥檚 music scene in this seven-part audio series.
This series, hosted by Connaitre Miller of Howard University, explores why Swing was the most popular dance music in America and how it is still alive today in dance halls, clubs and movies
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