Born in
Washington, D.C., Henderson studied composition as a high schooler and played in the late 1940s locally. He served in the
Army from 1951 to 1953, then joined
Duke Ellington's Orchestra after being recommended by
Clark Terry. He played with Ellington during the years he was contracted to
Capitol Records, creating arrangements in addition to his duties as a player; he also composed tunes such as "Carney" for the band. He left the orchestra after about five years at a time Ellington was reappraising his approach, though he continued to appear irregularly with Ellington until late 1957. Henderson returned to Washington, where he led the Howard Theatre's
house band until 1964. Following this, he worked as an arranger and composer for jazz orchestras as well as
military bands and school ensembles. Among those who used Henderson's charts, in addition to Ellington, were
Count Basie,
Illinois Jacquet, and
Billy Taylor. Henderson continued to lead bands into the 1990s, including the University of Maryland Jazz Ensemble from 1977 to 1978. He died of
arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease in 2004. ==See also==