Photo: Joe Henderson Lab Dedication Ceremony

Mel Martin + band playing Joe Henderson's Page One

Executive Artistic Director + SFJAZZ Founder Randall Kline reading a letter from Mayor Ed Lee recognizing Joe Henderson's legacy in San Francisco

DJ Pat Les Stache (TJ Gorton) spinning classic Joe Henderson vinyl

Joe Henderson's son Malcolm Daniel reminisces about his father

(meanwhile, his family acts as his paparazzi)

Mel Martin giving the Page One backstory, track by track

Joe Henderson's Family joined by saxophonists Mel Martin + Hafez Modirzadeh,

SFJAZZ's Don Derheim + Randall Kline

Saxophonist-educator Hafez Modirzadeh recounts the story behind Joe Henderson's

Selmer Mark VI saxophone

Up Close: Joe Henderson's Selmer Mark VI

Check out the full Joe Henderson Hotplate Festival Lineup.

Trumpeter Kenny Dorham's Whimsical Liner Notes From Joe Henderson's 'Page One'

Page One album artwork (Photo: Francis Wolff)

"Long Tall Dexter [Gordon]" asked the young man [Joe Henderson] if he'd like to play some. Minutes afterward, the musical astronaut was on the launching pad, and the count down was in progress with a three man crew (rhythm section) behind him. There was a thunderous (Art Blakey type) roar from the battery man, and the saxophonist was off and soaring his (lyrical) way to new heights on a Charlie Parker blues line. At the end of the chorus (and I do mean 15 to 20), there was a warm and exhilarating applause for Joe, and as for Dex, sitting on the side, he looked 'gassed.'"

-- Kenny Dorham, excerpt from the liner notes, Page One, Blue Note Records.

Read more.

Archive: Mel Martin Interviews Joe Henderson

A spur-of-the-moment duet: Joe Henderson + 18-year-old Larry Grenadier
at the War Memorial's Green Room, 1986

“What I was developing was a sense of not falling into that habit of playing the same things all the time. We are creatures of habit anyway so its easy to fall into them. You practice early on so that habits don't form which have to be dealt with later, like bad fingerings that you have to clean up later.”

“Teaching allows us to plant some trees, and to keep the art form alive. The information that was passed on to us helped us to enjoy the planet a little more through our music.”

—Joe Henderson

Originally published in The Saxophone Journal, above are two excerpts from saxophone great and Joe Henderson collaborator Mel Martin's interview with the iconic saxophonist and longtime San Francisco resident.

Read the full interview.

Mel Martin opens the 4-night Joe Henderson Hotplate Festival this Thursday (8/14), playing the music of Henderson’s 1963 debut, Page One, a landmark session and a remarkably self-assured first statement from Henderson as a bandleader.

In 2001, right after Henderson passed, Mel Martin filmed footage of vibraphone legend Bobby Hutcherson—a frequent collaborator and dear friend of Joe's—recalling some fond memories, notably a humorous story about giving Joe haircuts.

Learn more about the Joe Henderson Hotplate Festival.