Luther Henderson
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Luther Henderson (March 14, 1919 – July 29, 2003) was an African-American arranger, composer, orchestrator, and pianist noted for his contributions to Broadway musicals.
Biography
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Henderson relocated to the Sugar Hill section of Harlem at the age of four. Following a short stint studying mathematics at the City College of New York, he enrolled at the Juilliard School of Music, where he received a B.S. in 1942.
Drafted into the Navy during World War II, Henderson became an arranger for the Navy band stationed at the Naval Station Great Lakes, prior to becoming the staff orchestrator for The U. S. Navy School of Music in Washington, D.C. from 1944 to 1946.
Following the war, Henderson began a long professional association with a number of musical notables of the era, including Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Jule Styne, and Richard Rodgers. Notably, Henderson maintained a lengthy pre-professional relationship with Ellington, having been neighbors with the Ellington family as a child and schoolmates with his son, Mercer. Henderson went on to serve as classical orchestrator for Ellington's symphonic works, receiving the nickname of being Ellington's "classical arm."
