Russell Audley Ferdinand "Russ" Henderson (7 January 1924 – 18 August 2015) was a

jazz musician This is a list of jazz musicians by instrument based on existing articles on Wikipedia. Do not enter names that lack articles. Do not enter names that lack sources. Accordion * Kamil Běhounek (1916–1983) * Luciano Biondini (born 1971) * Asm ...

on the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and the

steelpan The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro–Trinidadians and Tobagonians, Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. In 1992, the steelpan was declared ...

. Originally from

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, he settled in England in the 1950s. He is most widely recognised as one of the founding figures of the

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, United Kingdom.

Biography

Russell Henderson was born in Belmont,

Port-of-Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

, where he grew up. He founded the Russell Henderson Quartet in the 1940s and was soon well known in Trinidad, accompanying calypsonians such as Lord Pretender, Mighty Growler and

Roaring Lion Roaring Lion (22 February 190811 July 1999) was a Trinidadian calypsonian (calypso singer/composer). His 65-year career began in the early 1930s and he is best known for his compositions "Ugly Woman" (1933), " Mary Ann" and "Netty, Netty", wh ...

.Stephen Spark
"Russell Henderson – panman, pianist and pioneer"
''Soca News'', 23 August 2015. He was also pianist for Beryl McBurnie's dance troupe at the Little Carib Theatre in Woodbrook, and taught melodies to the steelpan pioneer

Ellie Mannette Elliott Anthony "Ellie" Mannette (5 November 1927 – 29 August 2018) was a Trinidadian musical instrument maker and steel pan musician, also known as the "father of the modern steel drum". Life Born in Sans Souci, Trinidad, Mannette as a young ...

of Invaders Steelband. In 1951, Henderson travelled to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to study piano tuning at the

North London Polytechnic The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

. He settled in England and founded Britain's first steelband combo (The Russ Henderson Steel Band) with Mervyn Constantine and Sterling Betancourt in late 1952. They played their first gig at The Sunset Club at

50 Carnaby Street 50 Carnaby Street in London's Soho district was the site of several important music clubs in the 20th century."Sterling meets Russel Henderson: The beginning of UK Steelbands"
Nostalgia Steelband. Retrieved 24 July 2014. Other compatriots Henderson worked with in the early London days were calypsonians Lord Kitchener and Young Tiger. From 1962 Henderson began playing on Sunday lunchtimes at the Coleherne pub on

Old Brompton Road Old Brompton Road is a major street in the South Kensington district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. It starts from South Kensington tube station, South Kensington Underground station and runs south-west, through a ma ...

Earls Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

, where he wa joined by other West Indian jazz musicians including

Joe Harriott Joseph Arthurlin Harriott (15 July 1928 – 2 January 1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. According to George McKay in ''Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britai ...

and

Shake Keane Ellsworth McGranahan "Shake" Keane (30 May 1927 – 11 November 1997) was a Vincentian jazz musician and poet. He is best known today for his role as a jazz trumpeter, principally his work as a member of the ground-breaking Joe Harriott Quinte ...

. Henderson was vitally involved in building up Notting Hill Carnival, having played at the first Children's Carnival there in 1964. In 1966, a street party for neighbourhood children turned into a carnival procession when Henderson decided to liven things up by leading his steel band down the street, followed by a growing crowd. He was a friend of the

606 Club The 606 Club (also known as "The Six") is a jazz club in Chelsea, London. Located in a basement venue at 90 Lots Road in London SW10 (opposite Lots Road Power Station) and currently licensed for 175 people, it offers jazz, Latin, soul, R&B, blu ...

in London, where he performed a monthly show with his revised jazz quartet, sharing the evening with the Al Whynette Band. In his retirement Henderson gave numerous interviews with

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

and

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

on his Notting Hill past. Russell Henderson died on 18 August 2015 at the age of 91.

Honours

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Henderson was appointed a member of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for Services to Music. On Friday, 24 August 2012, just prior to the Notting Hill Carnival weekend, the

Nubian Jak Community Trust Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT) is a commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme founded by Jak Beula that highlights the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The first NJCT heritage plaque, honouring Bob Marle ...

organised the unveiling of two blue plaques in Notting Hill at the junction of Tavistock Road known as "Carnival Square", to honour the contributions to the development of Carnival by two "living giants": Russell Henderson, the Trinidadian musician who led the first carnival parade in 1965, and Leslie Palmer, also from

, who is credited with helping transform the local community festival into an internationally recognised event.

Film

* ''The Pan Man: Russell Henderson'' – 22-minute documentary, directed by Michael McKenzie (2009)London

Bibliography

*Contributor to

Lloyd Bradley Lloyd Bradley (born 21 January 1955) is a British music journalist and author, whose books include 2013's ''Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital''. Biography Born in London, England, to recent immigrants from St Kitts, Br ...

, '' Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital'', 2013.

Oral history

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

, Oral History of Jazz. Interviewed by

Val Wilmer Valerie Sybil Wilmer (born 7 December 1941) is a British photographer and writer specialising in jazz, gospel, blues, and British African-Caribbean music and culture. Her notable books include ''Jazz People'' (1970) and ''As Serious As Your Life ...

, 14 October 1993."Henderson, Russell. (2 of 4). Oral history of Jazz in Britain"
Oral history of jazz in Britain, British Library.

References

External links

Notting Hill Carnival. {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Russell Steelpan musicians Trinidad and Tobago musicians 2015 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire 1924 births British jazz pianists Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United Kingdom Musicians from Port of Spain 20th-century Black British musicians