Scott Henderson

This article is about the American guitarist. For other people with the same name, see Scott Henderson (disambiguation).

Scott Henderson
Scott Henderson, 2010
Background information
Born	(1954-08-26) August 26, 1954 West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Jazz fusion, blues, instrumental rock
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Guitar
Labels	Passport, Relativity, Bluemoon, Tone Center, Atlantic, Zebra, Shrapnel
Formerly of	Tribal Tech, Vital Tech Tones
Website	www.scotthenderson.net

Scott Henderson (born August 26, 1954) is an American jazz fusion and blues guitarist best known for his work with the band Tribal Tech. He was born in West Palm Beach and raised in Lake Worth Beach.

Biography

Scott Henderson is a highly regarded virtuoso who emerged in the 1980s with his band Tribal Tech, and has since become one of the top guitarists/ composers in jazz fusion. Scott grew up in South Florida where he played blues-rock and funk, and was influenced by Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, and his favorite blues guitarist Albert King. Even though Henderson began his career as a blues-rock player, it was the influence of jazz that led him to the style of playing and composing that he's now famous for. Besides being a world class player and premier composer, Scott's trademark is his beautiful tone and striking ability to blend jazz with blues, rock and funk, creating a soulful and unique voice on the guitar.

Scott studied arranging and composition at Florida Atlantic University, then moved to Los Angeles in 1980. He toured and recorded with Chick Corea's Elektric Band, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, and was pleased to get the opportunity to work for four years with one of his favorite musicians, Weather Report's Joe Zawinul. He recorded two albums with the Zawinul Syndicate, "The Immigrants" and "Black Water". He also appears on Joe Zawinul's double live album "Vienna Nights", released in 2004. Henderson recorded ten critically acclaimed albums with Tribal Tech, including the most recent recording "Tribal Tech X" released in March 2012.

In 2019, he won both Best Guitarist and best Electric/Jazz-Rock/Contemporary Group/Artist in Jazz Times Reader's Poll. In 1991, Scott was named by Guitar World as the #1 Jazz Guitarist, and in January 1992, he was named #1 Jazz Guitarist in Guitar Player's Annual Reader's Poll. His first solo blues album "Dog Party", a welcome retreat to his musical roots, won best blues album of 1994 in Guitar Player Magazine. His next solo albums "Tore Down House" and "Well to the Bone" paired Henderson with vocalist Thelma Houston. "Vibe Station", released in 2015, was listed by many music critics as one of the top 10 instrumental albums of the year. Henderson's latest and most accomplished work as a leader, "People Mover", featuring Romain Labaye on bass and Archibald Ligonnière on drums - which are the musicians of his current live trio - was voted best fusion album of 2019 by Jazz Times magazine. The trio has toured extensively throughout the world in over 70 countries, playing music from the solo albums as well as some of Henderson's music recorded by Tribal Tech.

Scott has also released two albums with "Vital Tech Tones", a trio collaboration with bassist Victor Wooten and former Journey drummer Steve Smith. In 2009 he began touring worldwide with the HBC Trio, featuring bassist Jeff Berlin and drummer Dennis Chambers. Their first record "HBC" was released in October 2012.

As is often the case with a musician of Scott's caliber, the demand is great that he share his knowledge with the current generation of guitarists. He is on the faculty at Musician's Institute in Hollywood, where his Open Counseling sessions are some of MI's most popular. Scott has also written columns for Guitar Player Magazine and many other guitar publications.

Tribal Tech

Henderson formed Tribal Tech with bass player Gary Willis in 1984. In 1991 Henderson was named No. 1 Jazz Guitarist by Guitar World magazine, and in January 1992 he was voted Best Jazz Guitarist in Guitar Player magazine's Annual Readers' Poll.

Tribal Tech reunited and released an album entitled X in 2011, but in June 2014, Henderson posted on his message board that the band would again be dissolving.

Other work

Since 1984, Henderson has taught at the Guitar Institute of Technology, which is part of the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California.

Discography

As leader

With Tribal Tech

• Spears (Passport Jazz, 1985)
• Dr. Hee ((Passport Jazz, 1987)
• Nomad (Relativity, 1990)
• Tribal Tech (Relativity, 1991)
• Illicit (Bluemoon, 1992)
• Face First (Bluemoon, 1993)
• Reality Check (Bluemoon, 1995)
• Thick (Cream, 1999)
• Rocket Science (ESC, 2000)
• X (Tone Center, 2012)

Solo albums

• Dog Party (1994)
• Tore Down House (1997)
• Well to the Bone (2002)
• Live! (2005)
• Vibe Station (2015)
• People Mover (2019)

As Vital Tech Tones - with Steve Smith and Victor Wooten

• Vital Tech Tones (Tone Center, 1998)
• VTT2 (Tone Center, 2000)

As HBC - with Jeff Berlin and Dennis Chambers

• HBC (2012)

As sideman

• Steve Bailey, Dichotomy (Victor, 1992)
• Gregg Bissonette, Gregg Bissonette (Mascot, 1998)
• Gregg Bissonette, Siblings Dogs in Space Music (BMI, 1992)
• Jeff Berlin, Champion (Passport, 1985)
• Tom Coster, The Forbidden Zone (JVC, 1994)
• Sandeep Chowta, Matters of the Heart (Sony, 2013)
• Billy Childs, I've Known Rivers (Stretch, 1995)
• Carl Verheyen, Trading 8s (Cranktone, 2009)
• Chick Corea, The Chick Corea Elektric Band (GRP, 1986)
• Dennis Chambers, Groove and More (Soul Trade, 2013)
• Gerald Gradwohl, Tritone Barrier (ESC, 2007)
• Virgil Donati, Just Add Water (Thunder Drum, 1997)
• Jean-Luc Ponty, Fables (Atlantic, 1985)
• Scott Kinsey, Kinesthetics (Abstract Logix, 2006)
• Bernie Williams, Moving Forward (Reform, 2009)
• Joe Zawinul, Vienna Nights/Live at Joe Zawinul's Birdland (BHM, 2005)
• Joe Zawinul, The Immigrants (CBS, 1988)
• Joe Zawinul, Black Water (CBS, 1989)

External links

• Scott Henderson's website
• 1999 Scott Henderson Interview
• 2015 Scott Henderson Interview on Guitar.com