April 3, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Owns gas station but tours Europe regularly
If it ain’t jazz, it ain’t Germantown’s Rob Henderson
by JENNIFER DIONISIO

Henderson is seen playing with Robin Dragon, bass player from Canada, and Wolfgang Reinholt, sax player from Germany, at The B-Flat Club in East Berlin in 2004

Growing up, Rob Henderson absorbed the music of the times, starting with Motown records before moving on to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Then, as a teenager, Henderson’s uncle turned him on to a style of music that would direct the course of his life — jazz. Sitting in his Germantown home, Henderson says that prior to that time, he had collected hundreds of rock and soul records. “I gave them all to my younger brother,” he laughs. “I said, ‘If it ain’t jazz, it ain’t staying in my collection.’”

Though Henderson has since reopened his library to other genres, jazz is still his first love. It makes sense, of course, because the 50-year-old has made his career as a successful jazz drummer, a vocation that has taken him all over the world to play his music. Not to mention that one of his bands, H-Factor, released a record that made it to number 20 on the national jazz charts. “I was in shock,” he explains. “I was doing radio interviews all over the country. I was on a ride that you would not believe.”

His neighbors might be among the disbelievers, many of whom, running into him on the street or speaking with him at Wakefield Service Center, the inspection station he owns on Chew Avenue, have no idea there’s a fair chance he just returned from a week-long gig in Europe, enjoying Cuban cigars and French coffee while taking in the sights on his off-hours.

Henderson claims it was an accident he started playing drums. He sheepishly explains that as a student at Germantown High School, he used to cut class and hang out in the backroom of a local jewelry shop where the owner and other musicians would play while he and his friends watched, inspiring his own musical aspirations. But one can infer a love of music was passed down the family line. His father, James Henderson, was an amateur musician who played the French horn and guitar.

Henderson shares a Philadelphia Tribune article from 1969 (written by Len Lear, who is now Local Life editor at the Local), which features his father, a union president, and his fellow plant workers, on strike to demand a holiday commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. Their success came 17 years before the holiday was first nationally observed. His father’s unexpected passing three years later created a legacy of its own; when Henderson received his inheritance, he spent it all on his first drum set.

His early practices showed little promise, he admits. With no formal training, a right-handed Henderson accidentally set up his kit for his left-hand. He played the beat on one and three, instead of the traditional three and four. He wised up thanks to a friend who pointed out his irregular beat. “Once I found that out, that was it. I was gone,” he recalls. “I pretty much developed from there. But I had no idea music would have me travel halfway around the world.”

That would come later, however. First, Henderson paid his dues learning to play jazz in local nightclubs under the mentorship of older musicians. In his mid-20s, he made a name for himself at LG’s Blue Note, on Washington Lane and Limekiln Pike, and the Star Shooter, at 40th and Market Streets, both which have since closed. “Star Shooter was a dinky, run-down bar,” he says, “but the musicians who came through this place were unbelievable. Anytime people were on the road, they stopped by this little bar.” In the meantime, he also started a family with his first wife, and worked in investment banking to support them, before taking over his father-in-law’s inspection station.

“There’s only a handful of people who can play music and make a living,” he explains. “I’ve always worked and played music. I’m just as serious as someone who doesn’t play music, but I had children, I was married, and I had a mortgage.” When he recalls turning down traveling gigs years ago, he explains it was a sacrifice he was willing to make for his family.

While Henderson’s 1992 divorce was devastating, he acknowledges it had one benefit. “That year I went to Europe. I’ve gone every year since.”

Since Henderson has his own business, when he travels, he simply closes his shop. Originally taking a month off at a time, in the past couple years he has decided to limit himself to one or two-week trips. His most recent stint abroad took him to Luxemburg, Austria, France and Germany. ‘My God, it was breathtaking,” he gushes. “And the gig was so easy. We did three 40-minute shows to hundreds of people a day, and had the rest of the day and night to ourselves.”

Henderson’s travels aren’t always so relaxed, and he often finds life on the road grueling. “Imagine traveling eight hours on a train, and when you arrive, all you got time to do is shower, change and get on the bandstand.” Grinning widely, he adds, “But you know what’s funny? When you hit that bandstand, you forget all about everything else but the music.”

His experiences abroad revealed some distinct differences between Americans and Europeans. He believes Europeans are more appreciative as a culture of live music. He says the audiences are younger, and more aware of jazz’s history. He also explains that it’s much easier to make a living as a musician there, and acknowledges that many of his peers have relocated because there’s more work, and they encounter less racism.

Despite this, early on Henderson decided he would always keep Philadelphia as his home. “If you play jazz, this is where you want to be,” he says. “The caliber of musicianship in America is different. A lot of the American expatriates are a dime-a-dozen here, but there, they are really popular.” This is important, as Henderson relies on an ever-changing line-up for his bands. Plus, with seven kids and a fiancée, Henderson says he has too much here to pack up and go.

Living in Philadelphia, he often plays the local clubs, though he most enjoys gigs at Charles Young Post on East Sharpnack Street in East Mt. Airy, where the knowledgeable older crowd keep him on his toes. Every year he stages a poetry and jazz festival for students at Pennsauken High School. He’s also looking forward to performing at the West Oak Lane Jazz Festival on June 21, and he is starting a drum choir called Traps. When he needs a taste of Europe, he heads to Germantown Avenue, whose strip of stores, coffee shops and restaurants remind him of a European city.

Henderson feels fortunate at the direction his life has taken. Shaking his head, he marvels, “I’m one of those guys I used to look at and say, ‘Wow!’ It’s a great feeling.”