Jazz singer, a Wheaton College alum, to make long-awaited Boston-area return this month
Lauren Henderson is busy with myriad things, but that’s just how she likes it. Marblehead’s Renaissance woman of jazz had just come from a studio session planning her next album, was taking care of a few interviews and Zoom calls ahead of her March European tour and had an afternoon meeting with her executive group for Brontosaurus Records, the label she founded in 2019.
Henderson returns to the Boston area for the first time in a couple years on Thursday, Feb. 15, when she headlines the RegattaBar, at the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square. Fans know that the RegattaBar was closed for a couple years after the pandemic, so this also marks a return to one of Henderson’s favorite venues, where her legion of local fans can hear her sing, for the first time in about three years. (The RegattaBar is located at 1 Bennett St. in Cambridge, and the show begins at 7:30 p.m., with tickets $25, or $15 with student discount. Call 617-661-5099 for more information.)
Henderson graduated from Wheaton College in Norton, focusing on music, and then went on to earn a master's in business administration at Brown University. She also spent time studying in Spain and Mexico, enhancing her business studies while also delving deeply into the music of those countries. Last year, her 10th album, “Conjuring” landed on several Best of 2023 Jazz lists – including our own – as it blended standards and originals in a steamy collection of tunes that explored both Henderson’s Caribbean roots and the aura of magic and mystery that overlays so much of that music.
Henderson’s profile has also started to expand in more tangible ways. The cover page of Spotify’s Vocal Jazz Playlist has featured her photo, and she’s just been cited among 10 Artists to Watch on the Tidal streaming platform.
An expanding profile
“Everything has been going really well,” said Henderson when we connected by phone from her New York City home. “I’ve been working on my new project, getting ready for recording my next album, which I will be doing with one of my longtime collaborators, pianist Sullivan Fortner. At the same time, of course, I’m still promoting ‘Conjuring,’ which just came out midway through 2023.”
One of the best parts of the last album is the way it re-interprets some old classics, such as “It’s Magic,” which Henderson presented twice, once in Spanish as “Es Magia,” and once in English. But both versions are unique, with the Spanish take all sultry sensuality, while the English rendition took matters in a more ethereal, otherworldly direction. The old standard, “That Old Black Magic,” was performed as an entrancing ballad, with hints of Latin heat woven in. Henderson’s original song “Conjuring” crafts a surreal mood that could be romantic or mystical, or some entrancing combination of both.
“I tend to be very nostalgic when I think of ‘It’s Magic,’“said Henderson, “because it always reminds me of the holidays. With ‘That Old Black Magic,’ I just loved that song, whenever it was recorded as a standard. I think of the versions I heard while growing up, but just like with any so-called standard I do, I’m trying to think of what new spin I can perhaps bring to it. I remember we all hand a lot of fun in the studio with that one – we all had a lot of bounce when recording it.”
Bands that complement vocals
Henderson has had a knack of putting bands together that really complement her vocals, and each other. The last album featured pianists John Chin and Sean Mason splitting keyboard duties, with Gabe Schnider and Nick Tannura alternating on guitar, Joel Ross adding vibes, and the rhythm section of Joe Dyson on drums and Eric Wheeler on bass. A previous album or two featured Fortner on piano, and whatever the lineup, Henderson’s albums always boast the cream of the New York City jazz community.
“Having a good band behind me is really important,” Henderson said. “I look at it like putting a family together. I think about potential musicians by looking at who is close to each other. There are of course many friendships among various instrumentalists, and it can make a huge difference if you can put them together. It just makes sense that if you can play with someone you get along with, that you connect with, and have a familiarity with, the music you make together will be better. To put it simply, when I’m thinking of how to put a band together, it’s always great to put buddies together. I will consult with my pianist, and bassist and drummer, to just hear who they’d like to play with, and why. It is a chance to show all that they can do, when they feel supported, and then they can support me in the best way.”
Henderson’s Cambridge appearance is part of a busy weekend, as she does a show in Indianapolis the night before, meaning she will be flying in the next day for the RegattaBar show.
“Unfortunately the budget for these shows does not allow us to fly everybody from the last record in for these shows,” she noted. “At the RegattaBar show, I’ll be fronting a quintet, with bass-drums-piano, and three musicians from Berklee College of Music that come highly recommended. And then Nick Tannura is flying in from Miami to play guitar. Nick has become like a little brother to me, and really brings something extra to my music. I’d love to bring my regular New York guys from the last record, but the great thing about playing jazz is that you meet people everywhere who can step in and bring their own flavor to it.”
Preparing for Europe
Henderson’s schedule heats up in March with a nine-date European jaunt.
“I’m doing three stops in Germany to start, and then heading to Italy,” she said. “I’m very excited because I have musical friends in both countries. Being bi-lingual is something those European audiences really appreciate. Jazz is an American art form, but when I can sing in Spanish, it gives me another way to communicate, and of course I speak Italian, so that helps tremendously, too. All those European countries love to hear the ‘classic’ American standards. When I sang ‘Besame Mucho’ in Spanish on my last European tour, I had the entire audience singing along with me.”
“European audiences are really uniformly very nice to us,” Henderson added. “They are very hospitable to American jazz, and it honestly helps me get through the rest of the year. American jazz and blues is huge in Europe, and you get these amazing receptions, so we love to perform there.”
Henderson is bordering on ecstatic to have the RegattaBar back as a lively venue.
“Living down here in New York, I didn’t know exactly what was going on, and we lost so many great and even historic jazz venues in the pandemic, you had to worry,” said Henderson. “I started hearing rumblings that they were coming back a couple months ago, and I am so happy to be back performing there. Playing there is always kind of a homecoming event for me, and so my friends and family are excited about it, and it is a show I am really looking forward to playing.”
Giving hints about new album
And with that next album in the primary stages, what can fans expect?
“I’m looking forward to performing more of my original songs, along with some re-imagined standards,” said Henderson. “We’re in the process of recording and planning what we’re going to do right now. I think I will have songs sung in English and Spanish, as I’ve done before. And we will have a song coming out in a language I’ve never used before.”
Given her Caribbean background, and Panamanian and Montserratian roots, we suggested Portugese or French might be potential new flavors.
“Those would certainly be interesting possibilities, but I’m going to keep it a surprise until the record comes out,” Henderson said with a laugh.
As pop music moves ever more to a framework of singles and three-or-four-song EPs, jazz artists like Henderson remain committed to the album format.
“I think a lot of different artists in jazz like to play different themes throughout a whole album,” Henderson mused. “I also think sometimes singles can be released, and left on their own, where they don’t always need to be part of an album’s theme. I like the album form because it allows me to experiment, and explore a mood or a theme. The popularity of more singles and EPs can be a positive development for jazz artists. But mainly, I want to tell a story musically with my group, where we can all display a theme, or different themes, and have a certain progression, or a story you tell.”
Henderson the CEO optimistic about record label
And finally, how is Brontosaurus Records doing, according to the CEO?
“All of our artists are writing and recording new music, and we expect all of them to release new albums this year,” Henderson noted. “I have a meeting later today with my executives, but the label is going strong. I’m very proud of the work everyone is turning out. I’m just still not sure how I can arrange my own time to be as involved in all this as I want to be.”
The British are coming! The British are coming!
Relax, it's not the War of 1812, and I know there's a plaque by the beach there because I'm related to the Bates sisters, but in musical terms, The British Invasion Years is a crack quartet of musicians dedicated to performing the best tunes from that era. Expect hits from The Beatles and Rolling Stones (of course) but also lesser-known stars like The Dave Clark Five, The Zombies, The Who, The Kinks and Herman's Hermits. Fear not, there is also a nod to homegrown rock with songs from The Four Seasons, The Beach Boys and The Monkees among others. Take a ride in the wayback machine at The River Club Music Hall in Scituate this Friday (Feb. 9).
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Lauren Henderson, a Wheaton College grad, set to perform in Cambridge
