Bill McHenry, Saxophone

New York Times critic Ben Ratliff writes: "Any musician who works so effectively against a common language, and uses cliché so little in the process, is worth listening to. There are tons of young jazz saxophonists out there pursuing ideas of harmony and structure and rhythm, but he has something rare going for him. He has a sound. Mr. McHenry is a fresh new voice: He can play with un-orthodox structure and get as free as you want, but he maintains a ripe, lovely tone straight out of the 1950's. Lyrical is probably the most overused word in jazz criticism, but if anyone deserves the word, Mr. McHenry is the one."

In 1996, McHenry and pianist Ben Waltzer moved to Barcelona, Spain. McHenry learned Spanish, taught at Escuela de Musics in Bellaterra and performed regularly at the Pipa Club in Placa Real, where as co-leader with Waltzer he recorded "Jazz is Where You Find It,” the first of many CD's he would make for Barcelona's Fresh Sound Label.

Upon returning to New York he became  a key member of several groups led by some of the best new voices in jazz: Argentine composer Guillermo Klein, bassists Reid Anderson and Chris Lightcap, singer Rebecca Martin, and pianists Ethan Iverson and Ben Waltzer. With these groups, and his own quartet featuring Anderson and guitarist Ben Monder, he has recorded over a dozen albums. Five of these have been listed on the New York Times alternative top-ten list, including "Live at Smalls" (co-led with Ethan Iverson) and his own, "Graphic". "Bill McHenry Quartet featuring Paul Motian," recieved critical acclaim and led to the quartet performing many times at the Village Vanguard. Bill also has played with established jazz legends Charlie Haden, John Abercrombie, Henry Grimes, Andrew Cyrille and John McNeil.