When you look back at your career, what is it that you do now that you wish you could have done at the very beginning?

Uh that is every day is a new day.

I never look back and think to what I didn't do.

I'm always looking forward to what can I do this, you know.

And can I go ahead?

Because it's constantly you're learning something all the time, every day.

Whenever you hit that stage, there's something different happening all the time.

Now

you're a kid from Chicago originally, and uh uh different cities developed their own different mo musical cultures.

There was certainly uh, you know, uh 52nd Street, Swing Street, New York City, and then we know Chicago and of course New Orleans is New Orleans, but uh Kansas City, that's where Basie sort of created his sound.

Uh what is the Los Angeles uh music scene for you?

Why did you base your your music career out of LA?

Well, actually I came here for for the acting, that's how it all started.

And then uh somehow uh something changed in my singing chops came back and I started to do more singing.

And more recently I'm singing much more than I did uh as an actor.

But I knew as when I was working as an actor that that acting was helping the storytelling and the singing.

And it was all good for

me

to become an actor and to become a game a singer.

Uh you're back in the studio recording uh with a big band and uh uh when you're uh it's your session and you're in there with a big band, uh do you feel uh a leadership obligation with all those guys sitting around you that that you've gotta be ahead of the everybody else?

Well you got uh you gotta be ahead of all of those guys anyway.

But it's not one of those kind of things where you think you should be ahead of them because you've got uh you have a chance to pick the right arrangers and everything.

Who know who you are, which is very important.

And then sometimes guys take you on another kind of a trip that you have to follow that you know that whatever that score is and sing.

At least you know the tune and you know the words.

But the score is new.

And

it all starts with the rhythm section for you?

Hello.

You wanna take that piano bass and drums with you wherever you go.

Everywhere I go.

Well,

it is kind of use a baseball metaphor.

It really is kind of like having a great well-oiled double play combination.

That uh when the rhythm section is right and the singer is used to working with the rhythm section, you don't have to even look.

You know the second baseman's cover in the bag.

You can flip the ball over there.

You know that.

You get that feeling, you know, that everything is well taken care of.

Well, Bill, you've been taking care of uh lyrics uh for a long time and they've always been in good hands uh when you've got them.

And uh going strong, keep recording, keep uh keep swinging because you whatever you're doing, you're doing it well.

Thank you.

And uh Bill Henderson's uh new CD is called Bill Henderson Live at the Kennedy Center.

It's available from uh from Web Only Jazz.

That's the name of the label, Web Only Jazz, and you can order that online, recorded last year, and it sounds great, and we can't wait to see you again live on stage here or anywhere that you're playing.

Bill Henderson, thanks for being on Jazz Notes with us.

Thank

you.

Join us again on Jazz Notes and we'll have more conversation and more music.

I'm Doug McIntyre.

Till then, bye-bye.

I did what did I do?

What did I do?

I thought about you.