Ernie Henry accomplished a lot in a short period of time before passing away prematurely. He had his own sound, although his style was clearly heavily influenced by
Charlie Parker. He worked during the bop era with
Tadd Dameron (1947),
Fats Navarro,
Charlie Ventura,
Max Roach, and
the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra (1948-1949). He was with
Illinois Jacquet's band (1950-1952); maintained a low profile for a few years; and, in 1956, recorded with
Thelonious Monk (the
Brilliant Corners album), worked with
Charles Mingus, and toured with
Dizzy Gillespie's big band (1956-1957) before his death.
Ernie Henry led three albums for Riverside during 1956-1957. ~ Scott Yanow