Sunday, May 2, 2010

The Legend of Al Henderson

During the Malcolm X Mixtape Showcase, Vincent, one of our newest contributors, approached me, pointed across to the other side of the room, and asked, “Professor Rambsy, is that him?”
“Him? Who?” I asked.
“You know. Is that…him?” He repeated.
“You mean, Henderson?” I asked.
“Ohhhh man” said Vincent, “it is him.”

Among participants in the Interactive Reading Group like Vincent, our man Al Henderson has become something of a legend. His insightful and jazzily phrased comments during our online discussions always have members of our group wondering what he’ll say next.

Since Henderson is a graduate student and most of the younger guys rarely see him during the course of the day, he seems to have taken on this mysterious aura. Who’s this conscious dude, dropping all this knowledge on the blog? Where does he hang out on campus? Where’s he from; how does he come up with ideas like that?

Close listeners at our events were often impressed by the wide selection of music that complements our projects. Henderson, who has this encyclopedic knowledge of black music, has provided us with no less than 100 audio clips for our presentations, audio-visual exhibits, and youtube videos during the course of the 2009-2010 academic year. Incredible.

I’m still not sure how Vincent guessed who Henderson was before meeting him. But I was glad we got to make that in-person introduction.

During the showcase, I asked Henderson to play the videos and trailers that he produced for our Malcolm X Mixtape. I also requested that he produce a few short interludes to play between the pieces. I’m presenting those three pieces below.







Related:
The Malcolm X Mixtape Showcase
Father and Son attend the Showcase

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Al Henderson is the best...and an overall nice guy...and I'm going to miss him when he graduates! Al, if you're reading this, you better come around the English department and see me at least once every year or two so I know what you're up to.... :) May the future bring you much, because you deserve it. :)