While walking a mall in New Jersey, a teenaged Jim Henderson heard the sound of a group of saxophonists. He rushed to see who these musicians were and found one man playing three saxophones and a nose flute at the same time.
Curious about how this was possible, he stopped and talked to the man he came to know as Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Kirk gave him these words of advice: Just start with two. More than 40 years later, Henderson has mastered the art of playing two saxophones at the same time. On his latest release “Still Souled Out,” he covers the 1950s crossover hit “Tequila,” exposes fans to the samba reggae style of Batala and pays homage to Steve Winwood. Henderson and his two saxophones join host Frank Stasio to talk about how he almost wound up in the band Traffic and how a random encounter at the mall helped shape his lifelong commitment to the saxophone. Henderson will be playing with the Ragweed Brass Band at the Cat’s Cradle Back Roomon Saturday, Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. Henderson's album release event entitled Wailin' and Honkin': How Unsung Heroes of the Saxophone Created Rhythm and Blues is at the Regulator Bookshop on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.