Jack Henderson is a singer and songwriter with impeccable credentials. Now his latest solo album, This Daring Light, is showcased at Kings Place London on Friday 21 August and at legendary venue The Convent on Saturday 22 August 2015. It’s the first offering from The Convent’s own label Convent Records.
Produced by legendary Tony Shanahan and with a host of renowned musicians on the album, the album reflects a marriage of Henderson’s British songwriting, musical sensibilities honed in the States and the signature sound and contribution of the New York musicians who contributed to the recording.
Jack says, “The first time I heard it I loved the sonic quality of Patti Smith’s Banga album, on which producer and bass player Tony Shanahan was influential. When I was lucky enough to share a few whiskies with him, we hit it off and agreed to work together.“
A year later they got together at Shanahan’s studio in New York to record This Daring Light. The album includes contributions from Marc Ribot, (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello), Jon Graboff (Ryan Adams, Sheryl Crow), and a standout performance by Tony Garnier, (Bob Dylan’s long time bass player) on the song Radio Girl.
However, as Jack is keen to point out, “The most important thing remains the song. That’s what has to stand up. If it doesn’t everything else is a waste of time.”
The title track, This Daring Light was inspired by those moments a pre-storm light can bring, so portentous, that moment when a non-believer could become a believer, when the sky could tear apart and reveal something bigger than all of us.
After mastering a G major chord as a school boy, Jack says “The most natural thing to do with it seemed to be to write a song”. Months later he was skipping school to play in a busy gigging band. After meeting Dave Markee (Eric Clapton, Joan Armatrading), he honed his skills as a young singer and songwriter fronting a veteran band that included Markee on bass and Terry Stannard on drums (Marianne Faithful).
Jack’s songwriting eventually took him to America where he recorded his debut solo album, Cheap Tattoo, and spent several years as a guitar player touring and recording with Americana band Over The Rhine and cult Canadian outfit Cowboy Junkies.
Jack has shared stages in the US with the likes of Buddy Miller, Sarah Mclachlan, and Natalie Merchant and, more recently, in the UK with fellow songwriters, Ed Harcourt, Boo Hewerdine and Hugh Cornwell.
He has recorded with, Byron House, (Emmylou Harris), Don Heffington (Bob Dylan, Neil Young) and Richard Causon (Ryan Adams, Rufus Wainwright). His songs have been recorded by various artists in the US and the UK and performed live by the likes of Ron Sexsmith and others.
Fans all over the world can watch the gig live and then on repeat via The Convent’s global groundbreaking live streaming tool Netgig. All gigs at The Convent are broadcast live globally via Netgig.co.uk – the world’s first pay per view broadcasting channel, with an audience reach of 22 million.
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