Coming up in the 1920s as a piano accompanist for blues singers, Fletcher Henderson would go on to lead a storied career as one of early jazz's most important pianists, bandleaders, and arrangers. Tracks like “Christopher Columbus” and “Whiteman Stomp” show off Henderson's penchant for smart, dramatic writing that gripped listeners and dancers alike; teaming up with the likes of Louis Armstrong (“Copenhagen”) and Coleman Hawkins (“Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie”), Henderson played a critical role in the unfolding of the Harlem Renaissance.