Mel Henke

During the 1940s this pianist emerged through an assortment of Chicago ensembles, carving out an eccentric path that encompassed eccentric sides such as “Shock Treatment,” “Cocky Coo-Coo Clock,” and “Frenzied Flight,” along with what many regard as a landmark achievement within lounge repertoire, even if specialists have remained casual about pinpointing its supremacy. He contributed to the rhythm section on several Louis Armstrong sessions and, while in Nashville, succeeded in landing one composition with Conway Twitty. His background in crafting advertising copy left a mark that commentators have alternately praised and faulted in his recordings. Perhaps his most lasting mark came within the advertising industry itself, where he pioneered the integration of music and sonic effects to heighten the impact of 1960s commercials.

He entered the profession as a nightclub pianist and secured steady engagements across Chicago venues by the close of the 1930s. In 1943 he took Frankie Carle’s chair in Horace Heidt’s orchestra and also supported figures such as saxophonist Bud Freeman. After the Second World War he appeared regularly on radio and television, contributing to variety programs fronted by George Gobel and Gary Moore. By the early 1940s he had relocated to Los Angeles, where he concurrently directed his own trio; the group secured a contract for two albums on the Contemporary label, the imprint through which most jazz listeners first encounter him. Devotees of the label’s typically rigorous jazz may perceive Henke’s offerings as overly effervescent, whereas his core audience tends to arrive via lounge or space-age pop pathways.

In 1955 he joined Disney’s television unit, supplying material for numerous network spots as well as background cues for the Disneyland series. He maintained an independent production firm and became recognized for his explorations of sound effects and the insertion of spoken dialogue within musical frameworks. These experiments eventually yielded a sequence of albums that fused such methods with extended instrumental performances and playful sonic trickery. La Dolce Henke, notable even for its title, stands as his crowning achievement.