Master Henry Gibson

Who was Master Henry Gibson?

"Master" Henry Gibson is the world's most recorded percussionist, appearing on about 1200 albums, spanning a career of four decades.

Born in the United States, Master Henry began playing on the streets of Chicago. While a young man he performed for Operation Push with Rev. Jesse Jackson. Later he became an integral member of Phil Cohran's revolutionary Artistic Heritage Ensemble. Later Gibson played and recorded with the popular jazz ensemble Odell Brown and the Organizers. Gibson spent a lot of time in Chicago recording studios, which allowed him to be noticed and picked up by professional musicians who took him on tour. One tour led to another, and soon he was playing and recording with artists such as Donny Hathaway and Curtis Mayfield. Gibson chose to go on the road with Curtis Mayfield and this led to his success and national recognition for his artistry on the bongo and conga drums.

While performing at the Hard Rock Cafe in Stockholm, Sweden, he met and later married his wife Anne, and made Stockholm his base. He died in Stockholm of a heart attack at age 60. His last concert appearance was with Khaled Habib and Zak Keith at the Lydmar Hotel in Stockholm.