Prior to fading into obscurity in the hinterlands of Los Angeles, Henry Bridges apparently held his own against the traffic of many legendary tenor sax players of the late '30s and early '40s. He was an early associate of revolutionary jazz guitarist Charlie Christian and was considered an excellent soloist on the big horn as well as the clarinet. Bridges might have wound up a bigger name in the music business had Uncle Sam not gotten in the way. The World War II draft made it impossible to accept an offer from bandleader Benny Goodman, who promoted Bridges' old guitar playing buddy into star-soloist stature, garnering hipster credentials for himself in the process. It turned out a Goodman needeth cross no Bridges to elevate a Christian, and while this proverb does sound like something out of the scriptures, it will be put aside to examine the less-profound subject of music history.

While often associated with the Kansas City jazz scene, Bridges hailed from over the hump in Oklahoma City, which was where Christian's family moved in the early '20s. They were both playing in many a local combo in the mid-'30s, an artistic plus for a city that at the time boasted more gun owners who had actually used their guns than anywhere else in the nation. Bandleader Alphonse Trent took both players out of town near the end of the decade, introducing their talents to listeners in nearby states and bringing them into the exciting world of territorial bands, a historical reworking of the concept of a "local group" meant to describe anywhere that could be driven to without the van falling apart. Bridges gigged with both

Leslie Sheffield's band and Harlan Leonard in 1939, the latter leader building Bridges a solo at regular intervals in the arrangements. Hearing the reedman in this sort of context obviously excited Goodman, following up on a tip from his guitarist.

It was service bands in both the United States and Europe that benefited from Bridges' talents instead, until the war ended and he decided to settle in California. He did apparently haunt a few stages in the '50s, still in fine honking form, but for the most part left the music scene. His main employer has been that grand retirement home for musicians, the post office. There is a very good chance he is deceased. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi