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Henry Goodwin was born on January 2, 1910 in Washington, D.C. and as a child played drums and tuba in addition to the trumpet. Henry worked with the bands of Sam Taylor and Claude Hopkins in 1925 as a teenager. At age 15, Goodwin went to Europe with Hopkins as part of the Josephine Baker Revue but in Berlin he decided to return to New York.

He soon sailed to Argentina with a group led by Paul Wyer and after his return to New York, Goodwin worked with Elmer Snowden and recorded with Cliff Jackson’s Krazy Kats. Leaving for Europe again in 1933 with Lucky Millinder, then back to New York playing with Willie Bryant, only to settle in with Charlie Johnson for two years.

Henry worked a short stint with Cab Calloway but by 1937 was playing with Edgar Hayes for three years. Hired by Sidney Bechet he was more at home with his style, and then went on to work with Cecil Scott, Gene Sedric and Art Hodes. Freelancing for a while he went back to Europe to play the Nice Jazz Festival with Mezz Mezzrow, and by the mid 50s was playing in San Francisco with Earl Hines.

He played in a variety of Dixieland bands in the 1960’s before retiring and never led his own record date. Trumpeter Henry Goodwin passed away on July 2, 1979.

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