Henry Butler (September 21, 1948 – July 2, 2018) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...

and blues pianist. He learned piano, drums, and saxophone in school. He received a college degree and graduate degree and taught at the

New Orleans Center for Creative Arts New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, or NOCCA, is the regional, pre-professional arts training center for high school students in Louisiana. NOCCA opened in 1973 as a professional arts training center for secondary school-age children. Locate ...

. He worked as a soloist and in groups in Los Angeles and New York City. Despite his blindness, he spent time as a photographer and had his work exhibited in galleries.

Biography

Butler was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...

in infancy. His musical training began at the Louisiana State School for the Blind, where he learned to play valve trombone, baritone horn, and drums before concentrating on singing and piano. Butler was mentored at

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a m ...

in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by clarinetist and educator Alvin Batiste.At Jazz Standard, New Orleans's Loss is New York's Gain
The Wall Street Journal, November 2, 2011. Butler later earned a master's degree in music at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

in 1974 and received the MSU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009. He taught at

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

from 1990 to 1996, after which he returned to New Orleans. In 1993, he founded a series of jazz camps for blind and visually impaired young musicians, which were featured in a 2010 documentary titled ''The Music's Gonna Get You Through''. In August 2005,

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cos ...

devastated Butler's home in the Gentilly section of New Orleans. His 1925 vintage

Mason & Hamlin Mason & Hamlin is a piano manufacturer based in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1854, they also manufactured a large number of pump organs during the 19th century. History 19th century Mason & Hamlin was founded in Boston, Massachuset ...

piano was wrecked by flood waters that rose to nearly eight feet inside his house. In the wake of Katrina's damage, Butler left New Orleans and moved to Boulder, Colorado, then Denver. He spoke of the Colorado period as "a trying exile". In 2009, Butler moved to New York City. Beginning in 1984, Butler pursued photography as a hobby after attending art exhibits in Los Angeles and asking friends to describe what they saw. His methods and photos were featured in the HBO2 documentary ''Dark Light: The Art of Blind Photographers'' that aired in 2010. Butler's photographs were shown in galleries in New Orleans. Butler died of cancer in New York City on July 2, 2018, at the age of 69.

Praise

Butler was known for his technique and his ability to play in many styles of music. In 1987, music critic Jon Pareles of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that Butler "revels in fluency and facility, splashing chords all over the keyboard and streaking through solos with machine-gun articulation". In 1998, critic Howard Reich of the '' Chicago Tribune'' described Butler as "an enormous intellect matched by unusual physical strength".Henry Butler Nearly Peerless at the Piano
Chicago Tribune, September 27, 1998.

Discography

As leader

* ''Fivin' Around'' ( MCA, 1986) * ''The Village'' (MCA, 1987) * ''Orleans Inspiration'' (

Windham Hill Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label wa ...

, 1990) * ''Blues & More'' (Windham Hill, 1992) * ''For All Seasons'' ( Atlantic, 1996) * ''Blues After Sunset'' ( Black Top, 1998) * ''Vu-Du Menz'' with

Corey Harris Corey Harris (born February 21, 1969, in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American blues and reggae musician, currently residing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acoustic ...

(

Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additional ...

, 2000) * ''The Game Has Just Begun'' ( Basin Street, 2002) * ''Homeland'' (Basin Street, 2004) * ''Pianola Live'' (Basin Street, 2008) * ''Viper's Drag'' with Steven Bernstein (

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positi ...

, 2014)

References

External links

Official website

Culture Catch Music Salon & Dusty Wright interview
* ''

Le Show ''Le Show'' is a weekly syndicated public radio show hosted by satirist Harry Shearer. The program is a hodgepodge of satirical news commentary, music, and sketch comedy. Shearer, an impressionist known for his voice work on ''The Simpsons'', w ...

'' interview: {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Henry 1948 births 2018 deaths African-American pianists American jazz pianists American male pianists American photographers American rhythm and blues musicians Blind musicians Jazz musicians from New Orleans Black Top Records artists Windham Hill Records artists MCA Records artists Atlantic Records artists 20th-century American pianists Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Impulse! Records artists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people Southern University alumni Michigan State University alumni Eastern Illinois University faculty American blind people