by Richard SkellyHenry Butler's blues-based, New Orleans funk-style piano playing is not for every blues fan, to be sure. Butler is a local legend in New Orleans, but rarely tours other parts of the country; most any time of the year, he can be found playing in one of New Orleans' famous nightspots. It's not an exaggeration to say Butler is a piano genius who has yet to be discovered by the masses. His recordings demonstrate that he can do it all: he writes his own songs, does his own arrangements of classic tunes by Professor Longhair and others, and can play with as much passion as a soloist as he can with a band. What makes him great -- but admittedly difficult for record companies to market -- is that he constantly pushes himself in new directions as a musician. He can't be pigeonholed as blues, jazz, or even rock & roll, though he performs all three genres with impeccable taste, depth of understanding and freshness of appreciation. Butler's playing also reflects influences like gospel and classic R&B.
Butler was born in New Orleans and first began playing piano at a neighbor's house when he was six. While attending the Louisiana State School for the Blind in Baton Rouge, he began taking piano lessons, also studying drums, baritone saxophone and valve trombone. He began playing professionally when he was 14 in Baton Rouge clubs, and then attended college at Southern University in Baton Rouge. He later did post-graduate work at Michigan State University. Before graduating from college, Butler received a National Endowment for the Arts grant to study with Cannonball Adderley and his group of veteran musicians; he learned a lot from all of them, including pianist George Duke.
In the mid-1970s, he returned to New Orleans and found work as a voice teacher at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. Butler then lived in Los Angeles and New York City for several periods of time, pursuing record deals.
Butler credits jazz clarinetist Alvin Batiste with being a major influence on his career. When Butler was listening to Jimi Hendrix and Chicago, Batiste advised him to begin studying the music of John Coltrane and Charlie Parker, which enabled Butler to develop the great improvisational abilities he demonstrates in his performances today.
Butler has several albums to his credit: Fivin' Around (MCA/Impulse!, 1986), The Village (MCA/Impulse!, 1988), Orleans Inspiration (1990, ) album for the now-defunct Windham Hill Jazz label; a 1992 independent release, Blues & More, Vol. 1; and 1996's For All Seasons on the Atlantic Jazz label. Butler continues to support himself through private lessons and performances around the Crescent City; in 2000, he teamed with Corey Harris for the album Vu-Du Menz.