On Monday evening, legendary New Orleans pianist Henry Butler passed away in New York City, according to a statement from his manager, Art Edelstein.
Henry Butler was an improbable talent. After going blind as a result of glaucoma while he was an infant, Butler taught himself how to play piano by ear as a young child and was arranging, composing, and performing professionally by the time he was 12 years old.
Considered one of the premier exponenst of the great New Orleans jazz and blues piano tradition, Butler’s sound was influenced by the streets (he grew up in the Calliope Projects in New Orleans, has traveled the world, lived on both coasts and in the heartland); by studying with the greats (Alvin Batiste, Sir Roland Hanna, Professor Longhair, and James Booker, among others); by institutions (Louisiana School for the Blind, Southern University, Baton Rouge, and Michigan State University); and by his willingness to explore new boundaries and to take risks musically.
Over the course of his career, Butler played virtually every major club and festival in the United States, as well as venues in Brazil, France, Norway, Italy, Japan, Australia, and more. For over forty years, he conducted workshops, clinics, and master classes throughout the country. He also developed a camp for blind and visually impaired teen musicians, the subject of a 2010 documentary, The Music’s Gonna Get You Through. “Henry’s unbelievable–and unbelievably independent and always has been,” Edelstein told nola.com. “He got all over the world on his own.”
Considered one of the premier torch-bearers of the great New Orleans jazz and blues piano tradition, Butler was a ten-time Pinetop Perkins (formerly W. C. Handy) Best Blues Instrumentalist Award nominee. A rich amalgam of jazz, Caribbean, classical, pop, blues, and R&B, his music mirrored the eclectic identity of his New Orleans birthplace. Comparing Butler to other iconic New Orleans pianists like James Booker and Professor Longhair, Edelstein explained, “They all incorporated so much of New Orleans history. … Henry really is the last of that tradition.”
According to nola.com, Henry Butler’s agent, Maurice Montoya, confirmed that Butler died of end-stage cancer after fighting the illness for more than a year. Butler continued to perform right up until his death, having just played a show in New York on June 18th. “He really fought hard,” Edelstein said, “He’s really been active, but his body just gave out.”
In September of 2017, Henry Butler appeared with New Orleans cohorts George Porter Jr. and Johnny Vidacovich for a special trio set at Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s Brooklyn Comes Alive, performing with an unteachable cool in his red silk suit despite his persisting illness.
Below, you can watch Butler’s 2010 video interview with the Library of Congress, in which he discusses his life performing and teaching jazz and R&B and performs select pieces that were influenced by the culture of New Orleans.
Many thanks to Henry Butler for all you’ve given to New Orleans, music, and the world at large. Rest easy.
[H/T NOLA.com]