J. Henry
…He has rocked stages across the US from the Essence Music Festival in New … Read Full Bio ↴…He has rocked stages across the US from the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans to The Legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, USA. He has shared stages with the likes of the legendary Twinkie Clarke, Soul Singer Tony Terry and Master comedian Rodney Perry. He IS the Smooth Jazz Phenomenon. He IS the one, J. Henry and this is his story…
J. Henry hails from the Jazz Capital of the World, New Orleans, Louisiana. This Crescent City native has been dazzling audiences across the U.S. for the last 20 years. His gift for music was recognized early at age 7, and at 9 years old he was given the opportunity to learn to play any instrument of his choosing and he found his love for music in the saxophone. His uncle, New Orleans Jazz Legend Pierre Porree, gave him his very first and J. continued to study under his mentorship and under another New Orleans Jazz Legend, Brian Graber.
“I would sit on the front porch for hours a day making noise. Eventually that noise became songs”
After practicing 4 to 5 hours a day, month after month, J. felt he was ready to perform his first solo at his church playing “When The Saints Go Marching In”. With the energy and confidence that he performs with today, you would have never guessed that as a child he was stage fright. By the age of 13 he began playing for different churches, and by the age of 16 was playing professionally. At age 17, J. and his twin brother Cardell started a singing group named Cri’stal. The group was very successful in New Orleans winning numerous talent competitions in and around the city. Yet the greatest accomplishment for J. was fulfilling his childhood dream of performing on “Showtime at the Apollo”, where he and the group won unanimously.
“…You never go through anything for yourself in life…”
In 2005, tragedy struck New Orleans in the form of Hurricane Katrina. Upon returning to his hometown J. was faced with 6ft of water in his home and total loss. J. moved to Atlanta, GA with nothing but 1 shirt, 2 pairs of pants, two pairs of socks and his saxophones. Like so many others from the Crescent City, he had to start all over. While in Atlanta trials and tribulations struck again and again as he became homeless and lost everything three times. He even recalls working as a maintenance man in an apartment community, sleeping at his job in the clubhouse and having to sneak in late at night and get up before anyone came to work. The only person who knew the severity of his living conditions was his soon to be wife, who stayed by his side. Through every challenge, J. never lost his faith or his focus. He struggled through 2006, yet still worked hard at pursuing his dreams, continuing to make a name for himself. He would continue to expand and perfect his signature sound by playing with different bands and for different organizations in and around Atlanta. His faith and perseverance kept him going and eventually helped him become stable.
In the summer of 2008 while rehearsing for a show he met Daron Steward (cousin of Sly Stone) who gave him the name “J. Henry“, and whom he had great chemistry with. A month later he began working on his debut album. During the process of recording the album he faced many challenges, but worked through them. After almost 2 years of writing and production, J. Henry released his appropriately entitled debut album, “Long Time Coming” in August of 2010.
J. Henry is determined to be a driving force to bringing Smooth Jazz back to prominence. In 21 year, he has rocked stages with Bishop Paul S. Morton, P.J. Morton, Angie Stone, Tony Terry, Rodney Perry, Destiny’s Child, Don D.C. Curry, Twinkie Clark, Eric Benet, Marvin Sapp, Jai Reed, Kevon Edmonds, Craig Adams and Ron Laster. His live performances are superb and mesmerizingly interactive. The high levels of energy and emotion that J. packs into every performance, draws audiences into his incredible story of love, trial and triumph. The J. Henry Experience has been quoted as being “the return to the original live music experience.” With the release of LONG TIME COMING, there has been a resurgence of the live music experience and a major shot in the arm for Smooth Jazz worldwide. The album has been incredibly well received especially in Europe and Africa. When it comes to his music and the effect that J. Henry is having on Smooth Jazz overall, Rod Lucas of Lucas Media in the UK summed it up in one word, "Fantastic".
J. Henry hails from the Jazz Capital of the World, New Orleans, Louisiana. This Crescent City native has been dazzling audiences across the U.S. for the last 20 years. His gift for music was recognized early at age 7, and at 9 years old he was given the opportunity to learn to play any instrument of his choosing and he found his love for music in the saxophone. His uncle, New Orleans Jazz Legend Pierre Porree, gave him his very first and J. continued to study under his mentorship and under another New Orleans Jazz Legend, Brian Graber.
“I would sit on the front porch for hours a day making noise. Eventually that noise became songs”
After practicing 4 to 5 hours a day, month after month, J. felt he was ready to perform his first solo at his church playing “When The Saints Go Marching In”. With the energy and confidence that he performs with today, you would have never guessed that as a child he was stage fright. By the age of 13 he began playing for different churches, and by the age of 16 was playing professionally. At age 17, J. and his twin brother Cardell started a singing group named Cri’stal. The group was very successful in New Orleans winning numerous talent competitions in and around the city. Yet the greatest accomplishment for J. was fulfilling his childhood dream of performing on “Showtime at the Apollo”, where he and the group won unanimously.
“…You never go through anything for yourself in life…”
In 2005, tragedy struck New Orleans in the form of Hurricane Katrina. Upon returning to his hometown J. was faced with 6ft of water in his home and total loss. J. moved to Atlanta, GA with nothing but 1 shirt, 2 pairs of pants, two pairs of socks and his saxophones. Like so many others from the Crescent City, he had to start all over. While in Atlanta trials and tribulations struck again and again as he became homeless and lost everything three times. He even recalls working as a maintenance man in an apartment community, sleeping at his job in the clubhouse and having to sneak in late at night and get up before anyone came to work. The only person who knew the severity of his living conditions was his soon to be wife, who stayed by his side. Through every challenge, J. never lost his faith or his focus. He struggled through 2006, yet still worked hard at pursuing his dreams, continuing to make a name for himself. He would continue to expand and perfect his signature sound by playing with different bands and for different organizations in and around Atlanta. His faith and perseverance kept him going and eventually helped him become stable.
In the summer of 2008 while rehearsing for a show he met Daron Steward (cousin of Sly Stone) who gave him the name “J. Henry“, and whom he had great chemistry with. A month later he began working on his debut album. During the process of recording the album he faced many challenges, but worked through them. After almost 2 years of writing and production, J. Henry released his appropriately entitled debut album, “Long Time Coming” in August of 2010.
J. Henry is determined to be a driving force to bringing Smooth Jazz back to prominence. In 21 year, he has rocked stages with Bishop Paul S. Morton, P.J. Morton, Angie Stone, Tony Terry, Rodney Perry, Destiny’s Child, Don D.C. Curry, Twinkie Clark, Eric Benet, Marvin Sapp, Jai Reed, Kevon Edmonds, Craig Adams and Ron Laster. His live performances are superb and mesmerizingly interactive. The high levels of energy and emotion that J. packs into every performance, draws audiences into his incredible story of love, trial and triumph. The J. Henry Experience has been quoted as being “the return to the original live music experience.” With the release of LONG TIME COMING, there has been a resurgence of the live music experience and a major shot in the arm for Smooth Jazz worldwide. The album has been incredibly well received especially in Europe and Africa. When it comes to his music and the effect that J. Henry is having on Smooth Jazz overall, Rod Lucas of Lucas Media in the UK summed it up in one word, "Fantastic".
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