“20 Years & Counting..!”
This captivating and “emotionally evocative” award-winning vocalist marks the 20-year celebration of her national debut CD release, The Nearness of You. This CD earned her a “Best New Jazz Artist of 2004” award and kick-started a career that has led to four TOP-10 CDs; a Soul Train Award for “Best Traditional Jazz Performance” and a tour schedule that has included 20 countries.
From intimate supper clubs, to stadiums and performing arts centers backed by acoustic and electric quartets, pops orchestras and big bands, Nicole Henry has touched hearts and won praise from critics and audiences worldwide.
In “20 Years & Counting…!,” Ms. Henry reflects on the break-through Nearness of You CD, the seven CDs that followed, and her musical influences along the way. Enjoy music and then, stories about the joys of touring, inspiring conversations and “shareable” memories that all make for a career well-lived and well-enjoyed!
PERFORMER BIO:
Since 2004, Nicole Henry’s versatile and emotionally driven performances have wowed audiences in 20 countries. She has established herself among the jazz world’s most acclaimed performers, possessing a potent combination of dynamic vocal abilities, impeccable phrasing, and powerful emotional resonance. Heralded by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Japan Times, El Pais, Jazz Times, Essence and more, Ms. Henry tells real stories through peerless interpretations of repertoire from the American Songbook, classic and contemporary jazz, popular standards, blues and originals.
Among her numerous accolades, Henry’s passionate, soulful voice and heartfelt charisma have earned her a Soul Train Award for “Best Traditional Jazz Performance,” “Best New Jazz Artist” by HMV Japan, “Best Solo Musician” by her hometown Miami New Times, and was hailed as “One of Eight Black Artists Making Waves in 2024” by Symphonic Distribution. She has enjoyed four TOP 10 CDs including her latest album “Time to Love Again” which reached #4 on the U.S. jazz radio chart, remaining in the TOP 40 for 20 weeks. “Time to Love Again” also reached #6 on UK’s Sweet Rhythms chart and continues to enjoy worldwide play on both Sirius XM’s Real Jazz & Watercolors stations. These successes were supplemented by a 36-city national tour.
Henry has performed in over 25 festivals and headlined shows in New York, Tokyo, Madrid, Moscow, Paris, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas, Boston, San Francisco and Miami at such notable venues as Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Birdland, Blues Alley, The Smith Center, Kravis Center, Jazz St. Louis, Spaghettini’s, Feinstein’s, Middle C and more.
She has recorded with musical greats Kirk Whalum, Julian Lage, John Clayton, and Gerald Clayton and has performed with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, Pasadena Pops and Michael Feinstein. In late 2019, Ms. Henry returned to the theatrical stage and garnered critical praise in the musical version of “The Bodyguard”; she’s portrayed Shug Avery in “The Color Purple”; ‘Brenda’ in “Smokey Joe’s Cafe”; and she starred in the worldwide debut of the musical “A Wonderful World,” based on the life of Louis Armstrong.
Growing up in a musical family in Bucks County, PA, Ms. Henry immersed herself in the arts early on, singing in school and church, and studying cello and ballet. After graduating from the University of Miami with a degree in Communications and Theatre, she launched a successful acting career, appearing in national commercial roles as well as a series of voiceover assignments. However, she directed her strongest passion toward the development of her full-time singing career. Since then, based on her various career accomplishments and active commitment to supporting non-profits such as Miami Music Project (Board Member), YoungArts and Miami Children’s Initiative (past Board Member), proclamations from the City of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County have named “Nicole Henry Days” in 2011, 2016 and 2017. Ms. Henry has also served two terms on the Board of the Florida Chapter of the Recording Academy (GRAMMYs).
BAND MEMBERS:
Piano: Pete Wallace
Drums: TBD
Guitar: Aaron Lebos
Bass: Marty Quinn
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