From the moment that New Orleans legend
Henry Butler took up residence in Brooklyn, it seemed only a matter of time before this gifted singer and pianist from the Mississippi Delta would look to collaborate with New York trumpeter and bandleader
Steven Bernstein. Butler, who is blind, is now 64 years old and for some time now has been one of the major stewards of the musical tradition of New Orleans, the city of his birth. Not that Butler is known to be traditional: his compositions are unreservedly modern, his palette is varied – ranging from jazz, to Caribbean and blues, and from funk to pop and R&B. And he does all this without ever denying that his musical roots lie in the delta. Add Bernstein’s
Hot 9 band to the mix and the result is steamy music with the brass section taking the lead on top of driving rhythms in a repertoire rich in classic New Orleans numbers.
