Cory Alexander Henry (born February 27, 1987) is an American jazz organist, pianist, gospel musician, and producer. A former member of Snarky Puppy, Henry launched his solo artist career in 2018 with Art of Love, his first independent release. In 2020, he released his sophomore full-length project called Something to Say which included the Marc E. Bassy-written track "No Guns". That same year he released Art of Love Live and Christmas with You, both under Culture Collective management and records.
Cory Henry | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Cory Alexander Henry |
| Born | February 27, 1987 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels |
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| Formerly of | Snarky Puppy |
| Website | coryhenry |
Henry was selected by Quincy Jones to headline his curated Soundtrack of America series opening of The Shed in NYC.[1] On August 5, 2021, Beats Electronics premiered a commercial featuring athlete Sha'Carri Richardson featuring the track "Run to Glory" which was co-produced and written by Henry, Kanye West and Dr. Dre. Henry was later credited as a producer and composer for the song "24" from West's tenth studio album Donda.
Early life
editHenry was born in Brooklyn, New York,[2] where he was playing both the piano and B3 organ at just two years old. He played a show at the Apollo Theater when he was six.[3][4]
Career
editHis musical touring began in 2006, and he has since toured with many mainstream artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Michael McDonald, P. Diddy, Boyz II Men, Kenny Garrett, and The Roots, and gospel artists, among them Israel Houghton, Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin, and Yolanda Adams.[3]
He released his album First Steps on July 21, 2014, with Wild Willis Jones Records. The album charted on the Billboard charts and placed on the Top Jazz Albums and Top Heatseekers Albums, peaking at numbers five and 30, respectively.[5][6] His second album, a live recording, The Revival, was released on March 18, 2016, by GroundUp Music.[7] The album charted on the Top Gospel Albums and Top Jazz Albums, where it peaked at number five and number two[8][9] respectively.
In 2018, Henry left Snarky Puppy to launch his solo career. On April 13, 2018, Henry released his debut single "Trade It All" with his band The Funk Apostles.[10] Three months later, on July 13, 2018, Henry released Art of Love, his first album with The Funk Apostles.[11] Henry has frequently collaborated with Vulfpeck.[12][13] On October 31, 2020, Henry released his sophomore full-length record called Something to Say.[14] In October 2019, Henry taught a songwriting workshop at the Brown Arts Institute at Brown University.[15]
Throughout 2020 and 2021, Henry released three personal projects and was featured as a writer and performer on multiple other releases including Imagine Dragons' "Cutthroat" and "Follow You", Jazmine Sullivan's "First Noel", Marc E. Bassy's "Free Like Me", and more. He appeared on Kanye West's album Donda, playing organ on "24" (aka "Run to Glory").[16] On September 10, 2021, Henry performed the national anthem with Michelle Williams at the National Football League's season opener in Tampa Bay, Florida.[17]
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On September 17, 2021, Henry released his third solo album Best of Me, featuring Henry performing on vocals, Hammond B3 organ, Moog synthesizer, and Harpejji. According to Henry, the album is "a collection of songs written and inspired by [his] musical heroes," with influences including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, P-Funk, and James Brown.[18]
On December 25, 2021, Henry was featured on Frank Ocean's 9-minute untitled song release on his Beats 1 radio show Blonded Radio.[19] He is also featured as a credited writer and performer on the song "G3 N15" from Spanish singer Rosalía's 2022 album Motomami.
On July 2, 2022, Henry was featured again with Imagine Dragons in "Continual".[20]
In 2022, Henry released a studio album Operation Funk, which he followed up with a live version of the album that released later in the year.[21]
On September 6, 2022, Henry announced on Twitter that he would be retiring from the music business at some point in the near future so he can concentrate on playing music for his own enjoyment rather than financial reasons.[22]
Discography
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Gos |
US Jazz |
US Heat | ||
| First Steps |
|
— | 5[5] | 30[6] |
| The Revival |
|
5[8] | 2[9] | — |
| Art of Love |
|
— | — | — |
| Art of Love (Live in LA) |
|
|||
| Something to Say |
|
— | — | — |
| Christmas With You |
|
— | — | — |
| Best of Me |
|
— | — | — |
| Operation Funk |
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— | — | — |
| Church |
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— | — | — |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Something to Say | Best Progressive R&B Album | Nominated |
| New Light | Best Progressive R&B Album | Nominated | |
| Donda | Album of The Year | Nominated | |
| Donda | Best Rap Album | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Operation Funk | Best Progressive R&B Album | Nominated |
| 2024 | Live at the Piano | Best Alternative Jazz Album | Nominated |
| 2025 | Church | Best Roots Gospel Album | Won |
References
edit- ^ Shed, The. "The Shed, Soundtrack to America Curated by Quincy Jones". The Shed.
- ^ Ragman. "Cory Henry biography". Ragman. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Leggett, Steve. "Cory Henry : Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ Incollingo, Joe (February 25, 2016). "Snarky Puppy's Cory Henry on five organ essentials". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Billboard (August 9, 2014). "Cory Henry – Chart history (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Billboard (August 9, 2014). "Cory Henry – Chart history (Top Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ Schultz, Barbara (March 18, 2016). "Album Review: Cory Henry – "The Revival"". Keyboard. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Billboard (April 9, 2016). "Cory Henry – Chart history (Top Gospel Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Billboard (April 9, 2016). "Cory Henry – Chart history (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ "Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles Release Debut Studio Track [Listen]". L4LM. April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ Art of Love by Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles, July 13, 2018, retrieved February 13, 2019
- ^ "Vulfpeck Welcomes Cory Henry, Fearless Flyers & Covers Hanson At Red Rocks". JamBase.
- ^ Schultz, Barbara (January 27, 2021). "Cory Henry: Something to Say". Mix. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
- ^ "Cory Henry Has 'Something to Say,' You Need to Hear It". November 4, 2020.
- ^ Ok, Katherine (October 15, 2019). "Pianist Cory Henry visits University for songwriting workshop". Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Bloom, Madison (August 29, 2021). "Kanye West Finally Releases New Album Donda: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ Williams, Michelle (September 10, 2021). "Michelle Williams and Cory Henry – 2021 NFL Kickoff National Anthem". Retrieved September 17, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Shore Fire Media (September 11, 2021). "Cory Henry Announces Multi-Instrumental Solo Album "Best of Me"". Grateful Web. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ Zhan, Jennifer (December 25, 2021). "Frank Ocean Gifted Us Nearly 9 Minutes of Previously Unreleased Music". Vulture. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
- ^ "Music".
- ^ Sissler, James (December 27, 2022). "Cory Henry Shares Live Album, 'Operation Funk (Live)' Featuring Kamasi Washington & Eric Gales [Listen]". L4LM. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/cory_henry/status/1567173530457874434. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
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External links
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