Harris 'N' Butler

 

The first night of my very first visit to New Orleans 25 years ago, I saw Mr. Henry Butler perform at the Funky Butt on North Rampart Street. I had no idea what I was in for. I trusted my friends Dan and Kathy that Butler was someone special.

There were a couple of records released on the Impulse label with jazz greats Billy Higgins and Charlie Haden. Some CDs passed through my shop on the Windham Hill label. Was Henry Butler jazz or New Age? I didn't know, but I was about to find out. 

Downstairs at the Funky Butt is a room the size of your average living room, jam packed with bar stools and couches, with a piano shoved tightly against some French doors that opened onto Rampart. Blind since infancy, Mr. Butler, with a little help, found his way to the keys and within seconds I heard Professor Longhair, James Booker, Beethoven and Monk (Thelonious) all before he sang a note. Once he started singing, his voice shook the Quarter, a wail somewhere between Paul Robeson's baritone and Ray Charles' heartbreak. I became a lifelong fan that first night.

Butler's 2000 collaboration with guitarist Corey Harris, "Vu-Du Menz," is a record I haven't played in years. It never got a vinyl release and I haven't had a working CD player in years. Most of my music is either heard by playing records or plugging the iPod into the stereo auxiliary input, and that's when I noticed "Vu-Du Menz" as I scrolled, compiling the day's roster of listening. 

Oh yeah! "Vu-Du Menz!" I loved that record. I wonder if I still do.

"Vu-Du Menz" sounded better than ever. This is a record that is all chops and vibes. It's got a down home feel, as both Harris and Butler nail every kind of blues over 15 songs that always feel like they start somewhere else before settling in New Orleans.  Corey Harris takes the lead vocals on many tracks, but you will notice Henry's lead the second he opens his mouth.

I recall an old NYCD customer asking me to compile a list of 20 essential New Orleans records, and "Vu-Du Menz" was in the Top Ten. I still feel the same way 20 years later.

 

In 2005, Mr. Butler did an in-store at my shop. It was a modest turn-out, with a handful of New Orleans diehards in their glory. It was a special day for those who made it, a 45 minute set, not unlike those solo performances at Jazz Fest or the Funky Butt, or what can be found on "Vu-Du Menz."

 

Mr. Butler was diagnosed with cancer in January of 2017 and continued to perform until June of 2018. He died in July of 2018.

I never once called him Henry the handful of times I was in his presence. Always Mr. Butler. I bet he dug it as much as I did. 

"Hey Mr. Butler!"
"Well, alright now!"  

Every time.

He was an amazing talent and I’m grateful that I got to hear him perform as often as I did. 

Check out "Vu-Du Menz" and you will hear both Corey Harris and Mr. Butler shine.