February 18, 2010]
Last night, I heard Nicole Henry at the Viceroy on Brickell Avenue in Miami. I
found Nicole's performance "delightfully in the tradition of jazz."
In the 1980s a young lion, Wynton Marsalis so impressed
me that I thought I could relax a bit in my quest to keep jazz alive and well.
Last night, that quest was fulfilled even more by this young lioness, Nicole
Henry, who sings a ballad with feeling and understanding of the composer's
message and the blues like she just left the local juke joint!
Not only does Nicole look like a runway model, she
is accomplished musically. She stays true to the jazz tradition, has lots of
energy and pizazz and, it's obvious that she is in love with her
musicians and her audience, an accomplishment that few singers truly
achieve.
I predict that Nicole Henry will become a Diva in her
own right. All that's missing are decades of experience, which I have no doubt
she will gather as proof of her greatness.
I await her new CD that will include many of her
original compositions. Stay tuned for an upcoming show with Nicole Henry
on MUSICWOMAN
INTERNET RADIO. In the meantime, visit her website - www.nicolehenry.com
