In Memoriam|

Henry Butler at the Keys with Mark Diamond on the stand-up bass (Photo courtesy of Mark Diamond)

From Mark Diamond, 7/02/18: I’m not sure what to say about the passing of the amazing, wonderful, powerful, fun, funny, high energy Henry Butler, other than that I am honored, lucky and privileged to have known, worked and toured with this one of a kind person, and to call him my friend. When playing with Henry, you had no choice but to play beyond your best, or you’d be left in the dust! I loved him and will miss him terribly. When he’s not playing the piano in heaven, you can bet that he’ll be driving around!!! Rest in peace my friend.

Walter Darnell Holland: Sad to hear that. We go back over forty years to Southern University in Baton Rouge.

Erica Brown: Oh, oh, oh!! Just saw that my dear friend Henry Butler has gone on Home. He was an amazing person, and just a master of his craft. Every time we ran across each other, we would say we were gonna collaborate. And now it’s too late. Rest in Perfect Peace, Dear Henry. You will be SO missed!!!

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Henry Butler (September 21, 1949 – July 2, 2018) was an American jazz pianist. He was known for his technique and his ability to play in many styles of music. In 1987, New York Times music critic Jon Pareles wrote that Butler “revels in fluency and facility, splashing chords all over the keyboard and streaking through solos with machine-gun articulation. In 1998, Chicago Tribune arts critic Howard Reich described Butler as “an enormous intellect matched by unusual physical strength.” Referred to by Dr. John as “the pride of New Orleans,” Butler was his generation’s representative in the Crescent City’s lineage of piano players such as Professor Longhair, James Booker, Tuts Washington, and Jelly Roll Morton.

Butler recorded for several record labels, including Impulse, Windham Hill, and Basin Street Records.

Butler was blinded by glaucoma in infancy. His musical training began at the Louisiana State School for the Blind, where he learned to play valve trombone, baritone horn and drums before focusing his talents on singing and piano. Butler was mentored at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by clarinetist and educator Alvin Batiste. Butler later earned a master’s degree in music at Michigan State University in 1974, and received the MSU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated Butler’s home in the Gentilly section of New Orleans. His 1925 vintage Mason & Hamlin piano was wrecked by flood waters that rose to nearly eight feet inside his house.

In the wake of Katrina’s damage, Butler left New Orleans and briefly relocated to Colorado, living first in Boulder and then Denver. He later spoke of that Colorado period as “a trying exile.” In 2009, Butler relocated again to New York City.

Butler pursued photography as a hobby since 1984, as an outgrowth of attending art exhibits in Los Angeles and asking friends to describe featured works. His methods and photos were featured in an HBO2 documentary, Dark Light: The Art of Blind Photographers, that aired in 2010. Butler’s photographs were also shown in galleries in New Orleans.

Butler died of end-stage cancer in New York City on July 2, 2018 at the age of 68.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Butler

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Trombonist Bill Watrous

From Frank Romero, 7/02/18: Sad to hear that Bill Watrous passed away. He was one of the most amazing trombonists ever. I’m glad that I got to see him play live about 5 times. The first time was in a clinic when I was in high school and I was about 10 feet away directly in front of him. His sound was unique and inspiring and his personality and humor were legendary. RIP Mr. Watrous. I am streaming your music all day tomorrow. I often do that anyway, but now with a heavy heart.

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William Russell Watrous III (June 8, 1939 – July 2, 2018) was an American jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known by casual fans of jazz music for his rendition of Sammy Nestico’s arrangement of the Johnny Mandel ballad “A Time for Love,” which he recorded on a 1993 album of the same name. A self-described “bop-oriented” player, he was well known among fellow trombonists as a master technician and for his mellifluous sound.

Waltrous taught at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Maryanne, had one son, Jason.

Watrous died in Los Angeles on July 2, 2018. He was 79.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Watrous

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