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The Marsalis revolution has filled just about every seat in the jazz orchestra pit with nimble, tradition-bound musicians, many of them from the clan's native New Orleans. But with the exception of
Harry Connick Jr., the role of crooner has not been well attended to. Which is why vocalist Henri Smith's star-studded solo debut is such a treat. Smith's a joyful, generous performer, with a touch of smoke to his voice and the demeanor of a chivalrous host. The eight cuts on this unfortunately brief album include such jazz-lounge favorites as "That Old Black Magic" and "Work Song," plus tunes by
Hoagy Carmichael ("New Orleans," naturally) and
Buck Owens, whose country & western favorite, "Cryin Time," is recast as a barroom dirge, Ray Charles-style. The backing-band lineup is strong, too. There's one Marsalis,
Jason (playing vibes on "Black Magic"), and his former colleague from
Los Hombres Calientes, percussionist Bill Summers (best known as a member of
Herbie Hancock's Headhunters). Even if the Owens tune isn't a giveaway, this is hardly a standard jazz-standards album; the arrangements are loose and open, with a tuba filling in for the bass on occasion, and keyboardists taking their cues from old-time stride-piano greats. The list is too long to note in full, but also prominent here are
Kermit Ruffins, one of the Crescent City's biggest local draws; Anthony "Tuba" Fats, a founding member of the
Dirty Dozen Brass Band; and the Bluejay label's co-owners, saxophonist Nat Simpkins and drummer Cecil Brooks III.
--Marc Weidenbaum
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Henri's "friends" are one hot aggregation. Each member of the group is a pound-for-pound champ on his instrument, legendary in the New Orleans scene, each with a slightly different musical perspective. "We wanted to create a gumbo," says Simpkins, "to bring together people who hadn't recorded together before, and to record some non traditional tunes, to try to make the record attractive to people all over the world."
That's what Jazz is all about. You want to keep bringing in new elements. "It crossed all barriers, all racial lines, it was a conglomeration of musicians who love and respect New Orleans music and Henri," says Conga player and bandleader Bill Summers, "It was a family of musicians; there were white musicians, black musicians, Creole musicians, all kinds of musicians. He brought the community together musically." And this was New Orleans, after all, so the vibe on the date was, by all accounts, sublimely laid back. Donald Harrison, recalls "When I got to the studio, it was like I'd arrived at the biggest and best party. Everybody was there. We worked as a team to get down what he was looking for, played, had a great time. It's a soulful record with a soulful band from a soulful man." Henri may have had some early stage fright, but it's all but gone today. For his record, he had the guts to put himself in some heavy company. "I had to be strong. Here's all these great musicians, and they wanted to see what I'm about too. I wanted to make a record for all times." And he has. The music on this disc is universal, and, combined with Henri's easy charisma, it will surely spread his appeal far beyond New Orleans, where he's already well known. Cecil Brooks III was amazed when he first hit the town with Henri, who is warmly welcomed wherever he goes. "This cat is the closest thing I've seen to an honest politician," laughs Brooks, "He's like the mayor of New Orleans, he seems like he's a family member to everyone, and everyone feels that way about him. And he's on the way to becoming one of the great American singers."
