Nicole Henry

“An artist who knows how to make a song her own…she has a potent voice and her interpretive sense is sharp and distinctive.” - Billboard

“She can sell a power ballad as well as Whitney, Diana and Patti…” - Jazz Times
“…one of the most impressive live performers to personalize the great American songbook.” - Japan Times
With style, grace and a stellar list of international jazz performances and awards, vocalist Nicole Henry performs in a most genuine fashion and sings powerfully to inspire and touch the heart. With three TOP 10 CDs released in the last four years, young Nicole is an undeniable talent that, in today’s music arena, brings back elegance and class, appealing to a wide audience.

Personalizing the Great American Songbook, as well as love, original and inspirational songs, Nicole's fresh and distinctive delivery lends rich luster and revelatory meaning to the lyrics she embraces. Her beautiful, unforgettable voice combines jazz, pop, and soulful nuances with spirited 'joie de vivre. Young Nicole Henry was a bonafide local star performing regularly around Miami and attracting faithful audiences when she fell in love with the melodies, lyrics and freedom of jazz in 2002.

When a jazz trio heard her sing and invited her to perform with them, magic was made and jazz became her new direction. “I loved the story-telling of jazz and the melodic freedom it offered to interpretation. These songs make you reveal a story.” Her first jazz album, The Nearness of You, sold over 15,000 copies and garnered much critical acclaim. HMV Japan named her “Best New Jazz Artist” for 2004, and the CD climbed to #2 on HMV Japan’s charts, staying in the top 10 for three months. In the U.S., she was featured on Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio and reviewed by Billboard, Jazz Times and other national media, reaching #27 on the Jazz Week Radio chart. Her follow-up CD on Japan’s Venus Records, Teach Me Tonight with the Eddie Higgins Trio featured Jay Leonhart, reached #1, and again earned her honors, with HMV Japan naming it the “Best Vocal Jazz Album of 2005.”

Now Nicole releases her third jazz CD, The Very Thought of You, which features love songs, including gems
from the Great American Songbook. Produced by music veteran Hal Batt (Jean Carne, Regina Belle, Julio Iglesias) with an assist from Executive Creative Producer, Don Mizell (co-producer of Ray Charles' 2005 Album of the Year GRAMMY winner Genius Loves Company), The Very Thought of You, exhibits Nicole’s ability to bring joy and romance to life. She shows extraordinary control of a beautiful voice with an incredible command of rhythm and timbre, while presenting a fresh outlook on these sparkling selections.

She continues to win awards and accolades, though now performing internationally at clubs and festivals in Japan, Spain, London, Jamaica, Korea, China and Mexico, where she presented her tribute to Billie Holiday. Her performance at the Jazz á Juan les Pins Festival in the south of France won her the Prix du Jury 2007 award as part of their international Révélations vocal jazz competition. She returned at their bidding in 2008, adding a 2-night debut performance at Paris’ Duc des Lombards.

In the U.S., she’s been featured in New York City at The Rainbow Room, Cotton Club and Lincoln Center and at local jazz clubs, The Iridium and 55 Bar. She’s also been presented by the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis; Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in Pittsburgh; and in south Florida, at Jazziz Bistro, Center for the Performincg Arts and Arturo Sandoval’s. She has shared the stage with Isaac Hayes, Jennifer Holiday, Nicholas Payton, Joan Osborne, Roberta Flack and performed with Kenny Werner and Tom Scott to name a few. Nicole Henry’s artistry is uplifting and truly captivating. She is one of the finest vocalists to emerge this decade and she’s being discovered by wider audiences everywhere.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Philadelphia, Nicole was raised in the arts haven of Bucks County with a mom who always played classical piano in the house and made sure Nicole and her sister played at least one instrument. Along with taking ballet and singing in the school and church choirs, she studied cello for six years and sang the national
anthem at every high school basketball and football game. She earned a full academic scholarship to university of Miami, where she studied architecture for two years before changing majors to advertising and theater.

It wasn’t until she recorded for a dance music DJ/producer named Noel Sanger and went on the road performing at night clubs and heard her song on Billboard’s Dance Music Charts for eight weeks that she believed she could make a living as a performer. “I knew I wanted to use art to affect people’s lives. And that’s what I can accomplish through my singing…help people relate to their feelings, and then celebrate that
feeling.” Committing to a full-time entertainment career in 2000, the singer/songwriter began producing original material and took the opportunity to tour the U.S. as a background vocalist with RCA band, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise.

By 2002 Miami New Times had named her “Best Local Solo Musician.” In addition to her singing gigs, Nicole began winning acting roles in national television commercial campaigns for
Verizon Wireless, Amtrak, McDonald's (with Venus and Serena Williams), Air Jamaica, Rite Aid pharmacies, Hershey's Swoops, Sears Optical and others. She was the lead actress in the feature-length, independent films, In Plain Sight and Chapter and Verse, and starred in a four-part pilot of a children's television series, The Lemonade Stand, aired on select US stations. She also starred in the independent short
film Miami Chronicles sponsored by the Independent Film Channel. All three of these films feature original songs by Nicole.

NICOLE HENRY with John DiMartino- piano; Richie Goods - bass; Shinnosuke Takahashi- drums

Friday, November 6, 2009 - 9:45-11:00pm
Friday, December 4, 2009 - 9:45-11:00pm
The Metropolitan Room 34 W. 22nd Street, Chelsea, NYC (betw. 5th & 6th Avenues)
http://www.metropolitanroom.com/
November 18, 19, 20, 21 – 7pm & 9pm
November 22 & 23 – 5pm & 8pm
The Cotton Club Tokyo with the Duke Ellington Orchestra