Search - Henri Smith, Nat Simpkins :: New Orleans Friends & Flavors

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."