Nicole Henry: The Big Secret You NEED to Know!

Inside the spacious Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, they waited for her.

The stage was equipped with a piano, stand-up base, drums, guitar and a spotlight on the microphone teased the audience as they salivated for the graceful Nicole Henry. The sweeping view of New York City’s Upper East Side acted as both a beautiful backdrop and comforting distraction for those eager to hear the mezzo-soprano jazz singer.

The Nicole Henry Quintet performed two sold out shows at the famous Lincoln Center super club to promote her latest record So Good So Right: Nicole Henry Live. The 13-track album is a compilation of songs from the 70s that she’s covered.

Unlike other forms of music, jazz brings together a different type of listener, a musical elitist with a refined palette. As a novice to the jazz scene, I was taken aback by the plush charcoal velvet seats and wood floors inside the 2,300 square-foot venue. For me, the polished crowd, the flowing glasses of red wine, and the scholarly small talk I overheard was very much the high life, but for true jazz fans, it was just Wednesday.

The lights went dim; the band walked on stage and drummer, Dave Chiverton, tickled the high-hats bringing everyone gleefully to the edge of their seats. Then, in a floor-length cream silk taffeta Badgley Mischka gown, with a slit up the middle, Henry arrived and opened the show with the Stealers Wheel classic “Stuck in the Middle with You.”

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The jazz-soul singer’s voice has undeniable power and just enough rasp to give it some grit. As the music moves through her, Henry’s body contorts with each note, physically putting herself into her performance.

Over the one-hour set, Henry did renditions of Gladys Knight’s “Neither One Of Us” and Aretha Franklin’s “Spirit In the Dark,” showcasing her ability to make not only a song, but a classic, all her own.

The evening’s high point came when Henry sang Bob Marley’s “Waiting In Vain,” placing even the waitstaff in a trance. As if the reggae legend’s lyrical plea to his love could be any more romantic, Henry’s voice, accompanied by the gentle rifts of an electric guitar, added a layer of satin to the song, making it not only romantic, but sensual.

“Oh, I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna wait in vein,” Henry purred.

Her physical appearance merits the same response as her voice. With her toned arms and sun kissed maple syrup skin, it’s hard not to be in awe of the Miami native’s beauty.

“I had to wear a dress to compete with this view,” she told the audience with sass and a smile.

It’s unfair to try and make you understand the wonder of Henry’s voice. You have to experience it live. It’s also a grave injustice to put it in a box of any type of definition. Henry’s skill allows her to frolic within the realms of jazz, soul, funk and rhythm and blues. Her voice is too big for any kind perimeters or limitations.

Nicole Henry is a talented chanteuse who only needs a mic.

Photo Credit: Michael Weintrob

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