Corey Henry
Born in July 1975, Corey Henry grew up on Barracks Street in the Tremé just down from Little People’s Club, once a popular spot for second line parade stops in the Treme. His grandfather Chester Jones played bass drum in a traditional jazz band at Preservation Hall. His uncle is Benny Jones of the world-renowned Treme Brass Band.
“Being in Treme was my biggest inspiration, being around all that music at once,” Henry said. “We always had brass bands playing – the Pinstripes, Olympia, the Dirty Dozen. I’d go outside and they’d be playing a party or doing a second line. I got inspired by that and of course it’s in my family, my uncle, and grandfather.”
Henry started on the snare drum but switched over to the trombone at the age of 10. When he turned 16, his uncle Benny hired him to play with the Tremé Brass Band. “He just threw me in the mix with all those bad musicians, said ‘This is how you gon’ learn. Just go for it.’ So I learned doing it live, not during rehearsals. It was like learning on the job.”
Henry was the trombonist on Rebirth Brass Band’s “Rebirth of New Orleans” that won the Grammy for Best Regional Roots Album in 2012. In 2019, Corey Henry & the Treme Funktet won Gambit Magazine’s Best of the Big Easy Award for Best Funk Band.
Source: CoreyHenryTremeFunktet.com
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