La façon dont Ashley Henry envisage sa musique reflète son enfance londonienne et ses racines caribéennes. Son univers sonore et sa pratique collaborative s'inspirent de sa formation classique et de son étude assidue des traditions noires, de leur devenir, leur histoire, leur rythme, leur frénésie et leur équilibre. Sa musique emprunte aussi bien au travail de James Baldwin et d'Angela Davis qu’à celui d'Ahmed Jamal, de George Benson, de Geri Allen et d'Aretha Franklin.
Ses compositions profondes ont révélé certaines des meilleures chanteuses de jazz contemporaines du Royaume-Uni. Son travail en tant qu’artiste sonore lui a permis d'être le premier musicien mandaté par l'Observatoire royal, d'établir le Freestyle Fellowship en invitant Shabaka Hutchings, Blue Lab Beats et Binker Golding à soutenir la Mental Health Foundation pendant le Covid au Royaume-Uni. Sa performance au Ronnie Scott's Live Stream a été le concert de jazz le plus diffusé en Europe en 2020. En tant qu'ambassadeur de la Fondation Abram Wilson, Henry crée en 2023 son propre label, Royal Raw Music, via Believe International, dans le but de repousser les limites de l'expression artistique et de la collaboration.
En 2023, il présente l’EP « My Voice »
My Voice témoigne de la prise de conscience de l'importance de ma voix dans la musique que je crée. J’ai voulu comprendre la façon dont ma voix me rattache étroitement à mon histoire, à ma famille, à mon héritage, en la reconnaissant à la fois comme faisant partie d'un chœur ancestral et comme m'étant propre.
Cet EP est une sorte de manifeste, une série de rappels, de choses que je me répète à moi-même sur ce que j'aimerais imaginer/accomplir dans un monde nouveau. Les morceaux instrumentaux tracent des chemins pour ces esquisses de rêves, qui refusent d'être enfermés dans des mots”
Son second album studio est prévu pour 2024.
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An award winning jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, producer, and bandleader.
Ashley Henry’s critically acclaimed album, Beautiful Vinyl Hunter, was released in 2020. It was Jazz Japan’s Album of the Year, nominated as a BBC 6 Music’s Album of the Year, becoming only the second jazz album ever to do so. He was named France Jazz Magazine’s New Jazz Artist of the Year for 2020, and toured globally with Christine and the Queens, whilst supporting Loyle Carner’s second album tour.
Ashley Henry’s take on sound reflects his London upbringing and his Caribbean roots. His genre-bending sound and collaborative practice draws from classical training and being a diligent student of the Black radical traditions, its futurism and history, pulse, restlessness, and poise. His music is as informed by the work of James Baldwin, and Angela Davis, as it is by Ahmed Jamal, George Benson, Geri Allen and Aretha Franklin.
His deep sonic compositions have launched some of the best contemporary female jazz vocalists in the UK. Whilst as a sonic artist his work allowed him to be the first musician commissioned by the Royal Observatory; Curate & establish The Freestyle Fellowship inviting Shabaka Hutchins; Blue Lab Beats and Binker Golding to support the UK’s Mental Health Foundation & Musicians during Covid. Whilst his Ronnie Scott’s Live Stream performance was the most streamed live jazz performance across Europe for 2020. Operating as an Ambassador for the Abram Wilson Foundation, in 2023 Henry established his own label Royal Raw Music via Believe International with the aim of continually pursuing and pushing the boundaries of artistic expression and collaboration.
In 2023, he released the 'My Voice' EP :
“My Voice marks the process of me realising the importance of using my voice in my music, and understanding how my voice connects me to my history, my family, my heritage, recognising it both as part of an ancestral chorus yet unique to me.
This EP works like a manifesto, or a series of reminders, things I repeat to myself about what I’d like to dream/realise into a new world. The instrumental tracks are channels for those dreams that are still taking form/ refusing to be pinned down by words”.
His second studio album is scheduled for release in 2024.
