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Henry Cook

Henry Cook is a multi-reed player, whose instruments include alto and baritone saxophones, flute, alto and bass flutes, and a variety of folk woodwinds.

About Me

Henry Cook is a multi-reed player, whose instruments include alto and baritone saxophones, flute, alto and bass flutes, and a variety of folk woodwinds. His passion for many styles of music, including blues, funk, latin as well as African and Arabic musical forms have given him a very eclectic and innovative approach to playing.

His musical associations include Famoudou Don Moye, John Tchicai, “Ku-umba” Frank Lacy, Cecil Brooks, Howard Johnson, Steve Neil, Joe Bonner, Donald Smith and Mark Johnson among others, each of whom has played on some of jazz' most important recordings.

After studying with Joe Viola at the Berklee college of music in the early eighties, he began his career in Boston playing with the Billy Skinner Double Jazz Quartet. Over the next few years, they traveled throughout the Northeast, as well as England and Northern Ireland.

He eventually formed his own band, which performed across the US, and in 1996 did a tour in Mexico. In addition to his own band, Cook has had a long musical partnerships with the Either/Orchestra, Salim Washington’s Roxbury Blues Aesthetic and Jorge Arce’s Humano.

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Cook's recordings include:

“Dimensional Odyssey” which won the Boston Music Award for “Best Indie Jazz Album” and garnered rave reviews in Down Beat, Jazz Times, Cadence, Stereo Review and CD Review:

“Live at Montreux-Detroit” which was also well received by the media, and got heavy airplay on jazz radio coast to coast, and brought the band and its members many award nominations..

“Harlem Homecoming” by the Harlem Arts Ensemble

“Love in Exile” by Salim Washington's Roxbury Blues Aesthetic

“Kosen Rufu” with the Billy Skinner DJQ

“Live in Addis” with the Either/Orchestra, an album devoted to Ethiopian music.

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Cook has played in major festivals around the world, including:

European Jazz Expo - Cagliari, Italy

Sant'Elpidio Jazz Festival - Italy

Montreux-Detroit Jazz Festival – Detroit USA

Cork Jazz Festival, Cork, Ireland

DuMaurier Jazz Festival, Toronto, Canada

Festival Internacional de San Miguel De Allende, Mexico

Ethiopian Music Festival – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Kampala Festival of the Arts - Kampala, Uganda

Discovery Jazz Festival, Vermont, USA

Boston Globe Jazz Festival - Boston, USA

International Assoc. of Jazz Educators Conference, San Diego USA

In addition to performing, Henry has been teaching jazz, flute, and saxophone for over twenty years. He has given music clinics across the United States, in Europe and Africa.