Pianist Henry Butler riffs on resurrecting New Orleans' music scene

If New Orleans-born pianist and vocalist Henry Butler isn't as widely known in music circles as some of his heavyweight peers, it's partly because he refuses to settle on, or for, any single musical mode. True to the passionate spirit of his eclectic home turf, Butler mixes classically trained sophistication and crackling improvisation with an earnest, street-level strut.

His varied discography includes several solo projects and session dates with jazz luminaries such as bassist Ron Carter and contemporary blues singer-guitarist Corey Harris. Yet regardless of the genre he's playing in, you can always hear nods -- some sidelong, some lovingly direct -- to the vibrant Crescent City giants who paved a way for his singular artistry.

Blind since birth, Butler never actually saw the havoc wrought by Hurricane Katrina last August, just hours after he evacuated his home in the Gentilly section of New Orleans. During this interview, though, the husky-voiced 57-year-old received a package containing annotated photographs of what was left behind. "They're supposed to show all the damage," he said. "So I'll have to have other people look at them and deal with it that way." One gets the feeling that even though Butler can't see, he's heard it all. And it's crystal clear that he has a vision for resurrecting (and correcting) a music scene that more than a few natives worry may have been lost at sea.

JAMES DIERS: Do a lot of musicians have homes in Gentilly?

HENRY BUTLER: Yeah, it's part of the Seventh Ward, it's one of the main areas of Creole culture. There definitely were a lot of musicians and artists living there. So a lot of us are out of our houses.

JD: Your new home base is in Boulder, Colorado. What's it going to take for you to go back to New Orleans?

HB: As much as I would like to go back, I don't really have much confidence in the leadership down there. They didn't even have an emergency preparedness center. I mean, you're in a hurricane zone, so I don't understand it. It's kind of strange. All the corruption and graft that existed pre-Katrina will have to be addressed.