Berlin, November 2nd, 2026 (The Berlin Spectator) – An American original is coming to Germany for just one single gig. At the Urania in Berlin, none other than Cory Henry will be performing in December. The concert by the organist, pianist, vocalist and composer from New York is part of his “Music From the Heart” tour.
If there is one word that should be written all over Cory Henry’s work, it’s “unconventional”. It is pretty hard to put his music into any genre drawer. We would have to cut it into several pieces. The categories Funk, Jazz-Funk, Soul and Neo Soul all apply, but these sub-genres still do not give us the full picture. Henry is a Gospel musician too.
In recent gigs, the former member of the Jazz-Funk and Fusion band Snarky Puppy used an interesting version of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” as the intro tune. While most songs he plays are original, another powerful interpretation he is known to deliver is that of “Inner City Blues”. His voice is nothing less than stunning, meaning even if he were only a vocalist, he would stand out.
Full of Surprises
Then, suddenly, he would leave the singing aside and dive into some complicated Chick Corea tune from the “My Spanish Heart” album. This is pretty much the last approach I would have expected. Cory Henry is full of surprises. Who would place a bass drum under the concert grand and play both instruments at once? Well, him. He does not really seem to care about trends, but just plays what he feels like playing. And he’s a romantic. His songs are all about love and ecstasy.
After leaving Snarky Puppy, Cory Henry decided to become a solo artist in 2018. Since, he has delivered “The Art of Love”, “Something to Say”, “Operation Funk”, “Christmas With You”, “Divine Time” and “Church”, six very different albums. Church is where he seems to have learned all about music. The “Church” recording even got a Grammy as the best Gospel roots album. Before leaving Snarky Puppy, he had already released the solo recordings “Gotcha Now Doc” and “The Revival”, which is an unconventional mixture of Gospel and Jazz, including a noteworthy version of John Coltrane’s “Giant steps”.
Henry was born in Brooklyn in 1987. He was only two years old when he started playing the organ and the piano. At age six, he performed at the legendary Apollo up in Harlem. Thirty-three years later and 3,967 miles away, Berlin’s Urania venue is expecting this genius on December 4th.
Did we mention Cory Henry will be performing in Helsinki, Katowice and at the new Blue Note club in London as well?
Cory Henry in Berlin: December 4th, 2026, 7:30 p.m., Urania (Tickets are available here.)
