Cory Henry

Biography

Cory Alexander Henry (born February 27, 1987) is an American jazz organist, pianist, gospel musician, and producer. A former member of Snarky Puppy, Henry launched his solo artist career in 2018 with Art of Love, his first independent release. In 2020, he released his sophomore full-length project, called Something to Say, which included the Marc E. Bassy-written track "No Guns". That same year he released Art of Love Live and Christmas with You, both under Culture Collective management and records.
Henry was selected by Quincy Jones to headline his curated Soundtrack of America series opening of The Shed in NYC. On August 5, 2021, Beats Electronics premiered a commercial featuring athlete Sha'Carri Richardson featuring the track "Run to Glory", which was co-produced and written by Henry, Kanye West and Dr. Dre. Henry was later credited as a producer and composer for the song "24" from West's tenth studio album, Donda.

Early life

Henry was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he was playing both the piano and B3 organ at two years old. He played a show at the Apollo Theater when he was six.

Career

His musical touring began in 2006, and he has since toured with many mainstream artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Michael McDonald, P. Diddy, Boyz II Men, Kenny Garrett, and The Roots, and gospel artists, among them Israel Houghton, Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin, and Yolanda Adams.
He released his album First Steps×First Steps21 July 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1First Steps3:192Afro Brooklyn5:533Back When6:184Miss Purty6:245Walkin6:206Heart8:587Gotcha Now5:108Where’d You Go5:109Look at the Bright Side7:46 on July 21, 2014, with Wild Willis Jones Records. The album charted on the Billboard charts and placed on the Top Jazz Albums and Top Heatseekers Albums, peaking at numbers five and 30, respectively. His second album, a live recording, The Revival×The Revival18 March 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 22 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Lord’s Prayer6:342He Has Made Me Glad (I Will Enter His Gates)7:143Precious Lord7:564Old Rugged Cross7:375Naanaanaa6:546That Is Why I’m Happy7:067If You’re Happy (And You Know It)1:198Giant Steps6:359All in Love Is Fair7:0210Yesterday9:1011I Want to Be Ready11:40Disc 21Lord’s Prayer2He Has Made Me Glad3Precious Lord4Old Rugged Cross5Naanaanaa6That Is Why I’m Happy7If You’re Happy8Giant Steps9All in Love Is Fair10Yesterday11I Want to Be Ready, was released on March 18, 2016, by GroundUp Music. The album charted on the Top Gospel Albums and Top Jazz Albums, where it peaked at number five and number two respectively.
In 2018, Henry left Snarky Puppy to launch his solo career. On April 13, 2018, Henry released his debut single, "Trade It All×Trade It All13 April 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Trade It All6:50", with his band The Funk Apostles. Three months later, on July 13, 2018, Henry released Art of Love, his first album with The Funk Apostles. Henry has frequently collaborated with Vulfpeck. On October 31, 2020, Henry released his sophomore full-length record, called Something to Say.
In October 2019, Henry taught a songwriting workshop at the Brown Arts Institute at Brown University.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, Henry released three personal projects and was featured as a writer and performer on multiple other releases, including Imagine Dragons' "Cutthroat" and "Follow You", Jazmine Sullivan's "First Noel", and Marc E. Bassy's "Free Like Me". He appeared on Kanye West's album Donda, playing organ on "24" (a.k.a. "Run to Glory"). On September 10, 2021, Henry performed the national anthem with Michelle Williams at the National Football League's season opener in Tampa Bay, Florida.

On September 17, 2021, Henry released his third solo album, Best of Me×Best of Me17 September 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1The Opening3:582Up the Road4:253Waterfall5:104In My Feelings2:1452AM3:346Best of Me5:037Alone4:168Round n Round3:079Dreaming Of3:5210Oh Happy Day4:5711Benediction4:40, featuring Henry performing on vocals, Hammond B3 organ, Moog synthesizer, and Harpejji. According to Henry, the album is "a collection of songs written and inspired by [his] musical heroes," with influences including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, P-Funk, and James Brown.
On December 25, 2021, Henry was featured on Frank Ocean's 9-minute untitled song release on his Beats 1 radio show Blonded Radio. He is also featured as a credited writer and performer on the song "G3 N15" from Spanish singer Rosalía's 2022 album Motomami.
On July 2, 2022, Henry was featured again with Imagine Dragons in "Continual".
In 2022, Henry released a studio album, Operation Funk×Operation Funk15 July 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Something New6:022Ecstasy2:133What I Want2:584The Line5:465What a Pity4:066The Fool4:127Holy Ghost4:368Hurts My Brain3:049Good Times3:42, which he followed up with a live version of the album later in the year.
On September 6, 2022, Henry announced on Twitter that he would be retiring from the music business in the near future so he can concentrate on playing music for his own enjoyment rather than financial reasons.
On October 31, 2025, Henry performed as a guest with Billy Strings and his band at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, in the band's annual Halloween-themed concert, alongside various other musical guests.