85-year-old piano master and vocalist Henry Gray created the blueprint for postwar Chicago blues piano. Playing for twelve years with legendary Howlin' Wolf Henry Gray has remained prominent for decades as an original blues voice in Chicago and Louisiana. Henry Gray has performed at every New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival since its beginning. A Grammy Nominee for "A Tribute to Howlin' Wolf," he also performed at Mick Jagger's 55th birthday party in Paris in 1998 and is featured in Clint Eastwood and Marin Scorcese blues films. Henry received a prestigious NEA National Heritage Fellowship award in 2006. Henry Gray has been playing for more than seven decades, and has played with a multitude of artists including Robert Lockwood, Jr., Billy Boy Arnold, Morris Pejoe, the Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf among many others. He has more than 58 albums to his credit, including recordings for the legendary Chess Records label. He is credited as helping to create the distinctive sound of the Chicago blues piano.

Gray became a session player for numerous artists on recordings made by Chess Records. He recorded with many icons of the blues including: Abb Lock, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Homesick James, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Billy Boy Arnold, Muddy Waters, Johnny Shines, Hubert Sumlin, Lazy Lester, Little Walter Jacobs, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Little Milton Campbell, Jimmy Rogers, Jimmy Reed, and Koko Taylor among others.

"Sweet Home Chicago was the theme for the first day and night of this year's Chicago Blues Fest, and the set that best represented it was the tribute to the late Howlin' Wolf. With Hubert Sumlin on guitar, Abb Locke on saxophone and Sunnyland Slim on piano, and vocals. It began in a good groove, but when Henry Gray took Slim's place, (with his voice like a slab of slate, his piano work tough and jumping) the blues were there for real." — Larry Kent, Chicago Tribune

Read more about Henry Gray at www.henrygray.com

Season partners and supporters for our 31st season include: the Albion Hotel; Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation; Aquarius Press; Barefoot Wine & Bubbly; Biscayne Times; Books & Books; Bresaro Suites at the Mantell Plaza; Cafeina; The Children's Trust; Citizens Interested in the Arts; City of Coral Gables Cultural Arts Program; City of Miami Beach Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; Consulate General of the Netherlands; Dade Community Foundation; E.S. Moore Family Foundation; Florida Dance Association; Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council; Florida Literary Center; Galeria del Sol; The Galler Group; Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau; MiamiArtzine.com; Miami Salon Group; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; Miami-Dade County Public Library; Miami-Dade County Public Schools; Miami River Inn; National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, additional funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Ford Foundation and MetLife Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; National Performance Network with major funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), Altria, MetLife Foundation and the Nathan Cummings Foundation; The New Hotel; Pridelines; Publix Super Markets Charities; Rain Organics; Safe Schools South Florida; Rain Vodka Organics; The Law Office of Linda M. Smith; South Arts; Vortex Communications; WDNA & WLRN FM and many individual supporters.