French-born boogie-woogie pianist Henri Herbert returns to Kihei this Saturday at 7:30 p.m., bringing his thunderous left-hand bass patterns and improvised right-hand runs to the 110-seat ProArts Playhouse. Tickets range from $26 to $42 and are available through proartsmaui.org.
Herbert's path to south Maui runs through a London train station that made him internationally famous. As reported by Maui News, a YouTube video of Herbert performing at the station racked up 75 million views and exposed his playing to a massive new audience. That footage was filmed as part of the street-piano documentary Street Pianos - Instrument of Change, according to the video posted on YouTube, capturing Herbert playing his original song Gettin On Down at St Pancras International.
Before he was a solo act, Herbert spent years behind the keys of a garage-rock band. He played keyboards for London's The Jim Jones Revue from 2011 until the group disbanded in 2014, according to Louder's October 2015 report. That high-voltage rock foundation now feeds into performances the outlet MusicRadar once described as powerful, emotional and virtuoso.
A Cross-Country Album With Heavyweight Guests
Herbert's forthcoming album features Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Rebirth Brass Band, Luther Dickinson and Carolyn Wonderland, according to Maui News. Herbert told the paper he hopes his collaboration with Wilson introduces boogie-woogie piano to new listeners.
Herbert recorded with Luther Dickinson in Nashville after traveling overnight from Austin, and he tracked sessions with Rebirth Brass Band in New Orleans, the Maui News report states. Wilson co-founded the Austin-based Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1974 and landed a Billboard Top 10 hit with Tuff Enuff in 1986, racking up seven career Grammy nominations along the way, according to the Recording Academy. Rebirth Brass Band, formed in 1983 in New Orleans' Tremé neighborhood, won the Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album in 2012 for Rebirth of New Orleans, per the Recording Academy's archives.
Dickinson, who co-founded the North Mississippi Allstars in 1996, has earned five Grammy nominations across his career, according to the MN2S booking agency. Wonderland brings her own pedigree to the sessions: the Texas guitarist served as lead guitarist for John Mayall's Bluesbreakers starting in 2018 and became the first female guitarist signed to Alligator Records in 2021, according to Live at the Falcon. Herbert has opened shows for some of the musicians now appearing on his record, the Maui News notes.
Roots Stretching Back to 1920s Boogie-Woogie
Herbert moved from the UK to Austin in 2019 to immerse himself in American roots music before settling in Nashville, according to a January 2021 Louder interview. That relocation placed him close to the genre's historic hubs, reinforcing the travel theme running through his new record.
The genre itself traces back decades before Herbert picked up a piano. Boogie-woogie originated in Black communities in the early 20th century and became a building block of blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll, the Maui News report states, with Charles Cow Cow Davenport credited with making the earliest boogie-woogie recordings in the 1920s. The style was further popularized through Clarence Pinetop Smith's December 1928 Chicago session recording Pinetop's Boogie Woogie, the first hit record to carry boogie in its title, according to a summary on Wikipedia. Boogie-woogie piano itself relies on repeating bass patterns paired with improvised right-hand melodies, the Maui News account explains.
What to Expect Saturday Night
Herbert developed a passion for piano at an early age, listening to his father's record collection before beginning to perform solo gigs around age 16, per the Maui News report. His existing catalog includes the album Get It While It's Hot, featuring tracks like Texas Boogie and Blood From a Stone, and his live sets blend original material with interpretations of songs tied to his musical inspirations — including a boogie arrangement of Jimi Hendrix's Fire.
For Saturday's show, Herbert returns to a venue built for close-up listening: ProArts Playhouse sits inside the Azeka Shopping Center's Makai side and houses an in-house Yamaha C5X grand piano, according to the venue's facility information. Doors open for the 7:30 p.m. performance, with tickets available now at proartsmaui.org.
Access and wildfire context
According to ProArts Playhouse, its Access for All program offers up to two complimentary tickets and up to two tickets discounted by 50% to anyone in need for any ProArts-produced show. ABC News reported that West Maui was still recovering one year after the wildfires; its report does not identify performing-arts venues or closure and reopening dates. This concert is in Kihei.
