about johnny butler

• • My name is Johnny Butler and I am a multi-genre musician, composer, and teacher.

• • I was born in Seattle, Washington and began playing piano when I was 6 and saxophone when I was 8. I am member of the New York music community and a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music  with a BM in Jazz Studies and Performance with an emphasis in classical composition, studying with Gary Bartz, Robin Eubanks, Billy Hart, and classical composers Randolph Coleman and Lewis Neilson and have continued my studies with Lenny Tristano disciple Connie Cruthers, Vijay Iyer, and Ableton Live sponsored electro-acoustic violinist Todd Reynolds.

• • I perform nationally and internationally solo and with numberous groups including avant-rock group Scurvy and Brooklyn-based Cuban indie rock group Afuche.

• • Currently, I play with The Skeletons Big Band, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, Sonia's Party and the Everyone's Invited Band, Ryan Snow's Pull, Indra Raj, Afuche, and Astoria based fusion group Dak Dies. I've also made recent appearances with Joe Lally of Fugazi, Scott Stein of The Ramblers, Margaret (Rhodes) Butler, and the Stumble Bums.

  • • In addition, I donate my time and music to Musicians On Call, a not-for-profit organization that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in health care facilities.

  • My music has been written about in the FreeNYC, Boston Globe, Boston Pheonix, Washington City Paper, Earshot Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, and I've been interviewed on-air on WCSB Cleveland and who also played my music along with Oberlin's WOBC.

• even more Iinfo:
• my facebook page

my myspace page - for the most up-to-date gig postings

my youtube page - with many videos of my performances

scurvy's myspace - my avant-rock (sometimes classical chamber) group

twitter

email me - how to reach me via the world wide web

some press:
(for select complete articles, click here...)

• “Expressive, thoughtful and freshly beautiful…Coltrane’s spirit was definitely in the room.” –The Oberlin Review
• “Such possibility fortifies fellow musicians with the courage to create small, beautiful things, and to perform sincere and wonderful music.” –The Oberlin Review
• “Johnny Butler is a musician to look out for. I love his playing.” -Gary Bartz
• “Johnny's complex compositions--sometimes satirical and political, sometimes emotional--reflect his intelligence and unpredictability.” –Conservatory Magazine 2006
• “I got sucked into said mesmerizing world on Tuesday night while listening to Johnny Butler's Quintet at the Cat. "This guy's the greatest. It's a real pleasure to play with Johnny Butler…it really comes out in the music," said Ryan Snow, trombone. His original compositions were indeed the stars of the show.” –Lillian Copeland, Oberlin Arts Editor
• “Butler’s solo was outlandish; it was hyperbolic speech translated through the saxophone. He developed a narrative, thinking out loud and responding to his own quirky comments. Everything was related and jumbled up in a big conversational pot: soul spoke to blues which responded to honk which spoke to squeal which screamed at swing. –Oberlin Review
• “If you don’t know Oberlin, or Jazz, or Ortleibs [in Philadelphia]…here’s your chance. I can tell you that these musicians are amazing, so take the time next Thursday to catch the show!” -Ian McFarlane, Philadelphia.MetBlogs.com
• “Johnny is an interesting and forward thinking musician…” -Robin Eubanks
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