Johnny Butler
Solo
1. Cathedral (8:13)
2. Katrina (5:44)
3. Glitch (5:02)
4. Eulogy (5:22)
All music composed, performed, and recorded in real-time without overdubs using my saxophone and laptop, execpt for "Eulogy" recorded at MENEGROTH, The Thousand Caves, and "Glitch" recorded live April 20, 2008 at Otto's Shrunken Head, NYC.
Mastered by Colin Marston (Behold...the Arctopus, Dysrhythmia), at MENEGROTH, The Thousand Caves
Artwork by Nicole Arcieri
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All About Jazz, February 23, 2010
"On any street corner or venue it's possible to hear a musician playing solo saxophone, its reed-song beckoning down thoroughfares to anyone that will listen. But by putting a spin on things, it's quite another matter to hear and see that horn wired into a laptop computer, as it provides multiphonic voices and looped patterns, fed back into music that is familiar yet ethereal. Enter saxophonist Johnny Butler's Solo."
"...the instrument is navigated through multiple threads and simultaneous accompaniment and solo parts. Butler takes advantage of these concepts via hardware and software to examine new contours, shapes and textures through his saxophone; to become a veritable one-man saxophone ensemble, weaving multiple horn patterns that coalesce and separate in real time without the use of overdubs or post-recording manipulation."
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Something Else Reviews, March 2, 2010
"Cathedral," explicitly inspired by Fripp's "Cathedral Of Tears" (A Blessing Of Tears, 1995) is filled with spacey textures that fade in and out like a passing astral vessel, resembling synthesizers more than extemporaneously dubbed over saxophones. Resembling a bit like Jean-Luc Ponty's "Eulogy For Oscar Romero," Butler does a masterful job subtly applying more coating to his sonic paint job until the resulting mosaic sounds like a choir of saxophones. This song is about texture more than the other ones, and on that count, he has it down. "Katrina" is more traditional and organic. Over a simple but spiritual chart of saxes double or triple tracked, Butler adds a harmonizing line of saxes and then solos over it all with a sorrowful tone. "Glitch," the one recorded before an audience, bleats like a low humming siren, using some clever start/stop looping techniques that coalesces the competing and countering noises into a coherent song. "Eulogy" emulates the sparse, lonely feel of "Cathedral," but with tones that are harder than the sleek sounds of the prior tune....perfect for when a mind-blowing experience is called for and there's less than half an hour available."
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Time Out NY, March 5, 2010
"Saxist Johnny Butler, often heard fronting the band Scurvy, uses electronic loops to summon a remarkable array of textures, from uneasy drones to lush Ellingtonian romance. Butler’s new Solo disc comes off like the 21st-century equivalent of the World Saxphone Quartet."
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Step Tempest, February 23, 2010
"The 4 tracks range from an elegiac work (the long soft tones of "Cathedral") to gospel-tinged ("Katrina", which features a melodic fragment that sounds like "Cool, Cool Water") to the rhythmical and sonic experiment that is "Glitch" to the mournful "Eulogy" (composed after George W. Bush's re-election, written for a fallen soldier that the composer did not know but had read about in the paper.) The last piece is reminiscent of Joe Zawinul's "In A Silent Way" in its long, contemplative, phrases. This music works because Butler doesn't try to overwhelm the listener with too much sound. The melodies are well-drawn - even the funky "Glitch", with its riff-driven structure, has a satisfying circular melody line. Rating: triple (points for audacity and invention.)"
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My Groups:
Solo Saxophone and Laptop
layered saxophone looping
Myspace: myspace.com/johnnybutlerjazz
Scurvy (Hi4Head)
progressive metal jazz
Johnny Butler (saxophone, electronics, compositions), Ryan Snow (trombone), Sasha Brown (guitar), Rus Wimbish (bass), Jason Nazary (drums).
Myspace: myspace.com/scurvynyc
Website: scurvymusic.com
Scurvy Chamber Ensemble
chamber classical
Johnny Butler (saxophone), Ryan Snow (trombone), Jeff Young (violin), Jake Wise (clarinet), Kenny Wang (viola), Sasha Brown (guitar), Rus Wimbish (acoustic bass)
Myspace: myspace.com/scurvynyc
Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds (Modern Vintage Recordings)
funk rock soul
Arleigh Kincheloe (vocals, compositions), Jackson Kincheloe (harmonica), Bram Kincheloe (drums), Aidan Carrol (bass), Sasha Brown (guitar), Ryan "Spatch" Snow (trombone), JJ Byars (alto saxophone), Theo Croker (trumpet), Johnny Butler (baritone saxophone)
Myspace: myspace.com/sistersparrowandthedirtybirds
Sonia's Party and the Everyone'sInvited Band
modern soul
Sonia Kreitzer (vocals), Jermaine Hardy (vocals), Steve Lewis (guitar), Sean Hutchinson (drums), Russ Manning (bass), Alex Asher (trombone), Cole Kamen-Green (trumpet), Johnny Butler (tenor sax)
Myspace: mysace.com/soniasparty
Afuche
latin indie rock
Johnny Butler (tenor,soprano, baritone saxophone, and aux percussion), Zachary Ryalls (tres, guitar), Ruben Sindo Acosta (keyboard, percussion), Keith Parker (drums, percussion), Denny Tek (electric Bass), Ryan Snow (trombone,shaker,clave), Peter Evans (trumpet)
Myspace: myspace.com/afuche
Pull
experiemental fusion
Ryan Snow (trombone, compositions), Johnny Butler (tenor saxophone), Sasha Brown (guitar), Jonathan Goldberger (guitar), Chris Tordini (bass), Bram Kincheloe (drums)
Mypsace: myspace.com/pullny
Indra Raj
indie singer-songwriter
Indra Raj (guitar, piano, vocals), Johnny Butler (saxophone, electronics), Rus Wimbish (bass), Dan Davine (drums)
Myspace: myspace.com/indraraj
Dak Dies
shoegaze emo
Johnny Butler (saxophone, electronics), Alex Top (guitar, effects), Jesse Forest (bass), Chris Yetner (drums)
Myspace: myspace.com/dakdies
