Jonathan Butler live @ Sculler's

FIRST FRIDAYS UNITED BOSTON CHAPTER IN ASSOCIATION WITH SCULLERS JAZZ CLUB PRESENTS:

JONATHAN BUTLER

LIVE AT SCULLERS JAZZ CLUB
Doubletree Guest Suites Boston
400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston, MA 02134

THIS THURSDAY - FRIDAY, AUGUST 7 & 8, 2008

Shows start at 8PM & 10PM each night.

Our tickets are $33.50 each, Scullers is charging $38 per ticket & an additional $4.50 ticket/handling fee, $42.50 total.

(Reduced price tickets are available for both shows on Thursday & the 10pm show only on Friday. This discount is not available thru Scullers box office, this is a First Fridays United Boston Chapter exclusive!!!)

They can only be purchased by sending an email to:
stephenanglin_firstfridays@msn.com or calling (617)943-0656
(When requesting tickets let us know which date, what time & how many you will be purchasing).

ABOUT JONATHAN BUTLER:

"Jonathan Butler leads a life few can imagine. Born in South Africa under the shadow of apartheid and raised in poverty, Butler is the first non-white artist to be played on South African radio and appear on national television. Though his musical abilities would take him away from the world he grew up in, Jonathan would neither forget the plight of his fellow South Africans, nor the man that led them to freedom. It is for this reason Nelson Mandela credits Butler’s music as having inspired him during his imprisonment. In more ways than one, Jonathan Butler is representative of South Africa. Butler’s career comes full circle as he returns to his native Cape Town for Jonathan Butler LIVE in South Africa captured in HD and 5.1 Surround Sound.

Jonathan’s story begins at a very young age when his father presented him with a homemade one-string guitar. Little did his father realize that he was giving way to a musical phenomenon. The magical moment happened while Jonathan was listening to his family sing around a campfire. At age seven, for the first time he joined in the celebration. His previously unheard voice, clear and melodic, immediately delighted the Butler family. From then on Jonathan’s musical gifts grew by leaps and bounds. In his early teens Butler won a local talent contest, affording him the opportunity to perform with a touring musical company throughout South Africa. On occasion he would perform at lavish concert halls for whites where he would not be allowed to use the bathroom, and the very next night he would perform in a dilapidated local township. Ultimately, his ticket to a new life was music.

At thirteen, Jonathan’s talents caught the eyes and ears of the British record producer Clive Caulder. He was signed to Caulder’s Jive Records and the rest is history. Jonathan’s first single broke down racial barriers becoming the first song by a non-white artist played by white radio stations in South Africa. His commitment to his craft came to fruition with his self-titled debut album, which received a GRAMMY® nomination for the pop hit “Lies.” An instrumental, “Going Home” earned him another GRAMMY® nomination and the mid-tempo ballad, “Sarah, Sarah” confirmed Butler’s place in popular music.

His self-titled 2005 release, Jonathan, is a lively musical mix indicative of his roots in World music. Jonathan’s ability to blend his roots in African music with western pop sensibilities is now his trademark. Through a stream of diverse albums and extensive concert tours, Butler solidified his presence with a body of music that crossed color and age lines.

Jonathan Butler also crosses the boundaries of faith. His latest gospel album titled Brand New Day is a collection of empowering gospel songs that has received widespread national airplay and debuted in the Top 10 on Billboards’ Gospel Chart. Quite a feat for the gospel category! Co-Produced with Luther “Mano” Hanes (CeCe Winans, Andrae Crouch, Isreal Houghton), the CD brings a new sound to Jonathan Butler, yet never veers too far away from the classic styling he’s best known for. His entrance into gospel music began in the late 1990’s. His mega-hit with Kirk Whalum, “Falling in Love with Jesus,” has become a Gospel standard. He also features in the Billboard charted CD Gospel Goes Classical, recorded live with Juanita Bynum, backed by a seventy-five piece orchestra and a hundred voice choir. To Jonathan Butler, success is measured on a higher plane. A religious and spiritual man, Butler dedicates his life to being a loving husband to his wife, a devoted father to his three children, and a caring citizen to his homeland, South Africa.

On his latest release LIVE in South Africa, Butler states, “I am one of yours and you are in me South Africa. So…peace and love from the son of the soil, Jonathan.” His DVD of the concert is filled with candid behind-the-scenes footage, which reveals his emotional reunion with family and country. In one scene, Butler chokes up when he revisits the club where he was discovered as a little boy. Music has given him the means to escape the clutches of apartheid, but time has given him perspective on his past, and brought him back to Johannesburg and Cape Town. An inspiration to all, Jonathan acknowledges the challenges of growing up in a nation still recovering from decades of subjugation, but believes in the potential of all people to overcome adversity.

In spite of all the hardships, Jonathan Butler has an air of playfulness and quiet resilience that is easily visible in his passionate performances. Jonathan is performing this summer as a featured artist on the “Jazz Attack” tour alongside Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, and Peter White. Jonathan is also featured on the best-selling tribute to the life and legacy of Luther Vandross, Forever, For Always, For Luther, Vol. II."