Bett Butler

Award-winning Texas songwriter/pianist/vocalist Bett Butler swims upstream with tracks that defy categorization. Writes Austin music critic Michael Corcoran: “A true artist....Her forte is creating rich story songs…we have to call jazz because the right word hasn’t been invented.” In historic and culturally rich San Antonio, Texas, she co-owns Mandala Music Production with bassist/composer/producer Joël Dilley, where they play fetch with their boxer Mingus and create music licensed for use on HBO, Discovery Channel, Cooking, Travel, and Playboy Channels, and more.

Of her debut album SHORT STORIES, Robert Lindquist of SINGER MAGAZINE wrote, “Her poetry and vision, combined with keyboard prowess and sterling vocalizations, amuse and entertain track after track....This CD is a sheer joy to listen to.” Her second album MYTHS & FABLES won a performance grant from the Artist Foundation, and her third, AMERICAN SAMPLER, placed in the top 10 in the iTunes Great American Songbook category its first week in release and won Best Cabaret Album in the Independent Music Awards (where she was recently a nominee in the Spoken Word category). Her latest release, WINTER LULLABY: SONGS FOR THE CHRISTMAS CHILD, fuses classical, jazz, and world music with songs in multiple languages—many with her own translations—plus originals capturing the complexities of the season.

“Butler is a unique package....Her voice, a smooth, slightly husky alto that can slide up to thrilling high notes, has a comfortable, soothing timbre; but she changes attitudes from song to song with the facility of a trained actor, striking a balance somewhere between the silken elegance of Norah Jones and the edginess of Patricia Barber....I marveled at the spell this singer could weave...recalling similar moments listening to Billie Holiday, Betty Carter, Laura Nyro and Joni Mitchell. Bett Butler brought me to that place where music can salve the deepest wound, mend the heart most broken.— John Swenson, United Press International

“As made clear on 'When Love Has Left the Room' from the new 'Myths & Fables' CD, this San Antonio singer/pianist is a true artist....Her forte is creating rich story songs fluttering over a South American/South Philly soundscape we have to call jazz because the right word hasn't been invented.— Micael Corcoran, Austin American Statesman

“Visiting Texas jazz vocalist shining star Bett Butler does the seemingly impossible: incorporate traits of Ella and Billie and the same time; Fitzgerald’s flowing grace and cadence with a bit of Holiday’s smoky husk.—Austin.com

“Don’t expect “lite jazz” here