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
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“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. The Houston-bred Bett Butler’s
voice is sometimes hoarse and downright growly, but that’s
usually the prelude for an unexpectedly soothing wail or a left-
field, smirky stage whisper. She makes spontaneous, thrilling,
but unflashy vocal choices based on the material, which she
has usually written herself or with her partner Dilley....In its
most acid moments, Butler’s voice recalls the late-career
performances of jazz great Annie Ross in Robert Altman’s
sprawling flick “Short Cuts.” For the most part, though, Butler
is warmer, fuller, and more agile in her phrasing of a lyric.
Miss this Texas vocal powerhouse at your peril.—Jimmy
Fowler, Fort Worth Weekly
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Bett Butler 
