LaVerne Butler

LaVerne Butler - Blues In The City - 1999 - MAXJAZZ

Blues In The City by LaVerne Butler was not only her MAXJAZZ debut, but maintains the distinction of launching the label’s highly acclaimed Vocal Series. The release hit #1 on the Gavin Jazz Chart and was nominated for the AFIM (Association for Independent Music) Indie Award for Best Jazz Vocal.

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

01. This Bitter Earth - Clyde Otis
02. Please Send Me Someone to Love - Percy Mayfield
03. Hit the Road Jack - Percy Mayfield
04. Willow Weep for Me - Ann Ronell
05. The Blues Are Out of Town - Marcia Hillman & Joe Darise
06. One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) - Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer
07. Late Sunday Afternoon - Bruce Barth
08. I'm a Fool to Want You - Jack Wolf, Joel Herron, & Frank Sinatra
09. Born to Be Blue - Bob Wells & Mel Torme
10. Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying - Joe Green
11. All That I Know - LaVerne Butler
12. Since I Fell for You - Buddy Johnson
13. Backwater Blues - Bessie Smith

MUSICIANS

LaVerne Butler, vocals
Bruce Barth, piano
John Webber, bass
Klaus Suonsaari, drums
Ava Burton & Janet Hall Givens, background vocals

REVIEWS

“Ever since Cassandra Wilson, Holly Cole and Diana Krall started topping the jazz charts, record companies have been signing almost any woman with a strong, sulky voice…LaVerne Butler stands out in this suddenly crowded field because she is no warmed-over pop singer; the Louisiana veteran has a sure grasp of jazz’s two essential elements - blues and swing.” © Washington Post

“LaVerne Butler is a rising star with fine jazz chops.” (3½ stars) © Skanner Newspapers

“ . . is an exceptional jazz singer, yet her vibe is the blues. Her delivery is authoritative yet passionate as she gives new meaning to favorites such as ‘Please Send Me Someone To Love,’ ‘This Bitter Earth’ & ‘Since I Fell For You.’” © Ebony

BIO

Not to be confused with R&B great LaVern Baker, LaVerne Butler is a superb but underexposed jazz singer whose main influences include Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan. Butler is originally from Shreveport, LA, where she grew up listening to jazz and R&B extensively with a lot of encouragement from her father, saxophonist Scott Butler. After leaving Shreveport, she moved to New Orleans, where she studied music at the University of New Orleans and become a fixture in the city's Dixieland and bebop venues. Butler worked with such distinguished locals as Alvin Batiste, Ellis Marsalis, Henry Butler (no relation), and James Black before deciding to move to the New York area in 1984. Butler studied with Jon Hendricks after arriving in New York and later earned her living as an English teacher while tackling the Manhattan club world. The early to mid-'90s found Butler signed to Chesky, for which she provided her bop-oriented debut album, No Looking Back (1992), and her lighter, more relaxed sophomore release, Day Dreamin' (1994). After leaving Chesky, Butler planned to record an album for Herbie Mann's Kokopelli label in 1997, but her plans fell through when the company experienced financial problems. 1999 saw the release of her third album, Blues in the City. © Alex Henderson, All Music Guide