John Boutté is steps away
John Boutté and most of humanity are within 6 degrees of each other. This matrix combines the small-world principle behind this fact with inter-artist recommendations-in-series. By this m.o., writers, musicians, filmmakers, quiltmakers, dancers, painters, multimedia artists, architects, sound designers, chefs, producers et al (see categories) across the planet are within close, discoverable steps of each other, and most of the world as well. 100% AI FREE
I RECOMMEND people (do you?)
Why again is John Boutté mere steps away from all other artists in here, and by extension, everybody on the planet?
WHO IS CURATING FROM HERE?
- Vertex/Edges Out by: The Matrix
Artist & Where
- Name: John Boutté
- City/Place: New Orleans
- Country: United States
Life & Work
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Bio:
During his school days John played coronet and trumpet, those clarions of life in New Orleans, in his junior high and high school marching bands; he was a section leader, no less, in a town where marching bands duel like decked-out demons in the street. School also gave John the chance to sing, first at talent shows and then with street a capella groups, groups named -- listen -- "Spirit" and then "Remnant." Linger for a moment on those names, and then let them resonate an instant longer, street bands singing on the bricks of a town where "street singer" is still a respectable job title.Take another moment and stir in the spices of the music that was on the turntables of his older brothers and sisters, the music that ruled the street and raised the spirits: Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5 and Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. During these years traditional jazzmen like Paul Babarin, Louis "Big Eye" Nelson and Danny Barker became both John's friends and mentors. John's sister, Lillian Boutte, introduces the young stylist to local legends like Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and James Booker.
After high school, John studied at Xavier University, a black Catholic institution known in New Orleans and indeed the entire Deep South. After graduating John was commissioned as officer in the U. S. Army, and provided with the opportunity to direct and sing in the Army gospel choirs in Virginia, Texas and, eventually, Korea. It was in Korea, ironically, when sinqing gospel and deep, deep blues after hours in restaurants he'd only accidentally entered, that he began to know himself as an American, an artist and a person. Not long after his return to the States, John was invited to tour almost the entirety of Europe with his sister Lillian. Europe was a set of lessons in languages and cultures and customs, which gave John a chance to meditate on the very idea of a life led as a jazz singer.
When John eventually got back home to New Orleans he continued singing. But now there was a new generation, a new breed of musicians available; musicians like Herlin Riley, Shannon Powell, Nicholas Payton and Bryan Blade. He began to open shows for the likes of Mel Torme, Lou Rawls, Rosemary Clooney and, most recently, Herbie Hancock. In recent times he has recorded three CD's. Through the Eyes of A Child , Scotch and Soda, and the remarkable Jambalaya, recorded for Bose. Yet another CD entitled Gospel United, a concert recording arranged in Denmark, contains his remarkable solo arrangement of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", which has achieved Gold Record status in several European markets.
Sometimes you can hear him singing, sometimes whistling, or sometimes you can hear him faintly from the street as he sits at his piano singing a Korean lullaby. John's job is to sing -- to sing jazz, to sing it with such style and grace that no one ever mistakes him for anything other than a master. John is one of those remarkable cases where the art arises from the true heart. To know John is to hold onto the coattails of a butterfly. To hear him sing is to feel a brief touch of the wing.
Contact Information
- Email: johnboutte@hotmail.com
- Contact by Webpage: http://www.johnboutte.com/contact
- Telephone: 504-756-0873
Media & Markets
- ▶ Instagram: therealjohnboutte
- ▶ Website: http://www.johnboutte.com
- ▶ YouTube Music: http://music.youtube.com/channel/UC5MgTaXKa0lld5o_0ct5Zvg
- ▶ Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/1DO074HiDpIdSmKauNeoJQ
- ▶ Spotify 2: http://open.spotify.com/album/0angfX8UOIjXxBKymsboIU
- ▶ Spotify 3: http://open.spotify.com/album/3exSUGnabdqPbQOfhNrRKd
- ▶ Spotify 4: http://open.spotify.com/album/4qYgGKkN9ZXbc93q85ws9W
- ▶ Spotify 5: http://open.spotify.com/album/0OclKhe0lY3YIPJrRwUHzB
ABOUT THE MATRIX
This matrix is dedicated to creative artists and non-algorithmic discovery.
It was described (to some degree) and can be accessed via this article in British journal The Guardian (which named our radio of matrixed artists as one of ten best in the world):
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/apr/17/10-best-music-radio-station-around-world
While the Brazilian musicians I work with now you may not know, I formerly worked (chasing unpaid royalties!) on behalf of Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Led Zeppelin, Jim Hall, Mongo Santamaria, Gilberto Gil, Astrud Gilberto, Wah Wah Watson (Melvin Ragin), Philip Glass, The Cadillacs (Earl Carroll), The Flamingos (Zeke and Jake Carey), and others, including Oscar-winning world-class great-guy Robb Royer. I was interviewed by David Dye for broadcast on U.S. National Public Radio several years ago ... about the Brazilians:
- Randy "Pardal/Sparrow" Roberts
All is more connected than we know.
w/ David Dye for U.S. National Public Radio
The matrix was inspired in (the kabbalah-inspired fiction of) Borges' El Aleph, that in the pillar in Cairo's Mosque of Amr, where the universe in its entirety throughout all time is perceivable as an infinite hum from deep within the stone...
Our logo, per the "spirit" above, is a cortador de cana, a cane cutter. It was designed by Walter Mariano, professor of design at the Federal University of Bahia to reflect the origins of the music the shop specialized in. The Brazilian "aleph" doesn't hum... it dances and sings.
