George Butler (jazz producer)
George Tucker Butler junior (born September 2, 1931 in Charlotte (North Carolina) , † April 9, 2008 in Castro Valley , California ) was an American jazz producer.
Butler grew up in Charlotte, attended Howard University and Columbia University , where he received his master's degree in music education. Butler stayed in New York and worked for United Artists Records and from 1972 for their then sub-label Blue Note Records . When sales in the jazz sector shrank in the 1970s, he tried to counteract this with crossover projects, among others with the fusion musicians Earl Klugh , Ronnie Laws and Bobbi Humphrey . In addition, he produced jazz greats such as Horace Silver , Donald Byrd , Bobby Hutcherson , Elvin Jones , whose sales figures, according to Butler, were also increased by his success with crossover projects. From the late 1970s he was at Columbia Records as "Vice President for Jazz and Progressive Artists and Repertory" (A&R). There he produced a. a. Grover Washington and Billy Cobham , but most of all he managed to persuade Miles Davis to record again after a five-year break in 1980. He also discovered Wynton Marsalis in the early 1980s , whom he brought to Columbia and with whom he also recorded in the classical music environment. He also produced a number of other "Young Lions" such as Branford Marsalis , Terence Blanchard , Donald Harrison . The singer Harry Connick was also produced by him. Butler was also interested in the appearance of his musicians and, as he said in an interview in 1993, tried to introduce a "dress code" with a suit and tie in the 1980s, as in the bebop era. He left Columbia in the mid-1990s. He died of complications from Alzheimer's disease .
He was an honorary doctor of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His daughter Bethany Butler is an actress.
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- ↑ Interview in the Chicago Tribune 1993
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Butler, George |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Butler, George Tucker Jr. (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 2, 1931 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 9, 2008 |
| Place of death | Castro Valley , California |