Christmas Together Jonathan Butler

• 1 Winter Wonderland 03:52
• 2 Mary Did You Know? 04:42
• 3 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 02:42
• 4 Joy to the World 03:05
• 5 Deck the Halls 02:10
• 6 We Three Kings 02:45
• 7 Love Is 03:43
• 8 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel 05:15
• 9 Away in a Manger 02:52
• 10 Jingle Bells 02:45
• Total Runtime 33:51

Info zu Christmas Together

"This is my second Christmas album, but in many ways, I kind of feel like it’s my first,” says guitarist/vocalist Jonathan Butler, as he talks about his new album, Christmas Together, a collaboration with all-star friends, recorded and mixed in the studio he built in his home in Southern California.

“Christmas is family and friends,” he continues. “It’s about being all together. So, I called my friends – all these amazing players – Sheléa, Dave Koz, Keiko Matsui, Kirk Whalum and so many others – and every one of them simply said, ‘Just say when you want me and where you want me and I’ll be there!’ They brought their love and their spirit into my home and I was honored.” We associate Christmas music with love and family, happiness and togetherness and Jonathan had that to spare.

"Christmas Together is an agreeable collection of holiday standards rendered with reasonable feeling and color, but generally without the attention to detail and diversity that makes most of Butler’s work especially vibrant. With a few exceptions that tap deeper into the emotive well of both merriment and soberness behind the Christmas holidays, it will likely find a welcome home in the collections of devoted fans—but perhaps not be convincing enough to recruit new listeners." (soultracks.com)

Jonathan Butler, guitar, vocals
Sheléa, vocals (tracks 2, 7)
Keiko Matsui, keyboards (track 3)
Dave Koz, saxophone (tracks 4, 9)
Gerald Albright, saxophone (track 5)
Rick Braun, trumpet (track 6)
Kirk Whalum, saxophone (track 10)

Jonathan Butler
is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who leads a life few can imagine. Born in South Africa under the shadow of apartheid and raised in poverty, Butler was the first non-white artist to be played on South African radio and appear on national television. Though his musical abilities would take him away from the world he grew up in, Jonathan would neither forget the plight of his fellow South Africans, nor the man that led them to freedom. It is for this reason Nelson Mandela credits Butler’s music as having inspired him during his imprisonment. In more ways than one, Jonathan Butler is representative of South Africa.

Jonathan’s story begins at a very young age when his father presented him with a homemade one-string guitar. Little did his father realize that he was giving way to a musical phenomenon. From then on, Jonathan’s musical gifts grew by leaps and bounds. In his early teens Butler won a local talent contest, affording him the opportunity to perform with a touring musical company throughout South Africa. On occasion he would perform at lavish concert halls for whites only, where he would not be allowed to use the bathroom, and the very next night he would perform in a dilapidated local township. Ultimately, his ticket to a new life was music.

At thirteen, Jonathan’s talents caught the eyes and ears of the British record producer Clive Caulder. He was signed to Caulder’s Jive Records and the rest is history. Jonathan’s first single broke down racial barriers becoming the first song by a black artist played by white radio stations in South Africa and won the South African equivalent to a GRAMMY®.

His commitment to his craft came to fruition with his self-titled debut album, which received a GRAMMY® nomination for the pop hit “Lies.” An instrumental “Going Home” earned him another GRAMMY® nomination and the mid-tempo ballad “Sarah, Sarah” confirmed Butler’s place in popular music.

However, to Jonathan Butler, success is measured on a higher plane. A religious and spiritual man, Butler dedicates his life to being a devoted father and grandfather, and a caring citizen to his homeland, South Africa. And in spite of all the hardships, Jonathan Butler has an air of playfulness and quiet resilience that is easily visible in his passionate performances.

Dieses Album enthält kein Booklet