Bio:

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On Sundays as the red beans were soaking for Monday's dinner, John Boutte was awakened by the sounds of his New Orleans neighborhood. Voices carried over the fence from the church behind his home in the Seventh Ward, the home where his mother Gloria still lives, where most of his Creole family still lives and sings. Past the front yard, second-line parades rolled by, matching the madness of Carnival season and the transcendent joy of the jazz funeral. This roux of influences created John Boutte, and serves him to this day.

Who is New Orleans vocalist John Boutte?

Think of Nat Cole, and then of Jackie Wilson, and then of Marvin Gaye, and then of Sam Cooke, Joe Williams and Jimmy Scott. Not of them actually, but of the moods that surrounded them, and especially of their audiences. Think of the way they treated an audience, of the way they read the room. Think of how the audience felt about themselves on the way home. Then treat yourself to the music of John Boutte.

John has won Best Male Vocalist of the year at both the Best of the Beat Awards ('06 & '07) and the Big Easy Awards. His critically acclaimed collaboration with Cubanismo, Mardi Gras Mambo, won multiple awards including a Big Easy Award for Best Latin Album, and a Best of the Beat award for Best Latin Album by a Louisiana Artist.

Footage from the "Sing Me Back Home" Recording Session

2007 Review of the latest Putomayo compilation:
New Orleans Brass

OffBeat By John Swenson

"This collection differs from most Putumayo releases in that there's something new on it, a terrific version of "I'll Fly Away" sung beautifully by John Boutte and backed by an impressive band playing collective improvisation with the true second line spirit. It's a great track...."

Member Since:

December 20, 2005

Members:

John Boutte - Vocals

Todd Duke - Guitar

Leroy Jones - Trumpet

Peter Harris - Bass

Herman LeBeaux - Drums

Influences:

.. Walk down the tree-lined streets of New Orleans’ Faubourg Marigny neighborhood on a hot sultry night, and chances are you’ll hear John Boutte’s voice floating out of one of the area’s trendy nightspots. Perhaps he’ll be singing soulful versions of Sam Cooke’s "A Change Is Gonna Come" or Annie Lennox’s "Why," or maybe it’ll be one of the bayou-blended tunes he’s co-authored with Paul Sanchez, his pal in the Marigny. Whatever the song, its soulfulness will stop you in your tracks, for Boutte lives and breathes the heart and soul of New Orleans. Born into a large Creole family that goes back seven generations in Louisiana, he was exposed to music early in life, soaking up New Orleans jazz, soul, blues and gospel, then adding his own Creole traditions along the way. Today, Boutte works with a wonderful amalgam of styles -- from torchy jazz to aching soul and African-American gospel -- all convincingly delivered. "John is the embodiment of all that’s good about New Orleans," Sanchez said. "His voice is the poetry of the language of New Orleans. It’s uncanny but he makes whatever style he’s singing completely believable." Boutte lives in the French Quarter, not far from the home he grew up in. The plant-filled balcony of his apartment overlooks Rampart Street near Congo Square, ground zero for the birth of New Orleans’ music. Down the street is a non-descript laundromat -- once the home of J&M Studio, where the New Orleans sound of the 1950s was born; Little Richard, Fats Domino, Lloyd Price, Guitar Slim and Clarence "Frogman" Henry are just a few of the artists who recorded there. "In the ’50s, those guys were recording some of the biggest records in America down there," Boutte said, with a resigned sigh. "Now it’s the place where I wash and fold my clothes." One of 10 children born to a mother who believed in education ("We might have been poor, but we were always smart"), Boutte says anyone growing up in New Orleans gets a music education -- whether they like it or not. For example, he remembers a neighbor, Miss Belle, who every day belted out Mahalia Jackson songs while cooking greens and hanging her wash. "Music was an integral part of everyone’s life," Boutte said. "It was part of the socialization, from church to the barrooms to the cemetery. It was simply second nature to be in a brass band or participate in a second-line funeral parade. Avoiding it was not an option." Boutte’s stubborn mother, Gloria, had no intention of raising her children to a career in music. However, she did believe that children who understand music also do well in other subjects. So when Boutte was 8, she gave him a coronet, which led to a stand-out role in his high school marching band. Yet despite his love of music, Boutte entered Xavier University intent on pursuing a business degree. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army, where he worked as a statistician while also directing and singing in Army gospel choirs. Returning to civilian life, Boutte’s sister Lillian invited him to tour Europe with her, which led to a final decision: Music it would be. "It was the best career move I could have made," Boutte said. Musical brothers Boutte found a kindred spirit when he met Sanchez; they were introduced by singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked at one of her infamous backyard parties. Born in New Orleans on the same day in the same year, Boutte and Sanchez both have a deep love of the city, its people and traditions. The complex seduction of this Southern city deeply informs their songwriting. Sanchez’s song "Voodoo Shoppe," the title cut on his former band Cowboy Mouth’s new disc, was inspired by Boutte’s neighbor, a voodoo priestess. "There were interesting things going on in that courtyard," Sanchez said, laughing. "It was definitely a New Orleans moment. I learned a lot hanging out there." As New Orleans rebuilds and tries to find its new identity, people like Boutte are an integral part of that reconstruction. With his personal history and "stranger-than-fiction" life, he’s a direct connection to the French Creole and black traditions that go back to the city’s early days. "It’s a language and culture that celebrates life in its own special way," Sanchez said. "John brings that to the stage with the stories he tells and the songs he sings." By Mary Houlihan mhoulihan@suntimes.com Copyright © The Sun-Times Company .. ......

Sounds Like:

June 21, 2009 at 7:31am ROCHESTER JAZZ FESTIVAL 2009 BLOG: Day 9: John Boutte, Tim Garland, Delirium, Dwayne Dopsie By Saby Reyes-Kulkarni As it turns out, yesterday's rain contributed greatly to the atmosphere of what ended up being one my absolute favorite performances of the whole festival: John Boutte at the free stage at East Avenue and Chestnut. Boutte's sole accompaniment came from his longtime guitarist Todd Duke. (Boutte also accompanied himself on tambourine, often with extraordinary rhythmic prowess.) What Boutte and Duke did for that wonderfully intimate gathering in the rain was simply transcendent. Boutte's voice is not only phenomenal, but he epitomizes soul music -- AUTHENTIC soul music. And he worked dynamics and space beautifully, pulling back from the mic often for a quieter effect, and pausing patiently before his phrases so all of the music felt unhurried, like every line was placed just so. Not to be overlooked is Duke, whose tasteful but no less beautiful playing -- a lovely mix of jazzy chords inflected with soul and blues -- provided the skeleton of the music and essentially stood in place of an entire band. For all the sweetness in Boutte's voice and his humor in addressing the crowd, he also wears his frustration and pain on his sleeve, which made him seem very much like a real person with real feelings, not some smiling mannequin brought to life by a record company. Boutte spoke bluntly about how Canada was first in line to offer assistance to New Orleans after Katrina -- and how that assistance was denied by the U.S. government. Accordingly, his renditions of Neil Young's "Southern Man" and Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" packed a much stronger, more sincere punch than they do in other singers' hands.

To purchase John Boutte's discs go to www.louisianamusicfactory.com

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In the Kitchen with John Boutte By Elsa Hahne The house I grew up in was actually built by my father and grandfather, and I can honestly say that it was built on po-boys. My mother would make the po-boys on Sundays, Saturdays. My dad would get his cousins and his friends and some beers. We came together as a community and built that house. We always had fresh produce. Beans and greens and lettuce, cabbage and roots. My great aunt was a true horticulturist. She had this beautiful bush, what they call ham and eggs, or bridalís wreath. And wonderful roses, youíd walk through those neighborhoods, man, youíd smell food and wonderful flowers. People did that because the streets werenít always that clean and they used their gardens as a bumper for the foul air of the sewerage. My mom made po-boys with whatever my dad would catch. If there was no fish, sheíd fry chicken livers. We had fried chicken liver po-boys, man. She fed a lot of kids and we ate well. Something we would beg foróthis sounds a little grossówere brains, cow brains! We ate them for breakfast, man. She soaked them in cold water and took the membranes out, ran them through cornmeal and we thought we were eating oysters. It was delicious! Surprised I donít have gout. Weíd have cow brains and scrambled eggs. Our brains wouldnít be scrambled because we always went to school with a full belly and well tanked up to attack the day. How she fed 10 children on a postmanís salary? I donít know how, but she did. My dad would go out fishingóthis is how bountiful Louisiana wasóhe would go out fishing and catch so much fish, man. When he got tired of scaling and cleaning and stocking up, weíd literally give it away to the neighbors. My mama, sheíd cook it, but she didnít want to clean no fish. And my dad would not eat fish unless it was right out of the water. So we had a lot of seafood in the house and we also had game, because he was a hunter. We had venison and cowan [turtle], duck and poule díeauña little black duckñwater hen is what it is, basically. This is my stove. I looked it up and it used to be on cruise liners, and those stoves were built well, because you canít have a fire aboard no ship. Donít look, now. Itís not too clean. Whoís got time to clean their stove? Screw that! This morning, I cracked two nice organic eggs and whipped them up really well and heated up the olive oil just right and slid it across there, thereís something beautiful about seeing that egg go. Just flipped it over and put a little sour cream and parmesan and a little wheat toast. That was just quick. I like breakfast. In the morning, Iíll do sweet potato pancakes. Instead of water or milk, Iíll useóhereís the trickóorange juice. And coffee, I drink coffee, coffee doesnít bother me. I like the red wine too. Actually, I was in Colorado and doing a benefit for one of their public radio stations. Guy asks me, do I like red wine? I said, ìSure,î and he poured me a glass of this syrah and it was really good and then he turned the bottle around and it was a bottle that was made in my honor. That was very humbling. Iíve done a lot of records and stuff, but to have your face on a wine bottle, that will really impress your friends. John BouttÈís Glorious Oyster Pie ìYouíve got to make two, or everybodyís going to get mad!î (Makes 2 pies) 2 deep pie crusts + 2 roll-out tops 4 tbsp olive oil 4 shallots (or 2 small white or red onions), chopped 12 cloves garlic (about one head), minced 2 O stalks celery, chopped 1 tsp ground white pepper 1 tsp ground black pepper 1 tsp cayenne 2 pounds ground beef 1 tsp dried thyme 1 tsp salt 1 cup plain breadcrumbs 1 quart fresh oysters 1 bunch green onions, chopped O bunch parsley or cilantro, chopped SautÈ shallots, garlic and celery in olive oil over low heat until soft. Add white and black pepper and cayenne. In a separate pan, brown meat, adding thyme and salt at the end. Add shallots, etc., to meat. Add breadcrumbs, oysters, and enough of the oyster liquor to make a soft dressing. As soon as the oysters start to cook (edges curl), turn the heat off. Fill piecrusts and cover pies with roll-out tops. Stick a fork in the tops a few times. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream. ..