photo by lauren desberg
Taking a deep breath while listening to "Lifetime" by Butterfly Back, the musical project of GRAMMY award-winning bassist/producer Ben Williams and Broadway’s Nala Syndee Winters and I feel better even while nursing a potent stubborn cold and sore throat. It seems that the current musical landscape is full of hybridized music, especially when it comes to R&B. There is a tendency to want to insert hip hop, spoken word, rap or even other iterations like pop punk into the art form which is totally fine but hearing the versatile, relatable prose contained in Nala's lyrics and bubbling beautifully, fluidly from her and Ben's lips throughout Ben's dynamic musical frameworks feels incredibly iconic and fresh. I am feeling a homage, a love of soul pop, funk and R&B classicalisms with all it's hallmarks: love languages, self empowerment and tightly wound musicality that moves your heart and feet at the same time. As some of the press notey stuff describes Butterfly Black's aesthetic as bubbly, boogie-centric, upscale R&B, I would include vibey, universal and all inclusive. The sound is cross generational. My mind is honing in on late 70's R&B, the stuff of Soul Train dance lines as well as 80's / 90's R&B, especially the duets like Babyface's duets with Karyn White and Pebbles or Mary J. Blige and Christopher Williams and as BB mentions, the iconic sounds of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Ike & Tina Turner and Ashford & Simpson.
Dive into Butterfly Black's "Lifetime" preferably with someone you love.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://open.spotify.com/artist/651sRFU6tpY33fXFD50uYX
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK-8rSUWBH_21zfNRK0goOw
https://butterflyblack.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/butterflyblackmusic/
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/butterfly-black/1609679782
For many artists, the last two years during the pandemic has been transformative. Some have had to reinvent themselves to continue creating and engaging with their audiences in new virtual and/or social-distancing environments. Others had to reassess what was important to them in terms of creativity and the practicalities of sustaining a livelihood. Whatever the situation may be, it’s no surprise that as the world moves from pandemic to epidemic regarding the coronavirus, many artists will be re-emerge on stages with new personas.
Such is the case for bassist, singer and composer Ben Williams and singer, songwriter and Broadway Star Syndee Winters, who have joined forced to create Butterfly Black, an exciting new duo that delivers bubbly, boogie-centric, and upscale R&B. Butterfly Black draws upon the legacy of iconic male-female soul duos, such as Ike & Tina Turner, Ashford & Simpson, René & Angela, Peaches & Herb, and Yarborough & Peoples.
“I don’t see a lot of those duos existing nowadays,” Williams says. “Having a true duo group, I think will be something special to present to people now.” This year, Butterfly Black released its first infectious single, “I Just Want To Love You” a summery mid-tempo jam that recalls Leon Sylvers’ legendary production and songwriting work at SOLAR Records in the early-’80s. Later this year, Butterfly Black releases its five-song debut EP.
Butterfly Black’s strength lies not only in the couple’s intoxicating musical chemistry that is evident both in the studio and onstage; it comes from their divergent individual artistic pasts. Williams is among the upper echelon of his contemporaries in the jazz scene. After winning the 2009 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition, he has released a handful of critical-acclaimed solo albums and recorded and/or performed with numerous heavyweights such as Pat Metheny, Robert Glasper, George Benson, Jazzmeia Horn, Carmen Lundy, and Regina Carter, among others. Winters is a commanding Broadway stage singer, dancer and actor, who has performed in such defining productions as Hamilton, The Lion King, Pippin, Motown The Musical, and Jesus Christ Superstar. Before working on Broadway, she was a dancer for the New York Knicks basketball team and a hip-hop and soul singer, who worked with Grandmaster Flash on his 2009 album, The Bridge.
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