Will Butler

Following abortive collaborations with David McAlmont and Richard Ashcroft, ex- Suede guitarist Bernard Butler finally heeded his wife's advice and took centre stage for his solo debut. Not surprisingly, wide-eyed positivism is the presiding sentiment here–so much so, that, at times, People Move On seems to be about little more than itself. Save for that melodically slight Top 10 hit "Stay" though, it's hard to raise much objection in the face of such sustained inspiration. Highlights? Well, "You Just Know" will be better known to football fans as the plaintively catchy riff used during the 1998-9 season on Match Of The Day. "Change Of Heart" crashes along some beautiful George Harrison-style playing. Best of all though are "Autograph" and "Woman I Know"–not least for the way their gothic grandeur exposes the limitations of Butler's old band.

Legendary singer-songwriter Jonathan Butler traveled back to his home country of South Africa to craft his most exciting and deeply personal album to date. Featuring producer/bassist Marcus Miller, Ubuntu is a reintroduction of Butler’s life story, going back 60 years to his upbringing in apartheid-era Capetown, which shaped his world view, prompted years of advocacy and instilled the ideology of ‘Oneness’ (Ubuntu). Featuring special guests Keb’ Mo’ and Stevie Wonder, the new album serves both as a rebirth of musical creativity and reconciliation with systemically biased history to forge a brighter future.

Guitarist Will Bernard, a Berkeley, CA native and Brooklyn NY transplant, studied guitar and piano from an early age with Dave Creamer, Art Lande and Julian White, later developing an interest in classical music composition. He received a degree in music from UC Berkeley where he studied with Andrew Imbrie and others. He began playing and recording on an international level as a member of Peter Apfelbaum's Hieroglyphics Ensemble, who made their recorded debut with Don Cherry on “Multikulti” (A&M 1989). Since then, Bernard has participated in a host of boundary stretching groups, ranging from jazz, hip-hop and world music to experimental music, with many stops in between.

For close to two decades, the vibrant South African singer/songwriter Jonathan Butler has become so well known for his impassioned vocals that it's easy to take his formidable guitar talents for granted. Most of his recordings include a few light acoustic guitar instrumentals amid a gathering of more memorable vocals, but on the Jonathan collection – his debut for Rendezvous, an indie label co-owned by saxman Dave Koz – Butler reverses the trend, to pleasing effect. It's hardly surprising that, despite the likeable instrumentals, smooth jazz radio gravitated first to his robust cover of James Taylor's "Fire and Rain," one of two songs featuring lead vocals.

Five years ago, after Dave Koz and Friends released Summer Horns—the GRAMMY-nominated album that paid tribute to classic songs featuring killer horn sections—all that the musicians could think about was how much fun they’d just had. They toured behind the album during the summer of 2013, then vowed to spend the following summer doing it all over again.