Ryan Butler

Born and raised in Charlottetown, PEI, the Montreal based guitarist/composer Ryan Butler was first introduced to the classical guitar at the age of 16 during his senior year of high school. Following one year of private study, Butler found himself drifting away from the confines of classical music and gravitating towards jazz and improvised music. Within 2-years of playing the guitar, Butler was enrolled as a student in St. Francis Xavier University jazz program where he studied privately with guitarist Tom Daniels, Owen-Stewart Robertson, and pianist David Restivo. In 2006, following 4-years of study, Butler graduated with a Bachelor of Music Degree with Honors and made his way west to Montreal, Quebec.

Since his arrival in Montreal Butler has been earning a living as a guitarist, composer, and educator. His most notable project is the acclaimed bass-less jazz trio Turtleboy. Voted as Montreal’s #2 jazz act by the Montreal Mirror Reader’s Poll, and praised by two-time Grammy nominated jazz musician Dave Douglas, “Turtleboy is an exciting amalgamation of the Paul Motian Trio, Radiohead, and so much more. This group is on the vanguard of the horn-guitar-drums format and are barreling ahead full speed.” Turtleboy is currently preparing to launch it’s second album in the spring of 2011. This will be released on the Vancouver-based record label Songlines Recordings, which represents other contemporary jazz-guitar-instrumentalists such as Bill Frisell, Ben Monder, Brad Shepik, and Hilmar Jensson.

In the last three-years, Butler has recorded two albums with his trio Turtleboy, has toured Canada twice, performed over two-hundred times nation-wide, and has participated in three world renowned programs at the Banff Centre. In 2008, he participated in the Banff Centre’s International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, where he had the opportunity to work closely with The Bad Plus, Wayne Krantz, and many other prominent jazz artists. Later that year, Butler returned to the Banff Centre, this time with his group Turtleboy, to participate in a career development residency. It is here where he was awarded the TD Trust Fellowship Scholarship, and had the privilege of working with Canadian jazz greats Don Thompson, Phil Dwyer, and JUNO award winners Roberto Occhipinti and Hilario Duran. The following year, Butler returned once again to the Banff Centre with Turtleboy in May 2009 to participate in another International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music. Upon this visit he was awarded an Artistic Merit Scholarship from the Banff Centre, and had the privilege of working closely with Dave Douglas, Joshua Redman, Clarence Penn, and many more.

Throughout Butler’s career, he has performed at the Edmonton Yardbird Suite Jazz Festival, Montreal’s OFF Festival De Jazz, and has opened for the Dave Douglas & Joshua Redman Quintet at the Eric Harvey Theatre. He has also shared the stage with jazz luminaries such as Roberto Occhipinti, Hilario Duran, David Restivo, Pat Labarbera, Ingrid Jensen, and Wayne Krantz. Butler has also collaborated with up-and-coming Canadian jazz groups Fieldtrip, Parc-X Trio, singer/songwriter/producer John Connolly, and blues/roots/jazz multi-instrumentalist Joel Leblanc. In addition, he has also performed privately for Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

Ryan Butler continues to reside in Montreal where he is working towards his upcoming release on Songlines Recordings, as well as preparing material for a solo-guitar album which will be recorded in 2011. Butler is also experimenting with writing music for film and collaborating with singer-songwriters.

What the people are saying.

"Turtleboy is an exciting amalgamation of the Paul Motian Trio, Radiohead, and so much more. This group is on the vanguard of the horn-guitar-drums format and barreling ahead full speed." - Dave Douglas - Two-time grammy nominated jazz composer

"[Turtleboy] leap right to my pleasure centers all at once... There sound is deeply melodic, structured, and disciplined. - Simon Howell - CJLO 1690 am Concordia's Underground Radio

"Steeped in atmospheric space, loose grooves, and intelligent improvised interactions... sounds more mature than you would expect" - Roger Levesque - The Edmonton Journal

"... stripped-down and heartfelt... A fresh new discovery" - L'Off Festival Du Jazz De Montreal