Album Reviews

Jonathan Butler – Living My Dream

It took years for Jonathan Butler to be able to use the term “living my dream” and now he had grown in his confidence and comfort as he celebrates what he calls “the season of me”. With eleven original songs, he tells the story of his life and passions on his forthcoming album Living My Dream, released on June 24 2014.

Living My Dream is a bountiful feast of jazz instrumentals and soul-mined R&B vocal cuts that provides an honest and revealing soulfully-inspired songbook inquiring Butler’s life and loves: God, family and his homeland. The two-time Grammy-nominee has his entire life unfolded in the public eye, writing and producing international hit singles. Butler’s recent struggles forced him to do a lot of reflection and to celebrate his own astonishing life and achievements.

During the recording of the album, Jonathan Butler was surrounded by the positive vibes from everyone in the studio, especially from his daughter Jodie Butler and Dennis Dodd, Jr. They gave him the motivation to stay focused.

About the essence of Living My Dream, Butler commented:

“It’s one of those albums that I really didn’t think I had in me. I had been struggling, going through this emotional period. Last year was a transitional period. Once I got my wind and got back to a place of focus, it turned out to be the best experience for me. I had to be vulnerable to the songs. It’s the story of my life and the newness of discovery. These really are the best years of my life.”

Butler wrote or co-wrote ten songs for the album. The set opens with the instrumental “African Breeze”, the first radio single that he wrote 30 years ago for “The Jewel of the Nile” motion picture soundtrack.

Living My Dream contains the following tracks: