Jonathan Butler at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club

The youngest of 13 children, Butler grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, ruled by Apartheid and segregation. I was born poor, but richly blessed with talent and the gift to make music, he says. I cant dismiss where Ive been or where Ive come from. Im a proud South African and I came from nothing. During an extraordinary musical life that has unfolded in the public eye, Butler has seen and endured a lot. Hes watched his country turn itself inside out for the bettermuch like he has done with his own life. Living and witnessing the brutalities and injustice of oppression as a celebrated child star while at the same time not permitted to enjoy basic human rights, indulgence naturally became his coping device. If not for a spiritual intervention, his light would have been extinguished long ago on the mercilessly dark path of abuse an...

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The youngest of 13 children, Butler grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, ruled by Apartheid and segregation. I was born poor, but richly blessed with talent and the gift to make music, he says. I cant dismiss where Ive been or where Ive come from. Im a proud South African and I came from nothing. During an extraordinary musical life that has unfolded in the public eye, Butler has seen and endured a lot. Hes watched his country turn itself inside out for the bettermuch like he has done with his own life. Living and witnessing the brutalities and injustice of oppression as a celebrated child star while at the same time not permitted to enjoy basic human rights, indulgence naturally became his coping device. If not for a spiritual intervention, his light would have been extinguished long ago on the mercilessly dark path of abuse an

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