Charleston City Paper
Butler, Bernstein & the Hot 9 Give a Jazz History Lesson to a Rowdy Crowd
Heath Ellison, Charleston City Paper
School’s in Session
From the get go, the band had an energy that’s hard to find outside of punk venues. They hit the ground running with a hard bop improvisation festival….Their power to look back, while still living in the present and future is one of the best things about Butler, Bernstein & The Hot 9…They take cues from the past, but don’t rely on it for everything because they’re looking to push boundaries instead of sitting on them. Jazz history isn’t their bible, but it’s a reference point. They use it to build original and (this can’t be underscored enough) potentially innovative music. Whatever’s next for them, it can’t come soon enough.