(July 7, 2023) Ben Williams and Syndee Winters, the two artists who combined to create the band Butterfly Black, are a duo in the truest sense of the world. Williams and Winters brought their divergent musical backgrounds together to create a sound that is both distinct and familiar. Williams, a bassist, hails from the jazz world, but he’s also performed R&B and hip hop. He won the highly regarded Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in 2009, and he’s performed or recorded with a bevy of musical luminaries like George Benson, Pat Matheny, Robert Glasper, Jose James and Kamasi Washington.
Winters made her mark in the disciplines of singing, dance/choreography and musical theater, and has performed in “Hamilton,” “The Lion King,” “Jesus Christ, Superstar” and “Motown: The Musical.” Winters was a dancer for the New York Knicks and vocalist who worked with the legendary Grandmaster Flash on his 2009 album The Bridge.
(July 7, 2023) Ben Williams and Syndee Winters, the two artists who combined to create the band Butterfly Black, are a duo in the truest sense of the world. Williams and Winters brought their divergent musical backgrounds together to create a sound that is both distinct and familiar. Williams, a bassist, hails from the jazz world, but he’s also performed R&B and hip hop. He won the highly regarded Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in 2009, and he’s performed or recorded with a bevy of musical luminaries like George Benson, Pat Matheny, Robert Glasper, Jose James and Kamasi Washington.
Winters made her mark in the disciplines of singing, dance/choreography and musical theater, and has performed in “Hamilton,” “The Lion King,” “Jesus Christ, Superstar” and “Motown: The Musical.” Winters was a dancer for the New York Knicks and vocalist who worked with the legendary Grandmaster Flash on his 2009 album The Bridge.
Butterfly Black allows Winters and Williams to create a work that harkens back to an era when artists ranging from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell to Rene Moore and Angela Winbush defined the sound of duet singing. Butterfly Black puts their spin on the duet on their new song “B.R.B (Be Right Back).”
The song sports an insistent, forward driving sound that is propelled by Williams’s bass, along with some rock guitar flourishes that will also remind some listeners of the Minneapolis sound. That arrangement and the sensuality and chemistry we hear in Williams and Winters vocals gives “B.R.B.” a Prince-like feel.
The song begins with the realization that people must part. They must go into the world of work and all that entails. The beautiful thing is the return and knowing that you are coming back to someone who represents love, spiritual and emotional security. You are coming back to a true safe space. Check out “B.R.B.” here.
By Howard Dukes
Butterfly Black – “B.R.B.”