Lillian Theresa Boutté-l’Etienne (August 6, 1949 – May 23, 2025) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

singer.

Early life and career

As a child, Boutté won a singing contest at age eleven. She later received a bachelor's degree in

music therapy Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music t ...

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic Historically black c ...

and worked as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

in New Orleans, performing as a backup singer with

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...

James Booker James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was an American New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist and singer. Flamboyant in personality and style, and a pianist of extraordinary technical skill, he was dubbed "the Blac ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 19 ...

, and

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. His music combined New Orleans blues, jazz, R&B, soul and funk. Active as a session mus ...

. At Xavier, she sang in the Golden Voices Gospel Choir. From 1979 to 1983 she toured internationally with the musical '' One Mo' Time''. She collaborated with the Olympia Brass Band on a gospel record in 1980 and recorded her first jazz album in 1982. During her tours of Europe, she began recording with groups in Norway and Denmark, and co-founded the ensemble Music Friends. She performed frequently in New Orleans in addition to touring regularly in Europe, performing with

Humphrey Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...

, the Barrelhouse Jazz Band,

Chris Barber Donald Christopher Barber (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and Trombone, trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with "Petite Fleur ...

, Oscar Klein, , the Maryland Jazz Band of Cologne, and

Pee Wee Ellis Alfred James Rogers (April 21, 1941 – September 23, 2021), known as Pee Wee Ellis due to his diminutive stature, was an American saxophonist, composer, and arranger. With a background in jazz, he was a member of James Brown's band in the 19 ...

Personal life and death

Lillian Boutté was the older sister of fellow jazz singer

John Boutté John Boutté (born November 3, 1958)John Boutte biography at All About Jazz< ...

, and was formerly married to the German musician . She died following a lengthy battle with dementia and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, on May 23, 2025, at the age of 75.

Discography

* ''Music Is My Life'' (Timeless, 1985) * ''I Sing Because I'm Happy'' (Timeless, 1985) * ''A Fine Romance'' with Thomas L'Etienne (GHB, 1987) * ''Lillian'' with Humphrey Lyttelton (Calligraph, 1988) * ''Lipstick Traces'' with Christian Willisohn (Blues Beacon, 1991) * ''The Gospel Book'' (Blues Beacon, 1993) * ''The Jazz Book'' (Blues Beacon, 1994) * ''But...Beautiful'' (Dinosaur Entertainment, 1996) * ''Come Together'' with Christian Willisohn (Art by Heart, 1997)

References

External links

* * * 1949 births 2025 deaths American jazz singers American women jazz singers 20th-century American women singers Jazz musicians from New Orleans 21st-century American women singers Xavier University of Louisiana alumni African-American Catholics Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Louisiana {{US-jazz-singer-stub

Early life and career

Personal life and death

Discography

References

Further reading

External links