George Burton

APPEARING at The Bitter End

THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2025, 9 pm

GEORGE BURTON is a visionary pianist, composer, and bandleader whose genre-defying artistry is reshaping the modern jazz landscape. A Philadelphia native steeped in its musical legacy, Burton is known for his electrifying live performances, leading cutting-edge ensembles with “formidable” skill (NPR), “charismatic” presence (The New York Times), and a “soulful” approach (Philadelphia Inquirer) that captivates audiences. 

Burton’s music fuses classical finesse, avant-garde exploration, and jazz’s deep-rooted groove into a dynamic sonic experience. From his acclaimed albums The Truth Of What I Am > The Narcissist (2016) and Reciprocity (2020)—the latter earning an NAACP Image Award nomination—to his innovative holiday project The Yule Log (2023), Burton has set a new standard for musical creativity.

Burton “gamely makes new ground” (Downbeat) with his latest release, White Noise. Merging jazz elements with electronic textures, Xhosa rhythms, hip-hop, and spoken word, and featuring collaborators like Siya Makuzeni, Marquis Hill, The Black Opera and Dante Clark, the album stands as both a sonic protest and a testament to resilience. With White Noise, called “a meditation on Black creative survival” (WRTI), Burton pushes the boundaries even further, sharing a “call for collective liberation and an invitation for self-transformation” (Jazziz), and embodying the power of art as a force for change.