Biography
Anna Butterss, a bassist and composer who hails from Adelaide, Australia, now calls Los Angeles home. Recognized as a preferred session musician across diverse styles, Butterss has appeared on stage and in the studio alongside Jeff Parker, Makaya McCraven, Larry Goldings, Chris Speed, Walter Smith III, indie pop vocalists Phoebe Bridgers and Jenny Lewis, and singer/songwriter Aimee Mann, among additional artists. In 2023 Butterss issued the debut solo album Activities through Colorfield, issuing Mighty Vertebrate the following year. Butterss also helped establish the Los Angeles electro-jazz quintet SML, whose first album, Small Medium Large, surfaced on International Anthem in 2024.
Born in Adelaide to parents who shared a passion for music after encountering each other in local Irish folk ensembles, Butterss encountered classical and folk sounds early on and took up the flute at age seven. The instrument remained part of Butterss’s studies until age thirteen, at which point an upright bass replaced it during enrollment at the music-focused Marryatville High School, where the switch introduced jazz. The rhythmic character of that music made an immediate impression that has shaped Butterss’s performance and listening habits ever since. At the University of Adelaide, jazz coursework led to a bachelor’s degree from the Elder Conservatorium in 2012, after which a scholarship supported graduate work at the University of Indiana, culminating in a master’s degree awarded in 2014.
Faced with selecting among New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles as a new base, Butterss settled on the last of these cities and quickly connected with players in both the jazz and indie communities while adding electric bass to an existing skill set. The move coincided with guitarist Jeff Parker’s relocation from Chicago; Parker soon assembled a quartet without substitutes that included Butterss, drummer Jay Bellerose, and alto saxophonist Josh Johnson.
Butterss’s first U.S. recording credit arrived on a pair of 2017 singles by guitarist Gregory Uhlmann, and the pair also contributed to saxophonist Mike Lebrun’s album Shades that same year. In 2018 Butterss supplied bass for Boygenius’ self-titled debut and joined the group’s tours across the United States and Europe. One year later Butterss performed on the self-titled debut album by singer/songwriter Sasami. During 2020 Butterss and future collaborator saxophonist Josh Johnson both featured on Makaya McCraven’s album Universal Beings.
In 2021 Butterss accepted an invitation to tour with Jenny Lewis, participated in her Tiny Desk Concert, and appeared on McCraven’s Universal Beings E & F Sides. Butterss reunited with Uhlmann for the full-length Neighborhood Watch that year, then joined Uhlmann and drummer Aaron Steel on Johnson’s Freedom Exercise for Northern Spy. In 2022 Butterss performed on Sasami’s second album Squeeze.
Butterss entered the band led by drummer, percussionist, and producer Daniel Villarreal and contributed to the album Panama ’77, then played on Aimee Mann’s Queens of the Summer Hotel.
The year 2023 proved especially active. Butterss resumed work with Villarreal on Lados B and with Bex Burch on There Is Only Love and Fear, both released by International Anthem. Butterss also appeared on Uhlmann’s Again and Again and on Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher. Parker’s Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, issued by Eremite Records, documented the quartet in performance on the venue’s compact stage during four sides of material; the space itself closed that December. Of particular note, Butterss released the widely praised debut leader project Activities on Colorfield Records, handling vocals, upright and electric basses, keyboards, flute, drums, and programming while co-producing with Ben Min and welcoming Johnson plus two drummers on selected tracks.
During 2024 Butterss performed on the self-titled debut by Better Oblivion Community Center, the project co-led by Bridgers and Conor Oberst, as well as on Collodion by jazz guitarist Anthony Wilson, singer/songwriter Alisa Amador’s third album Multitudes, Johnson’s Unusual Objects, and Boygenius’ The Record. Butterss joined Uhlmann, Johnson, drummer Booker Stardrum, and synthesist/sampling keyboardist Jeremiah Chiu in forming the experimental electro-jazz quintet SML, whose International Anthem debut Small Medium Large received international attention. In October 2024 Butterss delivered the sophomore leader album Mighty Vertebrate on International Anthem, composing every track and performing on multiple instruments alongside guitarists Parker and Uhlmann, saxophonist Johnson, and drummer Ben Lumsdaine.
Born in Adelaide to parents who shared a passion for music after encountering each other in local Irish folk ensembles, Butterss encountered classical and folk sounds early on and took up the flute at age seven. The instrument remained part of Butterss’s studies until age thirteen, at which point an upright bass replaced it during enrollment at the music-focused Marryatville High School, where the switch introduced jazz. The rhythmic character of that music made an immediate impression that has shaped Butterss’s performance and listening habits ever since. At the University of Adelaide, jazz coursework led to a bachelor’s degree from the Elder Conservatorium in 2012, after which a scholarship supported graduate work at the University of Indiana, culminating in a master’s degree awarded in 2014.
Faced with selecting among New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles as a new base, Butterss settled on the last of these cities and quickly connected with players in both the jazz and indie communities while adding electric bass to an existing skill set. The move coincided with guitarist Jeff Parker’s relocation from Chicago; Parker soon assembled a quartet without substitutes that included Butterss, drummer Jay Bellerose, and alto saxophonist Josh Johnson.
Butterss’s first U.S. recording credit arrived on a pair of 2017 singles by guitarist Gregory Uhlmann, and the pair also contributed to saxophonist Mike Lebrun’s album Shades that same year. In 2018 Butterss supplied bass for Boygenius’ self-titled debut and joined the group’s tours across the United States and Europe. One year later Butterss performed on the self-titled debut album by singer/songwriter Sasami. During 2020 Butterss and future collaborator saxophonist Josh Johnson both featured on Makaya McCraven’s album Universal Beings.
In 2021 Butterss accepted an invitation to tour with Jenny Lewis, participated in her Tiny Desk Concert, and appeared on McCraven’s Universal Beings E & F Sides. Butterss reunited with Uhlmann for the full-length Neighborhood Watch that year, then joined Uhlmann and drummer Aaron Steel on Johnson’s Freedom Exercise for Northern Spy. In 2022 Butterss performed on Sasami’s second album Squeeze.
Butterss entered the band led by drummer, percussionist, and producer Daniel Villarreal and contributed to the album Panama ’77, then played on Aimee Mann’s Queens of the Summer Hotel.
The year 2023 proved especially active. Butterss resumed work with Villarreal on Lados B and with Bex Burch on There Is Only Love and Fear, both released by International Anthem. Butterss also appeared on Uhlmann’s Again and Again and on Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher. Parker’s Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, issued by Eremite Records, documented the quartet in performance on the venue’s compact stage during four sides of material; the space itself closed that December. Of particular note, Butterss released the widely praised debut leader project Activities on Colorfield Records, handling vocals, upright and electric basses, keyboards, flute, drums, and programming while co-producing with Ben Min and welcoming Johnson plus two drummers on selected tracks.
During 2024 Butterss performed on the self-titled debut by Better Oblivion Community Center, the project co-led by Bridgers and Conor Oberst, as well as on Collodion by jazz guitarist Anthony Wilson, singer/songwriter Alisa Amador’s third album Multitudes, Johnson’s Unusual Objects, and Boygenius’ The Record. Butterss joined Uhlmann, Johnson, drummer Booker Stardrum, and synthesist/sampling keyboardist Jeremiah Chiu in forming the experimental electro-jazz quintet SML, whose International Anthem debut Small Medium Large received international attention. In October 2024 Butterss delivered the sophomore leader album Mighty Vertebrate on International Anthem, composing every track and performing on multiple instruments alongside guitarists Parker and Uhlmann, saxophonist Johnson, and drummer Ben Lumsdaine.
Albums
