Lillian Boutté, an internationally known jazz and gospel singer from New Orleans, has died after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. She was 75 years old.
Her family announced the news on May 23, the day of her death.
“A powerful voice of New Orleans and a global ambassador for its music, Lillian brought the soul of this city to stages around the world,” the New Orleans Jazz Museum said in a statement.
“Her sound defied boundaries—and so did her generosity. She opened doors for countless musicians and expanded the reach of New Orleans music internationally.”
Dynamic and beloved New Orleans singer Lillian Boutte has passed away. Her family confirmed she died on Friday following a lengthy illness. https://t.co/Ae2Tsum1iB
— WGNO-TV (ABC) New Orleans (@WGNOtv) May 23, 2025
Born in 1949, Boutté was raised in the Seventh Ward of New Orleans, in the historic Tremé neighborhood, as the fourth of 10 children. Her father, George, was a postal worker and barber, while her mother, Gloria, was a cosmetologist and coroner’s assistant.
Raised Catholic, Boutté began singing at a young age, joining the choir at her local parish. She went on to study music therapy at Xavier University of Louisiana, the nation’s Catholic HBCU, where she sang in the Golden Voices Gospel Choir. While still a student, she was discovered by Allen Toussaint and got work as a backing vocalist for several other national acts, including Patti LaBelle, the Pointer Sisters, and the Neville Brothers.
In the late 1970s, Boutté broke into the musical theater scene, touring internationally with the Vernel Bagneris musical “One Mo’ Time.” which had opened Off-Broadway in 1979. The show led to a long string of international opportunities for Boutté, including as leader of the ensemble Music Friends formed with Thomas l’Etienne, whom she married in 1984.
Rooted in Church music, Boutté collaborated with the Olympia Brass Band on the “In A Gospel Mood” LP in 1981, and with Norway’s Magnolia Jazzband on “New Orleans Gospel I Molde Kirke” in 1982. Her first solo album, “Let Them Talk,” came four years later, around the time she moved to Germany full-time. She was named a New Orleans Musical Ambassador by Mayor Ernest “Dutch” Morial in 1986, the second in history after Louis Armstrong.
Over the next three decades, Boutté recorded upwards of 15 albums across multiple labels, fusing the gospel and jazz genres with a distinctive New Orleans flair. She continued to collaborate with European bands and artists throughout her career, all while helping to introduce American artists to the overseas market.
“Doc Cheatham, the Humphrey Brothers… James Andrews was no more than 13 to 14 years old when they brought him to Jazz Ascona in Switzerland. She started that festival,” her younger brother, the fellow jazz vocalist John Boutté, told WGNO.
“That festival now has changed that region—there are universities and high schools there that have New Orleans jazz programs now. I was knocked out by how many people were second-lining in Ascona.”
Boutté continued to support her hometown music scene as well, especially following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She was also a noted fundraiser for the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic, which she helped found to support artists and culture bearers with medical and social services, and conducted music workshops for special needs children.
Boutté moved back to New Orleans in 2017, shortly after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Benefit concerts and even a Jazz Mass were held for her in the following years, helping to support her in a similar way that she lent her own efforts to the city over the years, even from afar.
Despite her grim prognosis, Boutté performed in 2017 with her band Gumbo Zaire and her niece Tanya Ellsworth Boutté at the French Quarter Festival. She moved into a senior care facility in 2019.
Boutté received a special Ascona Jazz Award in 2006, a Black Storyville Cultural Heritage Award in 2018, and was variously dubbed “The Boss,” the “Queen of the Delta,” the “Queen of Ascona,” or simply, “The Queen.”
"She unselfishly opened the door to Europe to so many cats,” said her brother John. “That's her legacy. That was Lillian. They call her the Queen because she was.”
Boutté was predeceased by her parents and by one brother, Anthony. She is survived by her brothers John, Emmanuel, and Peter, as well as sisters Lolet, Lynette, Lorna Delay, Leda Blanks, and Lenora Boutté-Hingle. Her family also remained close to her former husband, Thomas.
A visitation for Boutté has been scheduled for Saturday, June 7, at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in New Orleans at 10am CT. A funeral Mass will follow at noon, to be livestreamed on the Facebook pages of her siblings, John, Lolet, and Tanya. Burial will take place at St. Patrick Cemetery No. 1, with Charbonnet Funeral Home handling arrangements.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
