In 1978, United Artists executives Artie Mogull and Jerry Rubinstein secured a loan from EMI Music and acquired UA from financial services conglomerate Transamerica. Less than a year later, EMI foreclosed and phased out the Blue Note imprint, forcing Butler to jump ship to Columbia Records, now home to several of Blue Note's flagship acts as well. Appointed vice president for jazz and progressive A&R, Butler was instrumental in convincing Miles Davis to return to the studio after a five-year absence from recording -- in addition, he helmed hit fusion efforts for acts ranging from Bob James to Billy Cobham to Grover Washington, Jr. However, his most significant Columbia achievement was signing onetime Art Blakey trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, effectively launching the so-called "Young Lions" renaissance credited with reviving creative and commercial interest in traditional jazz sensibilities. Butler later produced sessions for Young Lions including Marsalis' brother Branford, Terence Blanchard, and Donald Harrison, and during his Columbia tenure signed Harry Connick, Jr. and Nnenna Freelon. Butler remained with Columbia until retirement -- in the final years of his life he suffered from Alzheimer's disease, and in the autumn of 2005 moved to a retirement home in Hayward, CA. In January 2008 Butler went missing, and spent more than 30 hours in rain and cold weather before police finally found him tangled in raspberry bushes above a creek bed -- he never recovered from the physical trauma, and died April 9 at the age of 76. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi