Page "The Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet" Paragraph 19

: John Otto, at the time named Babs Helle, is the other co-founder of BTMSQ ( along with Majorie de Muynck ) and played in the group from 1988-1990, a busy period of 50 performances for the quickly emerging group that established its public identity.

John coined the group's name, the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, and was known for his rich baritone sound, snappy suits and ties, and for his witty commentary in his MC role at BTMSQ shows, thereby creating much of the public persona of the group.

After leaving BTMSQ, John went on to work in the performance production field, including touring with Ani DiFranco.

He has since worked professionally as a transgender activist, and currently works as a librarian and as an information specialist after obtaining his Master in Library and Information Science degree from the University of Washington.