THE GARY BURTON QUARTET

 

 

 

Gary Burton, the vibraphonist who has won virtually all the jazz polls there are to win, began
his professional career in Nashville in 1960, recording with such country musicians as Chet Atkms
Improbable as that sounds, it demonstrates the versatility of his musicianship. &

Noted critic Leonard Feather has called Burton’s sound “harmonically extraordinary and with-

out precedent on this instrument in jazz”. John Wilson, New York Times critic, has written that,

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“Burton plays with a delicacy and drive that one rarely hears on a vibraphone,” and a San
Francisco Chronicle critic added, “Gary Burton is unquestionably the first major force on the
vibes to appear since Milt Jackson.”

From Nashville to being a “major force” in jazz has taken Burton on a journey that has included
stints with George Shearing, Stan Getz, Joe Morello and Quincy Jones. His collaboration with
fellow Berklee alumnus, Keith Jarrett, produced the now classic Atlantic recording which includes
“In Your Quiet Place.” His solo recording, “Alone At Last,” won a Grammy Award in 1972.

The formation of his first quartet won wide critical acclaim. Burton’s fusion of jazz and rock
was described by New Yorker critic Whitney Balliett as a “miracle”, and Time magazine said that
Burton “made it work beautifully.”

Born in Indiana in 1943, Burton began performing on the marimba and vibraphone at the age
of six and became interested in jazz at fifteen. He became a student at Berklee in 1960, and, while &
at the College, developed the four-mallet technique which is uniquely his. Despite a busy concert
schedule, Burton has returned to Berklee as a faculty member and teaches advanced instrumental
concepts and improvisational techniques.

In this concert he will be introducing a new sound which will feature the trumpet of Tiger
Okoshi, former Berklee faculty member and leader of “Baku.” Other quartet members are
bassist/composer Steve Swallow and percussionist Gary Chaffee, both former Berklee faculty .
members.

Gary Burton is a recording artist for ECM/Polydor. Among his recordings for this label are:
Crystal Silence, The New Quartet, Seven Songs for Quartet and Chamber Orchestra, Hotel Hello
and Matchbook.