Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American retired jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be heralded as an innovator, and his sound and technique are widely imitated. He is also known for pioneering jazz fusion and popularizing the duet format in jazz, as well as being a major figure in music education from his 30 years teaching at the Berklee College of Music.
Biography
Burton was born in Anderson, Indiana, United States. He began studying piano at age sixteen while finishing high school at Princeton Community High School in Princeton, Indiana (1956–60). He has cited jazz pianist Bill Evans as the inspiration for his approach to the vibraphone.
Burton attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts,
Early in his career, at the behest of Nashville saxophonist Boots Randolph, Shearing asked Burton to write a whole album of compositions for him which were released as Out of the Woods in 1965. Burton described the album in his autobiography, Learning to Listen, as his "most ambitious effort at composing and arranging". Burton played with saxophonist Stan Getz from 1964 to 1966. recognized for popularizing the format of jazz duet performance. Their eight albums won Grammy Awards in 1979, 1981, 1997, 1999, 2009, and 2013.
Burton has played with a wide variety of jazz musicians, including Gato Barbieri, Carla Bley, Chick Corea, Peter Erskine, Stan Getz, Hank Garland, Stephane Grappelli, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, B. B. King, Steve Lacy, Pat Metheny, Makoto Ozone, Tiger Okoshi, Astor Piazzolla, Tommy Smith, Ralph Towner, and Eberhard Weber.
Personal life
Burton is openly gay. He was in a homosexual relationship by the 1980s, and he came out publicly in a 1994 radio interview with Terry Gross. In 2013, he married Jonathan Chong in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Burton's current partner is Dustin Le.
Discography
As leader/co-leader
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Recording date !! Title !! Label !! Year released !! Notes
|-
| 1961-07-06, -07
| New Vibe Man in Town
|RCA
|1961
|
|-
| 1962-09-14, -15
| Who Is Gary Burton?
|RCA
|1963
|
|-
| 1963-02-14, -20 <br/>1963-03-11
| 3 in Jazz
|RCA
|1963
|
|-
| 1963-08-14 – -16
| Something's Coming!
|RCA
|1964
|
|-
| 1964-12-21, -22
| The Groovy Sound of Music
|RCA
|1965
|
|-
| 1966-04-05, -06
| The Time Machine
|RCA
|1966
|
|-
| 1966-09-19 – -21
| Tennessee Firebird
|RCA
|1967
|
|-
| 1967-04-18 – -20
| Duster
|RCA
|1967
|Quartet
|-
| 1967-07
| A Genuine Tong Funeral
|RCA
|1968
|
|-
| 1967-08-15 – 17
| Lofty Fake Anagram
|RCA
|1967
|
|-
| 1968-02-23
| Gary Burton Quartet in Concert
|RCA
|1968
|Live
|-
| 1968-09-24 – 27
| Country Roads & Other Places
|RCA
|1969
|
|-
| 1969-06-02 – -05
| Throb
|Atlantic
|1969
|
|-
| 1969-11-04
| Paris Encounter with Stéphane Grappelli
|Atlantic
|1972
|
|-
| 1969-09-02 – -04, <br/>1970-03-11
| Good Vibes
|Atlantic
|1970
|
|-
| 1970-07-23
| Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett
|Atlantic
|1971
|
|-
| 1971-06-02
| Live in Tokyo
|Atlantic
|1971
| Live at Sankei Hall, Tokyo
|-
| 1971-06-19, <br/>1971-09-07
| Alone at Last
|Atlantic
|1972
| 3 tracks from live at the Montreux Jazz Festival
|-
| 1972-11-06
| Crystal Silence with Chick Corea
|ECM
|1973
|
|-
| 1973-03-05, -06
| The New Quartet
|ECM
|1973
|
|-
| 1973-06-25, -26
| In The Public Interest with Mike Gibbs
|Polydor
|1974
|
|-
| 1973-12
| Seven Songs for Quartet and Chamber Orchestra
|ECM
|1974
|
|-
| 1974-05-13, -14
| Hotel Hello with Steve Swallow
|ECM
|1975
|
|-
| 1974-07-23, -24
| Ring with Eberhard Weber
|ECM
|1974
|
|-
| 1974-07-26, -27
| Matchbook with Ralph Towner
|ECM
|1975
|
|-
| 1975-12
| Dreams So Real
|ECM
|1976
|
|-
| 1976-11
| Passengers with Eberhard Weber
|ECM
|1977
|
|-
| 1978-01
| Times Square
|ECM
|1978
|
|-
| 1978-10-23 – -25
| Duet with Chick Corea
|ECM
|1979
|
|-
| 1979-10-28
| In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979 with Chick Corea
|ECM
|1980
|Live at Limmathaus, Zürich
|-
| 1980-06
| Easy as Pie
|ECM
|1981
|
|-
| 1981-01
| Live in Cannes
|Jazz World
|1996
|Live at Palais des Festivals et des Congrès
|-
| 1982-01
| Picture This
|ECM
|1982
|
|-
| 1982-09
| Lyric Suite for Sextet with Chick Corea
|ECM
|1983
|
|-
| 1984-11
| Real Life Hits
|ECM
|1985
|
|-
| 1985-05
| Slide Show with Ralph Towner
|ECM
|1986
|
|-
| 1985-07-28
| Gary Burton And The Berklee Allstars
|JVC
|1986
|
|-
| 1986-06
| Whiz Kids
|ECM
|1987
|
|-
| 1986-07
| The New Tango with Astor Piazzolla
|Atlantic
|1987
| Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival
|-
| 1988?
| Times Like These
|GRP
|1988
|
|-
| 1989-05-06 – -10
| Reunion with Pat Metheny, Will Lee, Peter Erskine, Mitchel Forman
|GRP
|1990
|
|-
| 1990-03-29
| Right Time, Right Place with Paul Bley
|GNP Crescendo
|1990
|
|-
| 1991?
| Cool Nights
|GRP
|1991
|
|-
| 1991-10-10, <br/>1992-04-25
| Six Pack
|GRP
|1992
|
|-
| 1993-05
| It's Another Day with Rebecca Parris
|GRP
|1994
|
|-
| 1994-10-31, <br/>1994-11-01
| Face to Face with Makoto Ozone
|GRP
|1995
|
|-
| 1994-11-08
| Four Duke with Jay Leonhart, Joe Beck, Terry Clarke
|LRC
|1995
|also released as <br/>Play the Music of Duke Ellington
|-
| 1996-09-20 – -22
| Departure
|Concord Jazz
|1997
|
|-
| 1996-12-02 – -05
| Ástor Piazzolla Reunion: A Tango Excursion
|Concord Jazz
|1998
|
|-
| 1997-06
| Native Sense - The New Duets with Chick Corea
|Stretch
|1997
|
|-
| 1997-12-15 – -17
| Like Minds with Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, and Dave Holland
|Concord Jazz
|1998
|
|-
| 1999-01-20 – -24
| Libertango: The Music of Ástor Piazzolla
|Concord Jazz
|2000
|
|-
| 2000-05-11, -23, -24, <br/>2000-06--03
| For Hamp, Red, Bags, and Cal
|Concord Jazz
|2001
|
|-
| 2001-08-14, -15, <br/>2001-10-14, -15
| Virtuosi with Makoto Ozone
|Concord Jazz
|2002
|
|-
| 2003-09-16 – -18
|Generations
|Concord Jazz
|2004
|
|-
| 2004-11-08, -10
| Next Generation
|Concord Jazz
|2005
|
|-
| 2007-06-10, -11
| Quartet Live with Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow, Antonio Sanchez
|Concord Jazz
|2009
| Live at Yoshi's, Oakland, California
|-
| 2007–05, <br/>2007-07
| The New Crystal Silence with Chick Corea
|Concord Jazz
|2008
|[2CD] Live
|-
| 2011?
| Common Ground
| Mack Avenue
| 2011
|
|-
| 2012?
| Hot House with Chick Corea
|Concord Jazz
|2012
|
|-
| 2013-03-21 – -23
| Time Thread with Makoto Ozone
|Universal
|2013
|
|-
| 2013?
| Guided Tour
|Mack Avenue
| 2013
|
|}
Compilations
- Works (ECM, 1984)[LP]
- Collection (GRP, 1996)
- Take Another Look. A Career Retrospective (Mack Avenue, 2018)[5LP]
As a member
The Nashville All-Stars
- After the Riot at Newport (RCA Victor, 1960)
Mack Avenue Superband
- Live from the Detroit Jazz Festival – 2013 (Mack Avenue, 2014) – live rec. 2013
As sideman
With Thomas Clausen
- Café Noir (Intermusic, 1991)
- Flowers and Trees (MA Music, 1992)
With Hank Garland
- Jazz Winds from a New Direction (Columbia, 1961) – also released as Hank Garland & Gary Burton's Three-Four The Blues (CBS, 1961)
- The Unforgettable Guitar of Hank Garland (Columbia, 1962)
With Stan Getz
- Getz Au Go Go (Verve, 1964) – live
- Getz/Gilberto No. 2 (Verve, 1966) – live rec. 1964
- The Stan Getz Quartet in Paris (Verve, 1967) – live rec. 1966
- The Canadian Concert of Stan Getz (Can-Am, 1983) – rec. 1965
- Nobody Else But Me (Verve, 1994) – rec. 1964
With George Shearing
- Jazz Concert (Capitol, 1963) – live
- Out of the Woods (Capitol, 1965) – rec. 1964
- Rare Form! (Capitol, 1966) – live rec. 1963
With Eberhard Weber
- Fluid Rustle (ECM, 1979)
- Hommage à Eberhard Weber (ECM, 2015) – live
With others
- Chet Atkins, After the Riot at Newport with the Nashville Allstars (RCA, 1960) – live
- Bob Brookmeyer, Bob Brookmeyer and Friends (Columbia, 1965)<!-- – rec. 1964-->
- Eric Clapton, Journeyman (Reprise, 1989)
- Bruce Cockburn, The Charity of Night (True North, 1996)
- Floyd Cramer, Last Date (RCA Victor, 1960)
- Eddie Daniels, Benny Rides Again (GRP, 1992)
- Tim Hardin, Tim Hardin 1 (Verve, 1966)<!-- rec. 1964-1965-->
- Quincy Jones, Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini (Mercury, 1964)
- k.d. lang, Ingénue (Sire, 1992)
- Livingston Taylor, There You Are Again (Coconut Bay, 2006)
- Jay Leonhart, Four Duke (Absolute Spain, 1995)<!-- rec. 1994-->
- Arif Mardin, Journey (Atlantic, 1974)<!-- rec. 1973-->
- Howard Jones, One to One (Elektra, 1986)<!-- rec. 1985-->
- Steve Swallow, Swallow (Xtra Watt, 1992)<!-- – rec. 1991
- Jon Weber, Simple Complex (2nd Century Jazz, 2004)<!-- – rec. 2003-->
Grammy Awards
|-
|1972
|Alone at Last
||Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Soloist
|
|-
|1979
|Duet (with Chick Corea)
|Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
|
|-
|1982
|In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979 (with Chick Corea)
|Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
|
|-
|1998
|"Rhumbata", Native Sense (with Chick Corea)
|Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo
|
|-
|2000
|Like Minds (with Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes and Dave Holland)
|Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
|
|-
|2009
|The New Crystal Silence (with Chick Corea)
|Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance
|
|-
|2012
|Hot House (with Chick Corea)
|Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo
|
|-
|}
See also
- Vibraphone
- List of vibraphonists
References
External links
- BBC's profile on Gary Burton
- Gary Burton Interview from the NAMM Oral History Library (2008)
- Gary Burton Interview from the Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program
- YouTube: The Gary Burton Interview by Rick Beato