Gary Burton - Vibraphonist

[A.TomicMorganic]

Simple answer:yes!

Saw this duo in Seattle live at jazz alley.

 

[studrum]

It's great to hear these reflections and insights about Mr. Burton. I like everything I've ever heard him play on. Saw him a few years ago with Julien Lage, Antonio Sanchez, I think, and ?on bass, Pattitucci? live at our Riverfront jazz fest. A sublime artist.

 

[multijd]

I had one private lesson with him. on vibes. in 1979. Nicest guy..

here's the album I liked (best)back then with pete erskine)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6ZgTteSW3L4gZ5Ru_IUCkEDhCg8iUTuL

Don’t know this album. I’ll check it out.

 

[A.TomicMorganic]

First learned of gary when my friend larry coryell recorded his first major record with him on a roy haynes album in the 60s.

 

[Morello Man]

I'm gonna have to find these two CD's with Joe Morello AND Gary Burton! Two iconic players!


With Gary Burton

• 1961 New Vibe Man in Town
• 1962 Who Is Gary Burton?

[/QUOTE
Morello and Burton also recorded Jazz Winds From A New Direction (Aug ‘60), It’s About Time (June ‘61) and Joe Morello Orchestra (Aug ‘62). Morello said that RCA wanted he and Burton to have a group together and that they would really get behind it and publicize it but Morello “was comfortable with Dave (Brubeck) so I wouldn’t do it. RCA couldn’t see putting all this promotion behind my solo albums if I was still going to be with Dave.”

 

[toddbishop]

Absolutely-- I mostly listen to the mid 70s ECM stuff-- New Quartet, Ring, Dreams So Real, Passengers, Times Square-- and a few 60s records-- Throb, Duster, Good Vibes.

 

[multijd]

Gary Burton: Retiring The Mallets

The vibraphonist announced his retirement at 74 with little warning. Still in possession of his quicksilver fluidity and deep intuition, he spoke with Jazz Night during his farewell tour.

www.npr.org

 

[JDA]

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6ZgTteSW3L4gZ5Ru_IUCkEDhCg8iUTuL

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that album live different bass player

good play/learn along

good flat ride play along album

 

[Scott K Fish]

Such a great player. The first time I heard Gary was on Stan Getz's Getz au Go Go album. He is such a great player with so many great albums. As with any great musician I have sometimes been let down with a Burton album. But not often. And on the other side of the equation I've owned many Burton albums I just love. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getz_Au_Go_Go

 

[FlowTom]

Gary paid open mindedness forward. Stan Getz was supportive of him turning off his resonator fans as he was creating his signature sound, and he in turn was supportive of Steve Swallow's transition to electric bass.

As people have mentioned, a very bright and astute person. Funny story from his Berklee teaching days: he was concerned about having good attendance in his classes, which was an issue back in the 70's - the students would have been up late the night before and tended to slide on their day schedules a bit.

He took attendance by staring straight out at the class as he called out their names, without referring to the hard copy class list. He had memorized the list. It freaked the heck out of the kids (like, who is this dude?), and he had excellent attendance in his classes.

Santa Claus is coming to town.

 

[Gcort49]

About 20+ years ago, there was a nice write up in Jazz magazine about him. My first intro to him...been enjoying him since

 

[m.clover]

Yes Scott K. That's the first I heard him too. I saw him at Rutgers in 1970 and he was too good.

 

[JohnnyVibesAZ]

I noticed that Ludwig was a big promoter of Gary, when the company used to send out a newsletter in the mail, back in the 60s. I was curious, so my first album of his was "The Time Machine". It absolutely blew my mind. I had never heard anything like it from other vibists. If you can find a copy, get it. Over the years, I have enjoyed and not-so enjoyed his albums. I found his were not something I could sit back, relax, and just listen to. I had to STUDY them. It was like when I'd go to a movie, zero in on the actors' technique, and miss a lot of the plot, if that makes sense. You MUST get a copy of "Alone at Last"; just Gary, by himself. The last album of his I purchased and enjoy is his tribute to the great mallet artists, Lionel Hampton, Red Norvo, Milt Jackson, and Cal Tjader. Cal is my hero, by the way.

 

[Peano]

My intro to Gary came long ago at a week-long percussion symposium at the University of Miami School of Music (sponsored by Ludwig). All day, every day, we got to sit in small studios and be tutored by percussionists like: Gary, Joe Morello, Carmine Appice, Bobby Christian, Marvin Dahlgren ... and more; I don't recall them all now. (I was in music school at Miami at the time, and Danny Gottlieb was a fellow student, fresh out of high school.)

Each evening after the small sessions, one or two of the instructors would play a little concert for the hundred or so people signed up for the symposium. On Gary's night, one tune he played was "The Green Mountains." No accompaniment. Totally blew my mind.

 

[covinasurf]

I bought a copy of Passengers and listened to it over and over again. Very surprised that the LP is still in playable shape.

Gary's the reason I have a set of vibes and a Malletkat.

JH

 

[OldSticks]

I have been so diggin' on Gary Burton stuff lately. I've bought a couple CD's and have gotten nearly every CD our library system has. And I'm a heavy metal/progressive rock kinda guy.

Does anyone else like Gary?

I bet I'm older, I heard "Inna gadadavida"(sp?) when it was new (I'm not saying it was good, but it was one of the only rock solos, OLD). Have you heard "Crystal Since", a duet album with Gary Burton and Chick Corea? It's one of my favorites!

 

[bigbonzo]

I bet I'm older, I heard "Inna gadadavida"(sp?) when it was new (I'm not saying it was good, but it was one of the only rock solos, OLD). Have you heard "Crystal Since", a duet album with Gary Burton and Chick Corea? It's one of my favorites!

I remember when that Iron Butterfly song first came out, and I tried to copy it.

I don't remember any song titles. I just listened to them.

 

[IVER]

Here is why he retired:


Why are you retiring?

The simple answer is health reasons. I had six heart operations and I suffered some cognizant issues after the last one, which was a major one. I was without a heartbeat for half an hour and was revived. After I recovered, I noticed I didn’t have perfect pitch any more, which I had all my life. I also noticed that I had trouble sight-reading and everything that required intense concentration became a struggle. My playing reached a peak a few years ago and was now moving downward. I always said that I didn’t want to one day be a musician who could hardly play anymore … So, two years ago, I started the process of winding down. That’s now ending with this little tour.

Such a loss to the music world. I have a lot of Gary Burton recordings, but Crystal Silence, a duo record with Chick Corea, is my favourite.

 

[bigbonzo]

Here’s another good one.

Wow, I keep watching this one over and over. It's very entertaining. Love it!