Gary Burton
| Gary Burton | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
January 23, 1943 Anderson, Indiana, United States |
| Genres | Jazz, jazz fusion, hard bop |
| Occupation(s) | Vibraphonist, composer, educator |
| Instruments | Vibraphone, marimba |
| Years active | Since 1960 |
| Labels | RCA, Atlantic, ECM, Concord, Mack Avenue |
| Associated acts | Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow, Larry Coryell, Bob Brookmeyer, Chet Atkins, George Shearing, Thomas Clausen, Hank Garland, Roy Haynes, John Scofield, Keith Jarrett, Carla Bley, Herbie Hancock, B.B. King, Bob Berg |
| Website | www |
| Notable instruments | |
| Musser M-48 Vibraphone | |
Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer and jazz 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 fusion jazz and popularizing the duet format in jazz, as well as being a major figure in music education from his 30 years at the Berklee College of Music.
Burton was born in Anderson, Indiana in 1943. Beginning music at six years old, Burton for the most part taught himself to play marimba and vibraphone. He also began studying piano at age sixteen as he finished high school in Princeton, Indiana (1956–60). Burton has cited jazz pianist Bill Evans as a main inspiration for his approach toward the vibraphone.
Burton attended Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1960–61. He studied with Herb Pomeroy and soon befriended the composer and arranger Michael Gibbs. After establishing his career during the 1960s, he returned to join the staff of Berklee from 1971–2004, serving first as Professor, then Dean and finally as Executive Vice President during his last decade at the college.
Early in his career, at the behest of noted Nashville saxophonist Boots Randolph, Burton moved to Nashville and recorded with several notable Nashville musicians including guitarist Hank Garland, pianist Floyd Cramer and guitarist Chet Atkins.
After touring both the U.S. and Japan with pianist George Shearing in 1963, Burton went on to play with saxophonist Stan Getz from 1964 to 1966. It was during this time with the Stan Getz Quartet that Burton appeared with the band in a feature film, Get Yourself a College Girl playing "Girl From Ipanema" with Astrud Gilberto. In 1967 he formed the Gary Burton Quartet along with guitarist Larry Coryell, drummer Roy Haynes, and bassist Steve Swallow. Predating the jazz-rock fusion craze of the 1970s, the group's first record, Duster, combined jazz, country and rock and roll elements. However, some of Burton's previous albums (notably Tennessee Firebird and Time Machine, both from 1966) had already shown his inclination toward such experimentation with different genres of popular music. After Coryell left the quartet in the late 1960s, Burton hired a number of well-regarded guitarists: Jerry Hahn, David Pritchard, Mick Goodrick, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and most recently Julian Lage, who plays guitar in Burton's group Next Generation.
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