Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American 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.Corley, Cheryl (May 8, 2004)
"Gary Burton Steps Down, Out: Jazz Vibraphonist Moves On After Three Decades at Berklee"
. ''NPR''. He is also known for pioneering

fusion jazz Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and ke ...

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 Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cour ...

Biography

Burton was born in Anderson, Indiana, United States. Beginning music at six years old, he mostly taught himself to play marimba and vibraphone. 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 The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...

. Burton attended

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- m ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, in 1960–61 and the Stan Kenton Clinic at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Univers ...

in 1960. He studied with

Herb Pomeroy Irving Herbert Pomeroy III (April 15, 1930 – August 11, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter, teacher, and the founder of the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble. Early life Pomeroy was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States. He began playing ...

and soon befriended 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 executive vice president, during his last decade at the college. In 1989, Burton received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee. Early in his career, at the behest of Nashville saxophonist Boots Randolph, Burton moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

and recorded with several musicians from the area, including guitarist Hank Garland, pianist Floyd Cramer and guitarist

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

. Burton toured the U.S. and Japan with pianist

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ...

.Yanow, Scott
"Gary Burton , Biography & History"
. ''AllMusic''. Retrieved December 25, 2017. 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 Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

from 1964 to 1966. It was during this time that he appeared with the band in the movie '' Get Yourself a College Girl'', playing " Girl from Ipanema" with Astrud Gilberto. In 1967, he formed the Gary Burton Quartet with guitarist Larry Coryell, drummer

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jaz ...

, and bassist

Steve Swallow Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar ...

. Predating the

jazz-rock fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and ke ...

craze of the 1970s, the group's first album, '' Duster'', combined jazz,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

, and rock. However, some of Burton's previous albums (notably '' Tennessee Firebird'' and ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...

'', both from 1966) had already shown his inclination toward such experimentation. After Coryell left the quartet in the late 1960s, Burton worked with guitarists Jerry Hahn, David Pritchard, Mick Goodrick,

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progr ...

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in ...

, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Julian Lage. Burton was named ''

DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to " jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Ch ...

'' magazine's Jazzman of the Year in 1968 (the youngest to receive that title) and won his first Grammy Award in 1972. The following year Burton began a forty-year collaboration with pianist Chick Corea, 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 Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead. Early life and education Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the ...

, Hank Garland, Stephane Grappelli,

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

, Keith Jarrett,

B. B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...

, Steve Lacy,

Makoto Ozone is a Japanese jazz pianist. Career He was born in Kobe, Japan. He began playing organ at two and by seven was an improviser. He appeared on Japanese television with his father from 1968 to 1970. At twelve he switched to piano after being impres ...

, Tiger Okoshi, Astor Piazzolla, Tommy Smith,

Ralph Towner Ralph Towner (born March 1, 1940) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, trumpet and French horn. Biography Towner was ...

, and

Eberhard Weber Eberhard Weber (born 22 January 1940, in Stuttgart, Germany) is a German double bassist and composer. As a bass player, he is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing. Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, ...

. Burton is known for his variation of traditional four-mallet grip which has come to be known as "Burton Grip," and is popular among jazz vibraphonists, as well as some concert marimbists, including Pius Cheung and Evelyn Glennie. From 2004 to 2008, Burton hosted a weekly jazz radio show on

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially l ...

. In 2011, he released his first album for Mack Avenue Records, entitled ''Common Ground'', featuring the New Gary Burton Quartet (with Julian Lage, Scott Colley, and Antonio Sanchez). In 2013, the group released ''Guided Tour'', their second recording for Mack Avenue Records. Burton's autobiography, ''Learning to Listen'', was published by Berklee Press in August 2013 and was voted "Jazz Book of the Year" by the Jazz Journalists Association. Burton retired from performing in March 2017 following a farewell tour with pianist and longtime collaborator

Personal life

By the 1980s, Burton was in a gay relationship, and he came out publicly in a 1994 radio interview with Terry Gross, making him one of the rather few openly gay jazz musicians of prominence. In 2013, he married Jonathan Chong in

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provinc ...

.Gavin, James (2001)
Homophobia in Jazz
, Jazztimes.com. Retrieved April 17, 2012 Burton's current partner is Dustin Le.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Compilations

* ''Works'' (ECM, 1984) P* ''Collection'' (GRP, 1996) * ''Take Another Look. A Career Retrospective'' (Mack Avenue, 2018) LPref>

Collaborations

* ''Live from the Detroit Jazz Festival – 2013'' (Mack Avenue, 2014) * ''Hommage a Eberhard Weber'' (ECM, 2015)

As sideman

With Thomas Clausen * ''Café Noir'' (Intermusic, 1991) * ''Flowers and Trees'' (MA Music, 1992) With Hank Garland * '' After the Riot at Newport'' (RCA Victor, 1960) – released under the name The Nashville All-Stars) * ''Jazz Winds from a New Direction'' (Columbia, 1961) – also released as Hank Garland & Gary Burton ''Three-Four The Blues'' (1961) * ''The Unforgettable Guitar of Hank Garland'' (Columbia, 1962) With

* '' Getz Au Go Go'' (Verve, 1964) * '' Nobody Else But Me'' (Verve, 1964) * '' Getz/Gilberto No. 2'' ( Verve, 1966) – recorded in 1964 * '' The Stan Getz Quartet in Paris'' (Verve, 1967) – live recorded in 1966 * ''The Canadian Concert of Stan Getz'' (Can-Am, 1983) – recorded in 1965 With

* 1963: '' Jazz Concert'' (

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, 1963) – live * 1963: '' Out of the Woods'' (Capitol, 1965) * 1963: '' Rare Form!'' (Capitol, 1966) – live With

* '' Fluid Rustle'' (ECM, 1979) *'' Hommage à Eberhard Weber'' (ECM, 2015) With others *

, '' After the Riot at Newport'' with the Nashville Allstars (RCA, 1960) *

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of ...

, '' Bob Brookmeyer and Friends'' ( Columbia, 1962) *

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in '' Rolling Stone''s list ...

, '' Journeyman'' (Reprise Records, 1989) * Bruce Cockburn, ''The Charity of Night'' (True North, 1996) * Floyd Cramer, ''Last Date'' (RCA Victor, 1960) *

Eddie Daniels Eddie Daniels (born October 19, 1941) is an American musician and composer. Although he is best known as a jazz clarinetist, he has also played saxophone and flute as well as classical music on clarinet. Early life, family and education Daniel ...

, ''Benny Rides Again'' ( GRP, 1992) * Tim Hardin, '' Tim Hardin 1'' (Verve, 1966) - recorded in 1964-65 *

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, '' Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini'' ( Mercury, 1964) * k.d. lang, '' Ingénue'' ( Sire, 1992) * Livingston Taylor, '' There You Are Again'' (Coconut Bay, 2005) * Jay Leonhart, ''Four Duke'' (Absolute Spain, 1995) * Arif Mardin, '' Journey'' (Atlantic, 1974) - recorded in 1973 * Howard Jones, '' One to One'' (Elektra Records, 1986) *

, ''

Swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. Th ...

'' (Xtra Watt, 1991) * Jon Weber, '' Simple Complex'' (2nd Century Jazz, 2004)

Awards

, - , 1972 , '' Alone at Last'' , , Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Soloist , , - ,

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, ''

Duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo s ...

'' (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,

and Dave Holland) , Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group , , - ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Prote ...

, '' The New Crystal Silence'' (with Chick Corea) , Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance , , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gathe ...

, ''Hot House'' (with Chick Corea) , Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo , , -

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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Gary 1943 births Living people American autobiographers American jazz composers American jazz vibraphonists American male jazz composers Avant-garde jazz musicians Berklee College of Music alumni Berklee College of Music faculty American gay musicians Grammy Award winners GRP All-Star Big Band members GRP Records artists ECM Records artists LGBT people from Indiana Mack Avenue Records artists Musicians from Anderson, Indiana 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people