DISC ONE: RCA VICTOR RECORDINGS Side A1. Joy Spring (3:41)2. Careful (4:13)3. Faded Love (3:23) 4. Sing Me Softly of the Blues (4:06)5. General Mojo’s Well Laid Plan (5:01) Side B 1. Fanfare / Mother of the Dead Man (2:54)2. Country Roads (5:07)3. One, Two, 1-2-3-4 (Live) (9:54)

DISC TWO: ATLANTIC RECORDINGS Side C1. Chega de Saudade (No More Blues) (4:43)2. Las Vegas Tango (6:32)3. Boston Marathon (7:21)4. Grow Your Own (4:55) Side D1. Como En Vietnam (7:04)2. Daphne (4:09)3. Sweet Rain (3:41) 4. Nuevo Tango (Live) (5:39)

DISC THREE: ECM RECORDINGS Side E1. Crystal Silence (9:05)2. Mevlevia (6:03)3. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (4:24) Side F1. Ictus / Syndrome / Wrong Key Donkey (10:25)2. B & G (Midwestern Nights Dream) (8:22)

DISC FOUR: GRP RECORDINGS Side G1. Times Like These (6:34)2. Otoño (Autumn) (4:26)3. Quick and Running (6:43)4. Knockin’ on Wood (3:40) Side H1. Opus Half (5:24)2. Gorgeous (7:41)3. Take Another Look (6:39)

DISC FIVE: CONCORD AND MACK AVENUE RECORDINGS Side I 1. Native Sense (6:32)2. Hot House (3:53)3. Question and Answer (6:26)4. Le Tombeau de Couperin I - Prelude (5:20) Side J1. Elucidation (previously unreleased) (7:27)2. Late Night Sunrise (6:36)3. Caminos (7:19)

mackavenue.comgaryburton.com

This compilation PC 2018 Mack Avenue Records II, LLC. 18530 Mack Avenue, #299, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236. All rights reserved. FBI Anti-Piracy Warning: The unauthorized replication or distribution of this copyrighted work is il-legal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable under federal law. Printed in the USA.

GARY BURTON WITH COLLECTIVE PERSONNEL:

Chet Atkins, Gato Barbieri, Carla Bley, Michael Brecker, Sam Brown, Larry Bunker, Kenneth Buttrey, Gene Cherico, Scott Colley, Hector Console, Chick Corea, Larry Coryell, Luques Curtis, Eddie Daniels, Ray Edenton, Buddy Emmons, Peter Erskine, Mitch Forman, Eric Gale, Mick Goodrick, Bill Goodwin, Stéphane Grappelli, Jerry Hahn, Jim Hall, Roy Haynes, David Holland, Chuck Israels, Bob James, Keith Jarrett, Howard Johnson, Marc Johnson, Jimmy Knepper, Steve Lacy, Julian Lage, Bill LaVorgne, Will Lee, Horacio Malvicino, Mike Mantler, Steve Marcus, Charlie McCoy, Pat Metheny, Mulgrew Miller, Joe Morello, Bob Moses, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Vadim Neselovskyi, Buddy Osborne, Sonny Osborne, Makoto Ozone, Fernando Suarez Paz, Astor Piazzolla, Bernard Purdie, Chuck Rainey, Antonio Sanchez, John Scofield, Buddy Speicher, Henry Strezleci, Steve Swallow, Richard Tee, Ralph Towner, Eberhard Weber, James Williams, Pablo Ziegler.

Compilation produced by Nick Phillips and Gary Burton

Compilation produced by Nick Phillips and Gary BurtonExecutive Producers: Gretchen Valade and Denny StilwellEVP of A&R: Al PryorProduction Manager: Will WakefieldBusiness Affairs & Licensing: Lucille Hunt Mastering: Joe Tarantino at Joe Tarantino MasteringLacquer Cutting: George Horn and Anne-Marie Suenram at George Horn Mastering

Booklet Notes: Neil TesserCover Photo by Giancarlo Belfiore/Umbria JazzBooklet Cover Photo: Jazz Night In America/NPRAll photos on this page courtesy of Gary Burton’s personal collectionArt Direction & Design: Raj Naik • naikdesign.comCreative Services & Production: Jodi TackProduct Manager: Shannon MooreProject Assistance: Zak Shelby-Szyszko

garyburton.commackavenuerecords.com

This compilation PC 2018 Mack Avenue Records II, LLC.

All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. MAC1128 • 6-73203-11281-0

His career borders on jazz mythology. Growing up in Indiana small towns – far removed from such urban jazz hubs as New York and Chicago – he discovered the marimba and then the vibraphone, and before long was winning talent contests and leading a successful family band; he then made his recording debut and signed a long-term contract with record industry behemoth RCA Victor – all before entering Boston’s Berklee School of Music at the age of 17. His work in bands led by George Shearing and Stan Getz – two of the most popular jazz artists of the 1960s – prepped him to become a full-time bandleader at 24, when he formed the quartet that pinpoints the origin of the jazz-rock fusion. From the beginning, Gary Burton has broken new ground, forged new paths, and regularly presented concerts and recordings that remain fixed in the minds of those fortunate enough to have heard them. The reasons for this are many and varied, but consider in particular his approach to improvisation. The jazz artists he heard as a young man, for the most part, soloed in a straight line. Their improvisations might contain marvelous details, surprising bursts, and passages that could drop a jaw or break a heart, but they moved steadily toward a climax near the end. But Burton, inspired by pianist Bill Evans and his own bassist, Steve Swallow, created solos that circled back, again and again, hitting high points all along the way. Like the best jazz soloists of any era, he tells strong stories – but, like so many literary masters of our time, he may not tell them in linear order. This thoroughly modern solo concept undergirds almost every aspect of his music while maintaining his connection to the jazz tradition that shaped him. Burton’s career, documented on some 65 albums under his own name, teems with prodigious virtuosity, intrepid stylistic exploration, lifelong musical partnerships, and innovations in technique that have raised the bar for three generations of vibraphonists. It becomes all the more remarkable when seen alongside his equally impressive career in education. He began teaching at Berklee in 1971, at the height of his early fame, transforming a vocation that until then had primarily attracted performers in decline. He eventually became Berklee’s Dean of Curriculum, when he pioneered the use of computerization and the establishment of online teaching, before serving as Berklee’s Executive Vice President – all while maintaining a full-time performance and recording schedule. His mentorship of younger musicians, and especially guitarists, offers another insight. Like the most heralded bandleaders in the previous jazz history – Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Horace Silver – Burton’s own groups have served as proving-grounds for a long roster of vital artists (many of them heard in this set). Even among this cohort, his special connection with guitarists stands out, extending from Larry Coryell in 1967 to Julian Lage some 50 years later, and including his greatest protégé, Pat Metheny. Burton’s list of trailblazing accomplishments even extends to his retirement from the music business, something unheard of in jazz. When he announced in 2017 that he planned to put the vibraphone into storage later that year, Metheny said, “It’s a unique event in our community. It isn’t a stretch to name it the rough musical equivalent of Michael Jordan retiring at the peak of his career.” Neither is it a stretch to suggest that Burton’s example may lead other jazz personages to close down their own careers before time and tide can exact their toll. Take Another Look, issued in celebration of Burton’s 75th birthday year, encapsulates his astonishing six-decade life in music in the best way possible. As Burton commented for this set, “Recordings are a way of documenting your work and exposing it to a much larger global audience. And in the end, as this collection demonstrates, it becomes your enduring legacy as well. It’s only in the past 60 years or so that the careers of the great jazz musicians have been so thoroughly documented, with a succession of recordings that track their musical evolution. “Recordings also document the areas where the artist has broken new ground and influenced the jazz world overall – again, part of one’s legacy. At the time I was exploring new areas of jazz, I almost never thought of it this way. Each new thing, whether it was solo vibes, or duets, or playing with four mallets, or mixing in rock and country, just seemed like a good idea at the time. I mostly just thought people might like to hear this.” Yes, I think people might.

NEIL TESSER, critic, radio host, GRAMMY®-winning author, and editor of Gary Burton’s acclaimed autobiography Learning To Listen (Berklee Press, 2013)

DISC ONE: RCA VICTOR RECORDINGS

SIDE A

1. JOY SPRING (3:41) (Clifford Brown) Second Floor Music (BMI)

Produced by George AvakianRecorded by Ray Hall in New York City, July 6, 1961

Gary Burton (vibraphone), Gene Cherico (bass), Joe Morello (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton album New Vibe Man in Town (RCA Victor)

Courtesy of RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Under License from Sony Music Commercial Music Group.

2. CAREFUL (4:13) (Jim Hall) MJQ Music, Inc./Hal Leonard Corp. (BMI)

Produced by George AvakianRecorded by Bob Simpson at RCA Victor’s Studios, Studio B, New York City, August 15, 1963

Gary Burton (vibraphone), Jim Hall (guitar), Chuck Israels (bass), Larry Bunker (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton album Something’s Coming (RCA Victor)

Courtesy of RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Under License from Sony Music Commercial Music Group.

3. FADED LOVE (3:23) (Bob Wills-John Wills) WB Music Corp (ASCAP)

Produced by Chet Atkins and Brad McCuen Recorded by Jim Malloy at RCA Victor’s Nashville Sound Studio, Nashville, TN, September 20, 1966

Gary Burton (vibraphone), Buddy Spicher (fiddle), Ray Edenton (guitar), Henry Strzelecki (bass), Kenneth Buttrey (drums)

Originally released on the Gary Burton and Friends Near, Friends Far album Tennessee Firebird (RCA Victor)Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment. Under License from Sony Music Commercial Music Group.

4. SING ME SOFTLY OF THE BLUES (4:06)

(Carla Bley) Alrac Music (BMI)Produced by Brad McCuen

Recorded by Ray Hall at RCA Victor’s Studios, Studio B, New York City, April 20, 1967Gary Burton (vibraphone), Larry Coryell (guitar), Steve Swallow (bass), Roy Haynes (drums)

Originally released on the Gary Burton Quartet album Duster (RCA Victor)Courtesy of RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Under License from Sony Music Commercial Music Group.

5. GENERAL MOJO’S WELL LAID PLAN (5:01)

(Steve Swallow) Wonderbuns Inc./Mayflower Music Corp (BMI) Produced by Brad McCuen

Recorded by Ray Hall at RCA Victor’s Studios, Studio B, New York City, April 20, 1967Gary Burton (vibraphone), Larry Coryell (guitar), Steve Swallow (bass), Roy Haynes (drums)

Originally released on the Gary Burton Quartet album Duster (RCA Victor) Courtesy of RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Under License from Sony Music Commercial Music Group.

SIDE B

1. FANFARE / MOTHER OF THE DEAD MAN (2:54)

(Carla Bley) Alrac Music (BMI) Produced by Brad McCuen

Recorded by Ray Hall at RCA Victor’s Studios, Studio B, New York City, November 20, 1967Gary Burton (vibraphone), Larry Coryell (guitar), Steve Swallow (bass),

Lonesome Dragon (drums), with Mike Mantler (trumpet), Jimmy Knepper (trombone, bass trombone), Howard Johnson (tuba, baritone saxophone), Steve Lacy (soprano saxophone),

Leandro “Gato” Barbieri (tenor saxophone), Carla Bley (piano, organ, conductor)Originally released on the Gary Burton album A Genuine Tong Funeral (RCA Victor)

Courtesy of RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Under License from Sony Music Commercial Music Group.

2. COUNTRY ROADS (5:07)(Gary Burton-Steve Swallow) Grayfriar Music (BMI)

Produced by Brad McCuenRecorded by Mike Moran at RCA Victor’s Studios, Studio B, New York City, September 24, 1968

Gary Burton (vibraphone), Jerry Hahn (guitar), Steve Swallow (bass), Roy Haynes (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton Quartet album Country Roads & Other Places (RCA Victor)

Courtesy of RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Under License from Sony Music Commercial Music Group.

3. ONE, TWO, 1-2-3-4 (LIVE) (9:54)(Gary Burton-Larry Coryell) Grayfriar Music (BMI); Blue Parasol/El Cee Music (BMI)

Produced by Brad McCuenRecorded by Paul Goodman live at Carnegie Hall, New York City, February 23, 1968

Gary Burton (vibraphone), Larry Coryell (guitar), Steve Swallow (bass), Bob Moses (drums)Originally released on the album Gary Burton Quartet

In Concert: Recorded Live at Carnegie Recital Hall (RCA Victor)Courtesy of RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Under License from Sony Music Commercial Music Group.

Boston, MA (1967) (Photo © Lee Tanner)

DISC ONE: RCA VICTOR RECORDINGS

Thanks to country guitar legend Chet Atkins, who was also head of RCA Victor’s Nashville division, the corporate giant sort of adopted me when I was 17, just out of high school. They even paid my living expenses while I spent the next two years in college. I came of age as a musician during my eight years with the company, and halfway along I moved away from sideman gigs to start my own band, announcing “I’m here” to the jazz world. All this was made possible by unswerving encouragement from the folks at RCA. For most of my time at the label, I shared the jazz portion of the artist roster with Duke Ellington. It doesn’t get any classier than that, and I will always be grateful for the great start to my career that the company made possible. – GB

It’s true. Burton’s association with his first label did result from his association with Chet Atkins and country music in general – a relationship that would influence his forays into the first examples of the rock-jazz “fusion” six years later. During the summer between high school and his enrolment at Berklee, Burton occasionally played jam sessions in his hometown Evansville, Indiana, at a club frequented by novelty saxophonist Boots Randolph; it was Randolph who recommended Burton to his friend Hank Garland, a Nashville guitar legend seeking a vibist for his debut jazz recording. Burton moved to Nashville for the summer to rehearse, and a month later, the group got the call to play the Newport Jazz Festival. This led to his first appearance on disc: After The Riot At Newport (as part of the “Nashville All-Stars”), a flawed attempt at the sort of jazz-country hybrid that Burton would master on his own within a few years.

(It’s also true that Burton received, in essence, a small “scholarship” from a major record label, with two conditions: that he remain in college, and that the 17-year-old “had to” record one album each year for RCA. Even at the time, this was virtually unheard of – although Burton would himself pay it forward in his years at Berklee, when he would regularly and without fanfare help support the education of promising students who lacked the funds to stay in school.) Burton’s debut under his own name came in 1961, on an album with the period-piece title New Vibe Man In Town – a trio date, featuring well-known New York sidemen Gene Cherico and Joe Morello, represented here by a brisk take on the jazz classic “Joy Spring.” At the time, jazz trios almost always comprised piano, bass, and drums. Replacing the piano with vibes broke that mold. Then again, no previous vibraphonists had approached the instrument with as pianistic a concept as Burton’s, the evolution of which you can hear in his accompaniment to guitar great Jim Hall on “Careful.” The next three tracks announce and crystallize the direction Burton would take after leaving Stan Getz’s employ at the end of 1966. Tennessee Firebird, recorded earlier that summer, makes good on the in vitro formulation of Riot At Newport and stands as the first example of the countrified jazz exemplified two decades later by such artists as John Scofield and Bill Frisell. But Burton – who like so many teens of the ’50s had grown up with rock-and-roll, then Bob Dylan and The Beatles – was also poised to absorb this genre as well. He did so with the first Gary Burton Quartet, starring his comrade-in-arms Larry Coryell, his friend and mentor Steve Swallow, and the legendary drummer Roy Haynes. The tracks from Duster (1967) and then Country Roads & Other Places (with new personnel) indicate the genesis of this new fusion; the long jam from In Concert shows the band flying its rock flag, with outré solos from Coryell on guitar and Bob Moses on drums. Performances of this type, along with stylishly mod clothes more commonly seen on Carnaby Street and at “Summer of Love” concerts, gained the band instant and international notice. But in the midst of these came the utterly unexpected A Genuine Tong Funeral, composer Carla Bley’s “Dark Opera Without Words.” Bley conceived it as a theater piece – with costumes, lighting, and scenery – “based on emotions toward death.” It had a paradoxical structure, with the first movement titled “The End” and an epilogue titled “The Beginning”; Burton saw it as “an allegorical tale of the death and rebirth of jazz, told in the context of an Oriental funeral.” The short excerpt included here only hints at the scope of this bold and ambitious work, which featured two burgeoning avant-gardists in saxophonists Steve Lacy and Gato Barbieri, and also concretized the importance of Bley’s compositions, which would grace Burton’s repertoire for years to come.

With Larry Coryell, Bob Moses, Steve Swallow (1968) (Photo © Lee Tanner) With Chris Swansen, Dan Martin, Don Jones. Student band at Berklee

School of Music, Boston, MA (1961) (Photo courtesy of Gary Burton)

With Steve Marcus, Steve Swallow, Helen Swallow, Hannah Swallow.

Outside Nashville, TN (1966) (Photo: Tom Zimmerman, courtesy of Gary Burton)

Nashville, TN (1960) (Photo courtesy of Gary Burton) Home in Indiana (1969) (Photo courtesy of Gary Burton)

DISC TWO: ATLANTIC RECORDINGS SIDE C 1. CHEGA DE SAUDADE (NO MORE BLUES) (4:43)(Antônio Carlos Jobim-Vinícius de Moraes) Corcovado Music Corporation (BMI); VM Enterprises Inc. (BMI)Produced by Joel DornRecorded by Lewis Hahn at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York City, September 7, 1971 Gary Burton (vibraphone)Originally released on the Gary Burton album Alone At Last (Atlantic)GRAMMY Winner: Best Jazz Solo PerformanceProduced Under License From Atlantic Recording Corp. 2. LAS VEGAS TANGO (6:32)(Gil Evans) Bopper Spock Suns Music (BMI)Produced by Joel Dorn and Arif MardinRecorded by Lewis Hahn and William Arlt in New York City, March 11, 1970Gary Burton (electric vibraphone), Sam Brown (guitar), Jerry Hahn (guitar), Steve Swallow (bass), Bill LaVorgna (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton album Good Vibes (Atlantic) Produced Under License From Atlantic Recording Corp. 3. BOSTON MARATHON (7:21)(Gary Burton) Grayfriar Music (BMI)Produced by Joel DornRecorded by Lewis Hahn and William Arlt in New York City, September 4, 1969 Gary Burton (vibraphone), Richard Tee (organ), Eric Gale (guitar), Jerry Hahn (guitar), Chuck Rainey (bass), Bernard Purdie (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton album Good Vibes (Atlantic)Produced Under License From Atlantic Recording Corp. 4. GROW YOUR OWN (4:55) (Keith Jarrett) Kundalini Music (BMI)Produced by Joel DornRecorded by Dave Sanders at A&R Recording Studios, New York City, July 23, 1970Gary Burton (vibraphone), Keith Jarrett (piano), Sam Brown (guitar), Steve Swallow (bass), Bill Goodwin (drums)Originally released on the album Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett (Atlantic)Produced Under License From Atlantic Recording Corp. SIDE D 1. COMO EN VIETNAM (7:04) (Steve Swallow) Wonderbuns Inc./Mayflower Music Corp (BMI)Produced by Joel DornRecorded by Dave Sanders at A&R Recording Studios, New York City, July 23, 1970; Mixed by Lewis HahnGary Burton (vibraphone), Keith Jarrett (piano, soprano saxophone), Sam Brown (guitar), Steve Swallow (bass), Bill Goodwin (drums)Originally released on the album Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett (Atlantic)Produced Under License From Atlantic Recording Corp. 2. DAPHNE (4:09) (Django Reinhardt) Jewel Music Publishing Co. Inc. (ASCAP)Produced by Jean-Louis GinibreRecorded by Charles Raucher at Studio Europa Sonor, Paris, France, November 4, 1969Gary Burton (vibraphone), Stéphane Grappelli (violin), Steve Swallow (bass), Bill Goodwin (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton & Stéphane Grappelli album Paris Encounter (Atlantic)Produced Under License From Atlantic Recording Corp.

3. SWEET RAIN (3:41) (Mike Gibbs) On Stage Music/Stan Getz Associates LLC (BMI)Produced by Jean-Louis GinibreRecorded by Charles Raucher at Studio Europa Sonor, Paris, France, November 4, 1969Gary Burton (vibraphone), Stéphane Grappelli (violin), Steve Swallow (bass), Bill Goodwin (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton & Stéphane Grappelli album Paris Encounter (Atlantic) Produced Under License From Atlantic Recording Corp.

4. NUEVO TANGO (LIVE) (5:39) (Astor Piazzolla) Astor Place Music/SDRM/Pamsco Publishing Inc. (BMI)Produced by Nesuhi ErtegunRecorded by Dave Richards live at the Montreux Festival, Montreux, Switzerland, July, 1986; Mixed by Don PuluseGary Burton (vibraphone), Astor Piazzolla (bandoneon), Fernando Suárez Paz (violin), Horacio Malvicino (guitar), Pablo Ziegler (piano), Hector Console (bass)Originally released on the Astor Piazzolla & Gary Burton album The New Tango (Atlantic)Produced Under License From Atlantic Recording Corp.

Eau Clair, Wisconsin (1973) (Photo courtesy of Gary Burton)

DISC TWO: ATLANTIC RECORDINGS

That GRAMMY award, for the album Alone At Last (1971), was not just the first for Burton; it was also the firstGRAMMY ever awarded in the new category of “Best Jazz Performance By A Soloist.” You could also call it the Most Startling Album By A Vibraphonist in jazz history: an unprecedented recording of an audacious and sui generis concert. The vibraphone had barely moved beyond the “miscellaneous instruments” category for many jazz listeners; who was this kid, not yet 30, to play an entire performance without accompaniment for the very first time? Alone At Last showcased Burton’s extraordinary command of four-mallet technique, which allowed him to provide chordal accompaniment for his own solos, in much the manner of a pianist. He had learned to play with two mallets in each hand in his earliest music lessons, and perfected the technique with a unique way of grasping the mallets that would become known as the “Burton Grip.” His gigs with Stan Getz almost always included one or two unaccompanied performances. Now audiences got the chance to hear this at length, in a recording initially opposed by Nesuhi Ertegun but wholeheartedly supported by the Montreux Jazz Festival’s founder Claude Nobs. Burton’s time with Atlantic brimmed with eclectic projects. After the solo disc came Good Vibes, which opened up Burton’s quartet to a number of guest artists. Most of them – especially drummer Bernard “Pretty” Purdie – brought a degree of urban funk to a band not known for that quality: check “Boston Marathon,” driven by Chuck Rainey’s motile bass line and capped by guitar solos from Eric Gale and Sam Brown. On the other hand, the moody Gil Evans composition “Las Vegas Tango” epitomizes Burton’s hybridization of jazz improvisation and contemporaneous rock. The same could be said about the next two tracks, where the quartet (now starring Sam Brown in the guitar chair) expanded to include Keith Jarrett, the wunderkind pianist whose youthful ascension mirrored Burton’s own. The two had crossed paths while touring in Europe, and the fact that they both recorded for Atlantic removed any contractual issues about shared billing on the album. In Jarrett, Burton found another composer whose songs – like those of Carla Bley and of band member Steve Swallow, composer of “Como En Vietnam” – seemed tailor-made for the Burton Quartet’s aesthetic. The remaining tracks represent two of the most unusual projects in Burton’s recorded history. The idea behind the album Paris Encounter struck contemporaneous listeners as simply bizarre: the emblematic jazz-rock band (and a target of jazz purists) matched up with Stéphane Grappelli, the Swing-Era violinist whose collaboration with Django Reinhardt made his name synonymous with “gypsy jazz” (and European jazz in general) in the 1930s. But Burton and Grappelli shared a sophisticated elegance in their approaches to improvisation, even if their styles were separated by decades, and the project – instigated by Grappelli after hearing Burton’s band at the 1969 Newport Jazz Festival – still shines. Atlantic Records thought the album lacked commercial appeal and procrastinated releasing it for several years, by which time Burton had left the company. But he did appear once more on the label. In 1986, Burton was approached by the Argentine bandoneon player and tango composer Astor Piazzolla – whose music he had admired for 20 years – who asked the vibist to join his New Tango Quintet for a tour of Europe and Japan. Despite spotty rehearsals, they kept to their plan of recording one of the tour’s earliest concerts, which took place at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the majestic results inspired Burton to record two more tango albums in the years that followed. (A side note: right after the Montreux concert, the results didn’t seem all that “majestic” to Burton – or to me. I happened to attend that year’s festival, and immediately after the gig, Burton and I agreed that the set hadn’t really gelled. But when the album arrived several months later, we each listened and independently agreed that our initial reactions had been off by miles; in fact, it remains one of the highlights in Burton’s wide-ranging discography.)

Going from the corporate giant RCA to the small, personal Atlantic Records offered a very different experience for me. It was run by the iconic Ertegun brothers, Ahmet and Nesuhi, who founded the company to concentrate on jazz and R&B, and I had the pleasure of being looked after by Nesuhi, a true jazz lover. Two of my favorite projects during the Atlantic years were the recordings with Stéphane Grappelli and Astor Piazzolla. Both of them lived in Paris; Nesuhi, who had grown up in Paris, counted them among his heroes, and he personally shepherded those projects along. Nesuhi was also on hand when I recorded a solo vibraphone performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival for the album that got me my first GRAMMY win. – GB

Transcription of the opening portion of Burton’s legendary solo vibraphone recording of “Chega de Saudade”

(Transcribed by Errol Rackipov) (Photo courtesy of Corcovado Music and VM Enterprises Inc.)

Newport Jazz Festival (1970) (Photo: Tom Copi)

(Antônio Carlos Jobim-Vinícius de Moraes)

DISC THREE: ECM RECORDINGS SIDE E 1. CRYSTAL SILENCE (9:05)(Chick Corea-Neville Porter) Universal Music Corp. (BMI)Produced by Manfred EicherRecorded by Jan Erik Kongshaug at Arne Bendiksen Studio, Oslo, Norway, November 6, 1972Gary Burton (vibraphone), Chick Corea (piano)Originally released on the Gary Burton & Chick Corea album Crystal Silence (ECM)P 1973 ECM Records GmbH, Munich 2. MEVLEVIA (6:03)(Mick Goodrick) Grayfriar Music (BMI)Produced by Manfred EicherRecorded by Martin Wieland at Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg, West Germany, between July 23 and 24, 1974Gary Burton (vibraphone), Eberhard Weber (bass), Mick Goodrick (guitar), Pat Metheny (guitar), Steve Swallow (bass), Bob Moses (percussion)Originally released on the Gary Burton Quintet with Eberhard Weber album Ring (ECM) P 1974 ECM Records GmbH, Munich 3. GOODBYE PORK PIE HAT (4:24)(Charles Mingus) Jazz Workshop Inc./Spirit One Music (BMI)Produced by Manfred EicherRecorded by Martin Wieland at Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg, West Germany, between July 26 and 27, 1974Gary Burton (vibraphone), Ralph Towner (12-string guitar)Originally released on the Ralph Towner & Gary Burton album Matchbook (ECM)P 1974 ECM Records GmbH, Munich SIDE F 1. ICTUS / SYNDROME / WRONG KEY DONKEY (10:25) (Carla Bley) Alrac Music (BMI)Produced by Manfred EicherRecorded by Martin Wieland at Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg, West Germany, December, 1975Gary Burton (vibraphone), Mick Goodrick (guitar), Pat Metheny (electric 12-string guitar), Steve Swallow (bass), Bob Moses (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton Quintet album Dreams So Real: Music of Carla Bley (ECM) P 1976 ECM Records GmbH, Munich 2. B & G (MIDWESTERN NIGHTS DREAM) (8:22)(Pat Metheny) Pat Meth Music Corp/Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing (BMI)Produced by Manfred EicherRecorded by Jan Erik Kongshaug at Talent Studio, Oslo, Norway, November, 1976Gary Burton (vibraphone), Eberhard Weber (bass), Pat Metheny (electric guitar), Steve Swallow (bass guitar), Dan Gottlieb (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton Quintet with Eberhard Weber album Passengers (ECM)P 1977 ECM Records GmbH, Munich

With Mick Goodrick, Steve Swallow, Bob Moses, Pat Metheny (1975) (Photo courtesy of ECM)

DISC THREE: ECM RECORDINGS

I truly came of age as an artist during my sixteen years at ECM. Working with founder and producer Manfred Eicher was an education in itself. Though I had been recording for over a dozen years by then, I think I finally learned how to make a record from working with him. Chick Corea once said, “Manfred falls in love with every record he makes.” I’d never had someone from a label care as much about the musical details as he did. Most of the time, we saw eye to eye on artistic decisions, but on occasion we passionately argued opposing viewpoints. Sometimes I bowed to his judgement and the results were always spot on: he could see things from a broader perspective sitting in the sound booth. But I always knew I could have my way if it was important enough to me. And it was Manfred who practically bullied Chick and me to make a duet record after he heard us jam a tune together. You know how that turned out! – GB

For those who don’t know how that turned out: Burton’s partnership with Chick Corea spanned the next 45 years. During that time their duo albums garnered five GRAMMY Awards, and their frequent tours (on a roughly biennial basis) played to sold-out houses, with performances both breathtaking and exhilarating. Along with the endless fountain of suitable compositions that Corea supplied – even on albums on which he did not play – these tours deepened a musical relationship that has remained the most significant of Burton’s career. And one other thing: their first venture, Crystal Silence – recorded in just one day, for a small German label few had heard of in 1972 – quickly came to symbolize an entirely new development in the fusion-era ’70s. This was a “New Cool,” which offered a response to the increasingly heated flamboyance of the jazz-rock that Burton himself had ignited in the mid-’60s. Contrasted with the electrified powerhouse bands that followed in the wake of Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew, Crystal Silence – like most of Burton’s successive work for ECM – offered a more measured but no less impassioned aesthetic, soon shared by most of the other artists on the label. In the early ’70s, Burton was by far the best-known of these, and both he and ECM benefited from their time together. Bolstered by the unexpected success of the duo format, Burton soon recorded two more such albums, featuring one old friend in bassist Swallow, and one new acquaintance in guitarist/pianist Ralph Towner (the driving force behind another “New Cool” exemplar, the all-acoustic quartet Oregon). Towner and Burton’s album Matchbook (1974) included this gorgeous rendition of “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” – Charles Mingus’s heartfelt threnody for the foundational saxophonist Lester Young. By then, Burton had unveiled his “New Quartet,” which on the album Ring (1975) starred fellow Berklee professor Mick Goodrick on guitar, interpreting the music of yet another simpatico composer: German bassist and fellow ECM artist Eberhard Weber, who played on the disc, and whose rapturous, arioso writing offered a platform for some of Burton’s most romantic improvising (as heard on “Mevlevia”). Ring also saw the return of drummer Bob Moses, an iconoclastic firebrand who had left Burton’s group in 1968. Moses stayed on for a couple years, during which the band underwent a seismic change, marked by the addition of Pat Metheny, arguably the most successful and lauded jazz artist of the last 40 years. At first, Burton expanded his group to a two-guitar quintet to accommodate Metheny’s burgeoning talent, as heard on “Ictus / Syndrome / Wrong Key Donkey,” a three-song medley from Dreams So Real (1976); this album revisited the compositions of Carla Bley. (Burton has called it one of his best works.) Within the year, Goodrick had returned to teaching, and the second great Gary Burton Quartet emerged, as heard on Metheny’s “B & G” from the album Passengers. All told, ECM issued 16 albums by Burton, which chronicled his molding of a new jazz aesthetic and his maturation into a consistently brilliant soloist. These records also traced his mentorship of artists who, like Metheny, would build upon their time with Burton to launch their own high-flown careers, including pianist Makoto Ozone, saxophonists Donny McCaslin and Tommy Smith, and trumpeter Tiger Okoshi. Burton’s time with the label stands as the signal chapter in his career.

With Mick Goodrick, Bob Moses, Steve Swallow, Pat Metheny at Onkel Pö.

Hamburg, Germany (1973) (Photo courtesy of Gary Burton)

Sailing with Steve Swallow. Boston, MA (1978) (Photo courtesy of Gary Burton)

Visiting the Musser plant (1970s) (Photos courtesy of Ludwig-Musser)

DISC FOUR: GRP RECORDINGS

In 1988, I followed Chick Corea to the new GRP label founded by two musician friends, Larry Rosen and Dave Grusin. Over eight years and eight records, I covered a lot of ground. It was especially comfortable working with Larry, a great mentor to all the musicians on the label. I’ve always been a musician who likes to explore possibilities, and I got to try many different genres, from smooth jazz to the music of Benny Goodman – a wider variety than was possible at ECM. And it was GRP that documented my 1988 reunion with Pat Metheny, as well as the early days of my 35-year association with Makoto Ozone. – GB

Explore he did. Burton’s GRP recordings also included his only album on which a vocalist shares co-billing (Rebecca Parris on It’s Another Day), as well as his only recordings with such fellow jazz giants as John Scofield and drummer Jack DeJohnette – and with blues legend B.B. King (!), on the 1992 album Six Pack, which starred a half-dozen guitarists taking turns with Burton and the rhythm section. But a “smooth jazz” album? Really? Well yes, he did that too, on the album Cool Nights (1991). It didn’t make any waves, but as you can hear from the two tracks included on this set, the music boasted an all-star lineup, as well as Burton’s customary precision and attention to detail. You’ll also hear that Burton’s idea of “smooth jazz” existed in a galaxy far, far away from other music bearing that description: while the tunes have a simplified structure and “pretty” melodies, the performances display the same musical intellect and command of improvisation that Burton had long made his trademark. Burton’s interest in finding a more contemporary setting for his music did not stem from any need for commercial success, but rather from a desire to communicate in lyrical terms to new audiences – audiences that he had once wowed with his original inclusion of rock into his music. At the time, he spoke of making music that would be “clearer, less cluttered, more persuasive,” and surprisingly cited two predecessors who combined entertainment with the highest level of jazz technique: Louis Armstrong and Nat “King” Cole. And while he did not pursue “smooth jazz” beyond this disc, his willingness to adopt and edify the idiom – widely disparaged by the actual jazz community – reflected the exploratory bent that had taken him to so many splendid destinations. Burton’s tenure with GRP also included two of the most noteworthy projects of his later years. On “Times Like These,” the title track from his first GRP date in 1988, he worked with Michael Brecker – arguably the most influential tenor saxophonist since John Coltrane – and Scofield, arguably the most influential guitarist since Metheny. It also featured bassist Marc Johnson, who had worked in the last trio led by pianist Bill Evans (himself a model for Burton’s improvising); and Peter Erskine, who after leaving the band Weather Report had established himself as a peerless drummer across the stylistic spectrum. He became Burton’s drummer of choice for most of his time at GRP. And this band turned out to be only the opening act. Next came Reunion, which brought Burton and Metheny into the same studio for the first time in more in 13 years. In fact, they had barely spoken during that time, which made the album a personal as well as musical triumph for both. In the original liner notes Burton admitted he was “stunned at what Pat had developed into” and declared himself “deeply impressed by the clarity of his improvising; it represents all the ideals that I have always preached to myself and to my students.” The two tracks included here recapture the synergy of their earlier encounters, laced with all they had accomplished since. Burton took the opportunity to delve even further into history on Benny Rides Again (a 1992 GRAMMY nominee), revisiting the repertoire that had first introduced the vibraphone to listeners in the 1930s – the music of Benny Goodman’s trio and quartet, in which Lionel Hampton played vibes. The music couldn’t have differed more from the rest of Burton’s discography. “Knockin’ On Wood” allowed him the chance to work with clarinet virtuoso Eddie Daniels (in the role of Goodman), as well as Mulgrew Miller, a leading pianist of the 1990s. The remaining track, “Opus Half,” comes from Face To Face, the first of two recordings documenting Burton’s duo with pianist Ozone, a former student, with whom he made his “farewell tour” of concerts in 2017.

Reprinted with the permission of DownBeat

DISC FOUR: GRP RECORDINGS SIDE G 1. TIMES LIKE THESE (6:34)(Makoto Ozone) Makoto Music (BMI)Produced by Gary BurtonRecorded by Don Puluse at Clinton Recording Studios, New York City, in the Spring of 1988Gary Burton (vibraphone), Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone), John Scofield (guitar), Marc Johnson (bass), Peter Erskine (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton album Times Like These (GRP)Courtesy of GRP (Verve Music Group). Under License From Universal Music Enterprises, A Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. 2. OTOÑO (AUTUMN) (4:26)(Polo Ortí) Burgado’s Music/Sociedad General De Sutores De Espana (SGAE)Produced by Gary BurtonRecorded by Bob Eaton at The Power Station, New York City, between May 6-10, 1989Gary Burton (vibraphone), Mitchel Forman (piano, keyboards), Pat Metheny (electric guitar), Will Lee (electric bass), Peter Erskine (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton album Reunion (GRP)Courtesy of GRP (Verve Music Group). Under License From Universal Music Enterprises, A Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. 3. QUICK AND RUNNING (6:43)(Polo Ortí) Burgado’s Music/Sociedad General De Sutores De Espana (SGAE)Produced by Gary BurtonRecorded by Bob Eaton at The Power Station, New York City, between May 6-10, 1989Gary Burton (vibraphone, marimba), Mitchel Forman (keyboards), Pat Metheny (electric guitar), Will Lee (electric bass), Peter Erskine (drums)Originally released on the compact disc edition of the Gary Burton album Reunion (GRP)Courtesy of GRP (Verve Music Group). Under License From Universal Music Enterprises, A Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. 4. KNOCKIN’ ON WOOD (3:40)(Red Norvo) EMI Robbins Catalog-Sony/ATV Music Publishing (ASCAP)Produced by Eddie Daniels and Gary BurtonRecorded by Bernie Kirsh at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, between January 14 and 15, 1992Gary Burton (xylophone), Eddie Daniels (clarinet), Mulgrew Miller (piano)Originally released on the Eddie Daniels & Gary Burton album Benny Rides Again (GRP)Courtesy of GRP (Verve Music Group). Under License From Universal Music Enterprises, A Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. SIDE H 1. OPUS HALF (5:24)(Benny Goodman-Lionel Hampton) Ragbag Music Publishing/Jewel Music Publishing (ASCAP);WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)Produced by Gary BurtonRecorded by Bernie Kirsh at Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles, CA, in the Spring of 1995Gary Burton (vibraphone), Makoto Ozone (piano)Originally released on the Gary Burton & Makoto Ozone album Face to Face (GRP)Courtesy of GRP (Verve Music Group). Under License From Universal Music Enterprises, A Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. 2. GORGEOUS (7:41)(Mitchel Forman) Formanfor Music (ASCAP)Produced by Gary BurtonRecorded by Roy Hendrickson at the Power Station, Studio A, New York City, in the Spring of 1991Gary Burton (vibraphone), Bob James (piano, keyboards), Will Lee (bass), Peter Erskine (drums)Originally released on the Gary Burton album Cool Nights (GRP)Courtesy of GRP (Verve Music Group). Under License From Universal Music Enterprises, A Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. 3. TAKE ANOTHER LOOK (6:39)(Pat Metheny) Pat Meth Music Corp/Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing (BMI)Produced by Gary BurtonRecorded by Roy Hendrickson at the Power Station, Studio A, New York City, in the Spring of 1991Gary Burton (vibraphone), Bob James (piano), Wolfgang Muthspiel (guitar), Will Lee (bass, percussion), Peter Erskine (drums, percussion)Originally released on the Gary Burton album Cool Nights (GRP) Courtesy of GRP (Verve Music Group). Under License From Universal Music Enterprises, A Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

With Eddie Daniels. Paulus Potter Zaal, Northsea Jazz Festival, Den Haag, The Netherlands (1992)

(Photo: Stuart Nicholson)

Receiving an Honorary Doctorate degree from Berklee College of Music. Boston, MA (1985)

(Photo: Bill Wasserman, courtesy of Berklee College of Music)

DISC FIVE: CONCORD AND MACK AVENUE RECORDINGS Side I 1. NATIVE SENSE (6:32)(Chick Corea) Chick Corea Music/Hendon Music/Songs of Universal (BMI)Produced by Chick CoreaRecorded by Bernie Kirsh at Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles, CA, in the Spring of 1997Gary Burton (vibraphone), Chick Corea (piano)Originally released on the Chick Corea & Gary Burton album Native Sense: The New Duets (Stretch Records)Courtesy of Stretch Records, a division of Concord Music 2. HOT HOUSE (3:53)(Tadd Dameron) WB Music Corp (ASCAP)Produced by Chick Corea and Gary BurtonRecorded by Bernie Kirsh at Mad Hatter Studio East, Clearwater, FL, in April 2012Gary Burton (vibraphone), Chick Corea (piano)Originally released on the Chick Corea & Gary Burton album Hot House (Concord Jazz) GRAMMY Winner: Best Improvised Jazz SoloCourtesy of Concord Jazz, a division of Concord Music 3. QUESTION AND ANSWER (6:26)(Pat Metheny) Pat Meth Music Corporation (BMI)Produced by Gary BurtonRecorded by James Farber at Avatar Studios, Studio A, New York City, between December 15-17, 1997Gary Burton (vibraphone), Chick Corea (piano), Pat Metheny (guitar), Roy Haynes (drums), David Holland (bass)Originally released on the Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, David Holland album Like Minds (Concord Jazz) GRAMMY WINNER: Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Individual or GroupCourtesy of Concord Jazz, a division of Concord Music 4. LE TOMBEAU DE COUPERIN I - PRELUDE (5:20)(Maurice Ravel) 1914-1917 Traditional, In Public DomainProduced by Gary BurtonRecorded by Bill Scheniman at Blue Jay Studio, Carlisle, MA, between August 14 and 15 & October 14 and 15, 2001Gary Burton (vibraphone), Makoto Ozone (piano)Originally released on the Gary Burton & Makoto Ozone album Virtuosi (Concord Jazz)Courtesy of Concord Jazz, a division of Concord Music Side J 1. ELUCIDATION (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED) (7:27)(Pat Metheny) Pat Meth Music Corp/Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing (BMI)Produced by Gary BurtonRecorded by Phil Edwards at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA, November 9, 2004; Mixed by Todd WhitelockGary Burton (vibraphone), Vadim Neselovskyi (piano), Julian Lage (guitar), Luques Curtis (bass), James Williams (drums)Previously unreleased. From the Gary Burton Next Generation album recording sessions (Concord Jazz)Courtesy of Concord Jazz, a division of Concord Music 2. LATE NIGHT SUNRISE (6:36)(Vadim Neselovskyi) Vadim Neselovskyi Music (ASCAP)Produced by Gary BurtonRecorded by Pete Karam at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education And Human Development, New York City, between December 4-6, 2010Gary Burton (vibraphone), Julian Lage (guitar), Scott Colley (bass), Antonio Sanchez (drums)Originally released on the New Gary Burton Quartet album Common Ground (Mack Avenue Records) 3. CAMINOS (7:19) (Antonio Sanchez) Greedy Silence Music (BMI)Produced by Gary BurtonRecorded by Pete Karam at MSR Studios, New York City, between November 28-30, 2012Gary Burton (vibraphone), Julian Lage (guitar), Scott Colley (bass), Antonio Sanchez (drums)Originally released on the New Gary Burton Quartet album Guided Tour (Mack Avenue Records)

New York, NY (2013) (Photo: Jimmy Katz)

DISC FIVE: CONCORD AND MACK AVENUE RECORDINGS

By the time I met Glen Barros and John Burk at Concord Records, I think my artistic evolution had finally gotten to where I had always been heading. Some of my most creatively mature projects are on Concord, including albums with Chick Corea, side trips to the world of tango, a tribute album to the great vibists who preceded me – even the classical repertoire. I also got to put together my so-called “Dream Band” on the album Like Minds, with Chick, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, and Dave Holland. Then, for my final projects with Denny Stilwell at Mack Avenue, I returned to my roots by reviving the original quartet format I began with in 1967. I believe this quartet with guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Antonio Sanchez was the most artistically balanced and creative group of my entire career – exactly the kind of final effort I want to be remembered for. – GB

As Burton suggests, his twelve albums for Concord (including Stretch Records, the subsidiary label founded by Corea), plus the final two for Mack Avenue, can be viewed as a sort of valedictory for his whole career. These include two more duo recordings with Corea, which recalled his great breakthrough on ECM as well as their body of work since then. Native Sense (1997) and Hot House (2012) both received GRAMMYs for “Best Improvised Jazz Solo”; in each case, the award was shared by the two artists, since their interwoven creations made it impossible to tell where one stopped and the other began. A third duo disc, with Makoto Ozone, offered intricate arrangements of classical works, with full-throated solos that nonetheless remain true to the original works by Scarlatti, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, Samuel Barber, and others. Ravel’s spinning-wheel of a piece, “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” is taken from that 2002 album (and GRAMMY nominee), Virtuosi. The hard-swinging Metheny composition “Question and Answer” comes from Like Minds, the “dream band” album Burton mentions above – another trip down memory lane, minus the nostalgia, and another GRAMMY winner. Not only did it highlight Burton’s two longest-lived musical friendships by bringing together Corea and Metheny (for the first time on disc), the album also reminded listeners that Roy Haynes – the ageless drummer who had played with Lester Young, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane – had handled that role on the very first album by the Gary Burton Quartet (Duster) in 1967. The remaining three tracks in this set document Burton’s endgame, built around the guitar prodigy Julian Lage – the last, not yet completed portrait in Burton’s impressive Hall of Guitarists. Lage made his debut on Burton’s Generations (2003), recorded when he was just 15 years old. He then joined several other young musicians under the vibist’s leadership for the aptly named Next Generation in 2005. As you can hear from the rapid-fire “Elucidation” – a previously unreleased track from that session – Lage already radiated a preternatural command of his technique and his material. Five years later, Burton assembled his final quartet for the album Common Ground; on the opening track “Late Night Sunrise” Lage plays with a combination of self-control and unbridled imagination that distinguishes improvisers three times his age. The quartet completed its run – and Burton’s recording career – with Guided Tour (2013). From that date comes “Caminos,” a splendidly catchy tune by award-winning drummer Antonio Sanchez, who has powered Metheny’s bands since 2002, a period during which he also became Burton’s favored percussion partner. In the unerring unison lines linking vibes and guitar, and the unfettered energy coursing through the solos, these tracks echo that earliest band with Larry Coryell, and the recordings that stormed the barricades separating jazz and rock in the ’60s – recordings that heralded something fresh and bright and yet firmly connected to the jazz that predated it. In the more than six decades between his first professional performances and his last, Burton’s music had come full circle – something to be remembered for, indeed.

Umbria, Italy (2010) (Photo: Giancarlo Belfiore/Umbria Jazz) With Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Roy Haynes

at the Like Minds recording session. New York, NY (1997)

(Photo: Gildas Bocle)

With Chick Corea, accepting the GRAMMY Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo Performance. Los Angeles, CA (2013)

(Photo: ©2013 The Recording Academy)

With Julian Lage, Scott Colley, Antonio Sanchez.

New York, NY (2011) (Photo: Anna Webber)