Gary Burton
b. 23 January 1943, Anderson, Indiana, USA. After teaching himself to play piano Burton studied music formally before switching to vibraphone. In 1960 he recorded with Hank Garland, a country guitarist, but then moved solidly into jazz with a two-year stint at Berklee College Of Music where he began an important musical association with Mike Gibbs. In 1963 he became a member of George Shearing's group, following this with two years in company with Stan Getz. Later in the '60s, Burton formed his own small band, playing jazz-rock. Throughout the decade and on into the '70s, Burton led a succession of fine bands which included such musicians as Larry Coryell, Steve Swallow, Roy Haynes, Pat Metheny and Eberhard Weber. He was also teamed on record with Stéphane Grappelli, Carla Bley, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine and others. From 1971 Burton taught at Berklee, often finding empathetic musicians amongst his students. In the '80s his musical associates included Tommy Smith. Although he followed many more famous vibraphonists, not least Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson, Burton was the first player of this instrument to create a new and wholly original musical style. His extensive simultaneous use of four mallets gave him a less percussive sound, allowing him to develop more complex ideas in a manner usually available only to pianists and especially players of wind instruments. Burton's SIX PACK in 1993 was a refreshing excursion featuring six guitar players; B.B. King, John Scofield, Jim Hall, Kurt Rosenwinkel Kevin Eubanks and familiar partner Ralph Towner. His early musical experience of country and rock have all been thoroughly absorbed into a strongly jazz-orientated concept. Burton's interests and enthusiasms, allied as they are to a virtuoso technique, have made him a leading exemplar of contemporary music. However, although others have followed his example, he remains the only vibraphonist of his generation to be measured alongside major interpreters and innovators in jazz.