Hot on the heels of Richard Galliano’s Live in Marciac CD (which I reviewed here a few weeks ago) comes another Galliano album, this time with a quartet featuring vibist Gary Burton. The interplay between the two leaders is reminiscent of the duets which Gary Burton recorded with Chick Corea. Here Burton’s vibes are paired with a different keyboard instrument, but the result is a similar meeting of two brilliant musical minds…
For his GRP debut, vibraphonist Gary Burton reunited with his alumnus, guitarist John Scofield, interacted with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Peter Erskine, and welcomed guest tenor Michael Brecker to two of the eight selections. Performing originals by Makoto Ozone, Vince Mendoza, Jay Leonhart ("Robert Frost"), Chick Corea and Scofield, plus his own "Was It So Long Ago," Burton sounds fine on the diverse material. Since John Scofield had not had an opportunity to record with the vibraphonist during his year with Burton's Quartet more than a decade earlier, this fine set made up for lost time.- by Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
The Concert was recorded in Tokyo, Japan 1981.I have only attended one Chick Corea Concert some 20 or more years ago, the Electric Band, which he played with at the time, was so loud that it was painful to listen to and I left after the first half. It has taken me till now to listen again to his work! On the basis of this DVD I have missed out on a lot, Garry Burton and Chick Corea are master musicians and their work together is really exhilarating. All the compositions are written by Corea, but both musicians contribute to the musical entertainment in equal amounts. I have enjoyed Gary Burton' playing with Stan Getz and the GRP Big Band and know him to be the leading light of the contemporary vibes field. Both musicians' posses a phenomenal technique and the interplay between the two of them have to be seen and heard to be believed.
For his GRP debut, vibraphonist Gary Burton reunited with his alumnus, guitarist John Scofield, interacted with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Peter Erskine, and welcomed guest tenor Michael Brecker to two of the eight selections. Performing originals by Makoto Ozone, Vince Mendoza, Jay Leonhart ("Robert Frost"), Chick Corea and Scofield, plus his own "Was It So Long Ago," Burton sounds fine on the diverse material. Since John Scofield had not had an opportunity to record with the vibraphonist during his year with Burton's Quartet more than a decade earlier, this fine set made up for lost time.
Vibraphonist Gary Burton, one of the defining voices of ECM’s formative years, is worthily honored in this second “Works” series installment. His contributions as virtuoso and interpreter of the instrument are unparalleled, and on ECM both aspects of his career found ample space in which to flourish. This particular era of the 1970s, which followed his RCA blitz, showed him also to be a musician of great patience, as on The New Quartet. The 1973 classic dropped him into a studio with guitarist Mick Goodrick, bassist Abraham Laboriel, and drummer Harry Blazer for a set as gorgeously played as it was conceived. From it we are treated to Keith Jarrett’s “Coral,” of which every spindly leaf is accounted for, and Carla Bley’s “Olhos De Gato,” which waters a groove that is laid back but never subdued. Those chamber sensibilities give way to more luscious details in “Vox Humana,” another Bley tune that references 1976’s quintet outing, Dreams So Real.
In January 2015 musicians and listeners converged upon Stuttgart’s Theaterhaus for two consecutive nights to celebrate the 75th birthday of Eberhard Weber. The concerts centered around a specially commissioned 35-minute suite by Pat Metheny, with whom Weber had played and recorded back in the 1970s. Featuring Metheny, the SWR Big Band conducted by Helge Sunde, Gary Burton, bassist Scott Colley and Danny Gottlieb on drums, the composition was arranged around recordings of solos by Weber. Other performers during the two nights playing selections from Weber’s vast body of work were Weber’s longtime companions Jan Garbarek, Paul McCandless and arranger Michael Gibbs, all drawing ovations from the packed house.
Vibraphone innovator Gary Burton recorded a wealth of material for ECM during his 15 year tenure with the label. His anthology highlights the exceptional groups he led in the 1970s and 1980s. Burton’s quartets, quintets, and sextets introduced many remarkable players to a wider public, and these selections feature inspired performances by Pat Metheny, Mick Goodrick, Steve Swallow, Eberhard Weber, Bob Moses, Makoto Ozone and more. “We toured up to two hundred days a year,” Burton recalls. “The recordings we made were snapshots of the evolution of my working bands during this highly productive period.”
This edition pesents the complete Gary Burton LP Who Is Gary Burton? (RCA Victor LSP-2665), appearing here for the first time ever on CD. It showcases Burton in a septet format accompanied by such stars as Clark Terry, Phil Woods, Tommy Flanagan, and the Dave Brubeck Quartet's drummer, Joe Morello. The only five quintet tracks from Joe Morello's LP It's About Time, recorded the previous year and also featuring Burton and Woods, have been added here as a bonus. Also are include the complete original LP Subtle Swing (Sesac PM3901/3902), featuring Burton in a quintet format with the leader of the album, guitarist Hank Garland.