Burton

The Jackie McLean-influenced alto saxophonist Abraham Burton was a member of Art Taylor's Wailers until the drummer's death in 1995. This was Burton's second album as leader, recorded live at Visiones on March 17 & 18, 1995 with pianist Marc Cary, bassist Billy Johnson & drummer Eric McPherson. The band is well-integrated and highlights of the seven impressive tracks are Jackie McLean's 'Little Melonae', the standard 'I Can't Get Started' and a stunning, Coltrane-inspired version of Erik Satie's 'Gnossienne #1'. Burton plays superbly throughout and the 63 minutes of moving and passionate music on 'The Magician' deserves a place in any modern jazz collection.

Gary Burton hits a sweet electric funky sound here - a great groove that really makes the album stand out from most of his other work! The support Burton gets is a big reason for the greatness of the date - as he's working in a group that includes Eric Gale on guitar, Richard Tee on piano and organ, Chuck Rainey on bass, and Bernard Purdie on drums. The album's got a bit of trippiness to it - kind of in the style of some of Herbie Mann's funky production work for the Vortex label - and a few cuts have producer Joel Dorn working with Arif Mardin on the cuts, giving them a more expansive sound that pushes Burton's playing nicely. The vibes have a dark chromatic quality to them that sounds great next to the sweeter playing of the funky player - and the record's filled with nice numbers

Gary Burton hits a sweet electric funky sound here - a great groove that really makes the album stand out from most of his other work! The support Burton gets is a big reason for the greatness of the date - as he's working in a group that includes Eric Gale on guitar, Richard Tee on piano and organ, Chuck Rainey on bass, and Bernard Purdie on drums. The album's got a bit of trippiness to it - kind of in the style of some of Herbie Mann's funky production work for the Vortex label - and a few cuts have producer Joel Dorn working with Arif Mardin on the cuts, giving them a more expansive sound that pushes Burton's playing nicely. The vibes have a dark chromatic quality to them that sounds great next to the sweeter playing of the funky player - and the record's filled with nice numbers

Intensity, pride, and passion are the earmarks for the modern mainstream jazz quartet co-led by tenor saxophnist Burton and drummer McPherson. They display a fervor that is consistently buoyed by the insistent pianistics of James Hurt, while bassist Yosuke Inoue stokes the fire with bituminous strokes of swing and steadying brute force. Each of these six compositions allow each member to stretch out and dig in, and they have a definite center from which to draw upon. Many will be reminded of the classic John Coltrane quartet from their Impulse recordings: slightly on the edge, forever moving forward. "Nebulai" is set up by a probing ostinato bass sets, Hurt's roaring piano, and Burton's bridge workout, which reflects Coltrane's energy, but sports Burton's voice…

Gary Burton spent a great deal of his professional life juggling his duo careers as a bandleader and jazz educator. So it came as no surprise to see him form a brand new group of talented up and coming players in 2004, the eighth such new unit by his count. Burton's skill on vibes is a given, but his ability to find four impressive young men able to jump right in and perform at a high level also deserves kudos. The leader first heard guitarist Julian Lage on the 2000 Grammy Awards at the tender age of 12; he was just 16 at the time of these sessions and had already appeared with Burton on the earlier CD Generations. Lage, who shows incredible chops without overdoing it, also contributed the easygoing, infectious strut "Walkin' in Music" and "Clarity," a playful duet with Burton.

On its sophomore offering for Mack Avenue Records, the New Gary Burton Quartet reveals the musical maturity that naturally occurs when a disparate but extremely gifted group of players locks in as a band. Vibraphonist Burton, guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Antonio Sanchez made their debut with 2012's Common Ground, a date steeped in fine originals from all the players, as well as a few covers. That blend is no different here, though the emphasis changes a bit. For starters, Burton, who is notoriously reticent as a composer, actually contributes two pieces to this set. The first is a revisit of "Remembering Tano," a tango written for the late Astor Piazzolla (featuring gorgeous arco work from Colley), and the lithe swing that makes up the backbone of "Jane Fonda Called Again"…