Gary Burton Quartet Live On Stage And Recorded.
Burton Metheny Quartet Reunites Old Friends With A New Drummer.
Gary Burton first teamed up with Pat Metheny in 1974, joining bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bob Moses in the Gary Burton Quartet. For three years they recorded, toured, and left a legacy of great music for jazz lovers.
Pat Metheny went on to become one of the superstars of jazz filling arenas, filling streets and selling lots of records. His various quartets, quintets and trio, were filled with other up and coming giants of the jazz and his sound has become one of the most recognizable sounds in jazz today.
Gary Burton took time off his stints with pianist Chick Corea and began tenure at Boston’s renowned college of music Berklee College. In between his lecturing and administrative duties, he managed to record quite a few brilliant albums with some his present and former students.
The Quartet Revisited.
Three years ago in 2006 they decided to get together; Burton insists that it was “Pat’s idea.” It was supposed to be a one time event. They called up original bassist Steve Swallow and then asked Pat’s latest drummer the exciting Antonio Sanchez to sit in the drummers’ chair.
This one time event was followed by a four night stand at Oakland California’s famed
Yoshi’s. in June 2007. It was at Yoshi’s that they recorded the New Gary Burton Quartet for the first time.
Tickets were hard to get for that event and the response was encouraging. They performed compositions from the old days, borrowing songs from friends like Chick Corea, Carla Bley, Keith Jarrett and Duke Ellington. The three original members also contributed a few songs to the repertoire.
Touring Europe Japan And North America
After that weekend stint in California. The group took off for Europe and Japan and after those various touring spells which ended in 2008, they decided that they were still excited enough about the project to tour the US and Canada. They finally brought the curtain down on the project with the show at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre
Playing the Four Seasons Centre
The show at the Four Seasons Centre was played to a packed house. It was one of the hottest tickets at the Toronto Jazz Festival. Playing tunes from the recently released Live At Yoshi’s CD; the quarter mesmerized their audience with some brilliant well structured playing.
For many in the crowd seeing Gary Burton show off his four mallet mastery on the Vibes was a wonder to behold. His flawless solos and melodic runs on the instrument was the stuff music lover’s dreamt of seeing and hearing, after all Burton does not get up here too often. Pat Metheny on the other hand had already captured the minds and hearts of many of the guitarist and guitar students who packed the hall to see him, and he did not disappoint.
He went through a few guitar changes, getting new sounds from each of his custom made guitars his Canadian guitar maker Linda Manzer brought to him on stage. The forty- eight string Pikasso guitar was so fascinating many audience members were not sure what they were wowed by more, the guitar or how he played it.
Bassist Swallow was sure and steady on the bass, taking time out to break into a solo every now and then.
Antonio Sanchez, the youngest member of the group did not let his age define him, he was right there in the pocket with the veterans.
At the end of the concert the Quartet received a standing ovation and they were called back for two encores.
The Gary Burton Quartet Live On CD
For those folks who missed the concert. The CD is a great consolation prize.
From the opening notes of Sea Journey written by Chick Corea to the closing notes of Pat Metheny’s Question And Answer. The quartet takes you on a passionate smooth exhilarating musical journey.
Steve Swallow’s Falling Grace builds from a mid tempo boil with the bass mixing it up lead wise with the guitar and vibes, building slowly Gary takes over, then as if taking over the baton Pat takes it to an even higher place..
Coral is a beautiful sensitive ballad from piano master Keith Jarrett and they completely re-worked the great Duke Ellington’s Little African Flower, Making it fit right in with their style. Other highlights include Pat Metheny’s Missouri Uncompromised and Carla Bley’s Olhos de Gato
The CD is in store and worthy of being in any jazz collection.
Quartet Live
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The Quartet
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