Gary Burton

Gary Burton (b. Anderson, January 23, 1943 - ) – Vibraphonist and composer. A self-taught vibraphonist, Burton studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston and dropped out to tour the United States and Japan with the George Shearing Quartet. (Later, he served as a faculty member at Berklee from 1971 to 2004.) After playing with Stan Getz from 1964 to 1966, Burton formed his own quartet in 1967 and incorporated elements of jazz/rock fusion, predating the landmark recordings of Miles Davis from a couple years later. In 1968, Burton was Downbeat’s Jazz Man of the Year, and he won his first Grammy in 1972. Among the numerous masters he has played with, pianist Chick Corea is perhaps his most important collaborator. Playing together off and on for over thirty-five years, Burton and Corea have earned five Grammy’s as a unit and have helped popularize jazz duet performance practice. One of the most widely-recorded vibraphonists in jazz, Burton also revolutionized four-mallet playing. As of 2017, he has been retired from performing.