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LATEST NEWS:  We're now half way through 2010, and the requirements of taking on a wide variety of projects are beginning to look bigger than expected.  There is a lot of new music to absorb, a lot of long distance travel to endure, and new faces to get acquainted with or old friends to get re-acquainted with. So far this year, I have toured with Chick Corea and we have begun preparing new material for our next record. I've also traveled to Japan to tour with Makoto Ozone. As I write this, I am just back from a long trek to the top of Norway for the Molde Festival to play with my old friend and former sideman, Tommy Smith. Next on the agenda is the launch of my new all-star band, the NEW GARY BURTON QUARTET.  We start at the Red Sea Festival in Eilat, Israel in late August. Immediately following that, I will be joining the WDR big band in Cologne, Germany for a radio project featuring the tango music of Astor Piazzolla.  

Before I go into more detail about the new group, I must reflect on the events of April 8, in Boston.  Berklee College of Music, my Alma Mater, decided to recognize this year as my 50th anniversary of coming to Berklee (it was called Berklee School of Music in 1960), an experience that launched my life-long career in music, both playing and teaching. The idea was to bring back many Berklee graduates who were in my band over the years and now are established players in the jazz world.  It was a real treat to have a reunion with so many of my favorite musicians.  We had a ball rehearsing and hanging out for a couple of days, and then put on one of the most enjoyable concerts I have been involved in for a long time.  Of course, it was a sell-out event. Here is the list of guest musicians who came to Boston for the event:  Abe LaBoriel, Mick Goodrick, Harry Blazer, Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Antonio Sanchez, Steve Swallow, Donny McCaslin, Tiger Okoshi, Jim Odgren, Makoto Ozone, Julian Lage, Vadim Neselovskyi, James Williams, Luques Curtis, and Chick Corea.  It was a night never to be forgotten, and I'm grateful to everyone who made it happen. 

Now I'd like to tell you more about my new band, which kicks off later this summer. These are all musicians I have played with in the past, though never in this combination.  Bassist SCOTT COLLEY is one of the top New York-based musicians, and I had the opportunity to play an orchestra concert with Scott at Lincoln Center, the premiere of a concerto for vibraphone, written for me as featured soloist. Those of you who have followed my activities over the last decade know that I have been playing and recording from time to time with drummer extraordinaire, ANTONIO SANCHEZ,  as part of GARY BURTON QUARTET REVISITED group with Pat Metheny and Steve Swallow.  Antonio and Scott work frequently as a rhythm team, and it is both inspiring and very easy to play with these guys.

The fourth member of the new quartet is guitarist JULIAN LAGE.  Though Julian is just in his early twenties, we have known each other for about ten years now, and from 2004-2007 we played together in my group called the GENERATIONS band. Since then, Julian has not only completed his studies at Berklee, but he also formed his own very interesting band and released his first CD on the Emarcy label. What's more, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for his first recorded effort. Not bad ---  he's definitely been having a great couple of years. 

In spite of everyone's busy schedules, we all have carved out some time to put this new group together, and I am very much looking forward to playing with everyone. Julian is a constant inspiration and we have played enough now to have a very deep rapport once we are on stage and we get into the songs. And, it just doesn't get any better than having Scott and Antonio for your rhythm section.

The NGBQ will be performing at the Blue Note Club in New York in October, followed by a European tour in November. And we are looking at more touring possibilities in 2011.

Meanwhile in the spring of next year, I will resume touring with Chick Corea as we continue preparing new repertoire for our next recording.  There will be a West Coast tour, and a return trip to Europe will follow.  As soon as the details are finalized, we will post them here on the site.

On a personal note, I took a week off in early July to travel to Los Angeles and celebrate the wedding of my daughter, Stephanie.  It was a beautiful event and an ideal occasion for my somewhat extensive clan to have another big family reunion (we try to do this each year).  My family has always been pretty close and supportive, beginning with our experiences as a family band back in the 1950's in the rural Midwest.

On another front, I am putting the finishing touches on my autobiography, something I have been working on little by little for a number of years. I've completed the manuscript now and am turning it over to my editor for the next phase of the publication process. This being my first effort in the literary field, I don't know exactly how long it takes to get a book from word processor to book store. I am familiar with that comparable timeline when it comes to records -- usually anywhere from six months to a year from the time you actually record the tracks. Of course you often spend six months or more working on the project before you even get to the studio, so the whole thing can be as much as two years from start to finish.  Of course, once the book is on its way to the marketplace, I will be announcing it here, as well.  

As always, I appreciate your interest in my music and the support from audiences wherever I go.

Gary Burton
Ft Lauderdale, FL

FYI: Due to being unable to control the overwhelming spam that kept invading the old Guestbook portion of my website, I have decided to discontinue it. I regret not being able to hear directly from people, but I finally had to give up the technical battle with the spammers.