Gary Burton has announced he is retiring and that this is his farewell
tour. Born in 1943, he’s been touring for nearly six decades and made his
recording debut in 1960 at the age of 17. Not that anyone would think that he’s
getting old hearing him play, seeing his tall frame bent over the vibraphone,
chuckling at his good natured commentary between the tunes. Burton has chosen
to carry out his retirement tour with his long-term musical partner MakotoOzone. They’ve known and played with each other for 34 years. The duo played in
front of a full house at the Blues Alley in Georgetown for two nights, with two
shows each night in the beginning of March.
Gary Burton is possibly the most accomplished vibes player in the
history of jazz (the only possible competition would come from his seniors,
Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson). He has recorded more than 60 albums as a
leader and received about half a dozen Grammies – a rare feat for a jazz artist.
He pioneered the four-mallet technique on the vibraphone, which has since then
been emulated by many musicians. One of the hallmarks of his career has been
collaboration with many leading innovators on the jazz scene, including ChickCorea. His collaboration with Makoto Ozone is a good example of this
collaboration.
The concert started with a Chick Corea composition honoring the
pioneering bebop pianist Bud Powell. This was an icebreaker that allowed the
audience to get into a full jazz swing, with Ozone providing a solid rhythm occasionally
breaking into stride piano. The early part of the concert was overall defined
by more straight jazz than one would often hear from Burton. The evening would
grow more varied as it progressed. The Burton-Ozone sound is quite different
from that of the more famous Burton-Corea duo.
Ozone uses his left hand to a rhythmic effect and plays often thick
chords on the right. He is a superb pianist, but his style is somewhat heavier
than that of Corea’s. In many ways, it fits well in this duo format where there
is no bass or drums to provide the base. Neither is needed or missed, although
one could imagine an innovative double bass player fitting into the format.
One of the highlights of the evening was ‘Remembering Tano’, a piece
composed by Burton for the legendary Argentinian composer, leader and
accordionist Astor Piazzolla, with whom Burton recorded. Naturally, the piece
is in a tango format, oozing with dark passion and tension amidst complex
rhythms, while the bridge seamlessly shifts into a brighter major key only to soon
return to the original melancholy mood. It provided an excellent opportunity
for Ozone to dwell in the drama, which seems to come naturally to him.
In 2002, the gentlemen recorded an album, ‘Virtuosi’, with arrangements
of classical pieces by Brahms, Gershwin, Ravel, Scarlatti and others. At the
concert, they explained how they had sat together in a café in Phoenix,
Arizona, coming up with the idea. Interestingly, the album would go on to
receive a Grammy nomination in classical music category. This night they played
the Prelude from Ravel’s ‘Le Tombeau de Couperin’, providing one of the most
beautiful moments of the show.
Back to jazz history, ‘Opus F’ by Benny Goodman followed. The up-tempo
tune displayed some amazing fast soloing by Burton and gave Ozone another
opportunity at stride piano. A fun interlude in the varied program.
Several years ago, Gary Burton was recording an album and had requested
Makoto Ozone to write two original pieces for it. As Ozone recalled it, he had
made very little progress and not really gotten into the task because of other
things to do. One Sunday Gary called him over to his house. Makoto arrived and
was promptly closed off into the basement alone with a piano and kept there
until the two pieces were done. We heard one of them at the concert. The
composer had written much space for piano in it and it displayed clearly his
classical background. Makoto Ozone still today performs as a classical music soloist
with symphony orchestras in Japan and the USA.
After the concert I spotted Gary Burton chatting with some patrons and
I joined them. I told him that I had first seen him in Helsinki sometime in the
1970s. Gary’s reaction: “Oh, then we go way back!” I remember the concert quite
well and mentioned that Eberhard Weber had been part of the group. Gary acknowledged that he had played a lot
with the German bassist and they were still in touch. Unfortunately, Eberhard can’t
play anymore as he’s had a stroke.
I am very glad that I was able to catch Gary Burton on one of his last
gigs. I understand his wish to quit touring, which must be very hard work – and
it’s always good to quit while you’re still winning – but I hope that we will
still hear from this master also in the future.
