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Jun 16, 2009 Web Exclusive By Cory Frye

Burton first announced his presence—a harmonious four-mallet dab inspired by Bill Evans’ piano style—on 1961’s New Vibe Man in Town. One can forgive the title’s buckaroo swagger (what did Milt Jackson think of that!); after all, Burton was only 18 years old, one of the new young bloods. He had a fresh ear for multiple genres, including the one the older hepcats found most heinous: rock ‘n’ roll. Ah, well. Burton spent the next 40-plus years slaving over jazz fusion (daubing the mix with a little country too), ensuring its permanence, and as a result he boasts a massive catalog with which to astonish and entertain.

And that’s exactly what he does on Quartet Live!, reuniting with a pair of familiar stablemates, plus one who was still in short pants when his partners were busy drafting fusion’s blueprints. Bassist Steve Swallow first rattled speakers on Burton’s The Groovy Sound of Music back in ‘64; Pat Metheny’s fluid six-string runs have accented Burton’s output off and on since Works (1972). Completing the foursome is drummer Antonio Sanchez, who squealed his first breath somewhere in between those records. (Absent collaborators are represented by their offerings: Chick Corea’s “Sea Journey,” Keith Jarrett’s “Coral,” and Carla Bley’s “Syndrome” and “Olhos de Gato.”) This summit of the old and new is wrapped most appropriately in a sleeve adorned with ‘60s icon Peter Max’s psychedelic strikes, his shocks of lava-hued explosions tearing across an unknown planet’s surface.

So it seems only appropriate that Live! begin with a cooling “Sea Journey.” Burton’s vibes conceive a shimmering underwater wonderland for Metheny to burble happily in; Swallow trawls the bottom, registering on deepest sonar. The guitarist gets to explore a vast emotional range in his solos, from exemplary pleaders (“Olhos de Gato” and “Coral”) to the friendly hat-tip chatter of Swallow’s “Hullo, Bolinas” before sparking up “Walter L.‘s” face-burn fuzz. Finally, he hails a total meltdown, scorching terra sonica with a hornlike peal (guitar synth) on his own “Question and Answer.” Burton adeptly follows the guitarist through “Missouri Uncompromised,” his vibes punctuating each smooth lick with a tiny sting, one that Sanchez amplifies with his bruising romp on the kit.

Much has changed since Burton first moseyed into town some 48 years ago, mallets in hand, ready for the revolution. The songs that once blew hi-fi minds are now greeted as old friends with expectant and appreciative applause. He’s not among jazz’s young turks anymore. But as Quartet Live! demonstrates most ably, there’s still plenty of fire boiling in that timeless, ageless soul. (http://www.garyburton.com)

Author rating: 7/10