Vibraphonist keys up old jazz sound
By John Mangum
When people think of jazz instruments, they think of the
trumpet, the saxophone and the piano. Way down there on the list
the vibraphone eventually turns up.
Audiences get a rare chance to hear Gary Burton, a leading jazz
musician and important proponent of the vibraphone, when he appears
with his quartet this weekend. His instrument resembles a
xylophone, but metal keys and an electrical amplification system
that allows the player to control vibrato separate it from its
older brother.
"It was invented in the ’20s," says Burton. "The first couple of
players switched from the piano." Burton, though, began playing the
marimba, which, like the vibraphone, reinforces its sound with
resonators underneath its bars.
"When I was six years old, my parents wanted all of the kids in
the family to play a different instrument," says Burton. His sister
had already claimed the piano, so Burton ventured out to look for
something else to play.
"(My parents) took me around to see various concerts," recalls
Burton. "One of these was a marimba concert, so this was what I
started on."
"I kept experimenting with other instruments, and I would dearly
have liked to have played one that was easier to carry." This
experimentation resulted in Burton’s revolutionary playing style,
which utilizes four mallets instead of the traditional two. This
allows him not just to create a melody, but to combine individual
notes to form chords.
"Four mallets wasn’t absolutely unheard of before I came along,"
says Burton. "I didn’t have any other musicians to play with. I
needed harmony to fill the music in. What had seemed like an
impossibility technically turned out not to be as hard as it
seemed."
This style of playing, which brings the vibraphone closer to the
piano, led Burton from his early admiration of clarinettist Benny
Goodman to a feeling of kinship with keyboard, rather than
vibraphone, players.
"The first record I ever heard was a Benny Goodman record, and I
was quite amazed at all of the energy and what was going on on that
record," says Burton. "My biggest influence during my formative
years was pianist Bill Evans."
In addition to Goodman and Evans, Burton admires many vocalists.
"I’ve always been an admirer of jazz singers," says the
vibraphonist.
"Sarah Vaughan, Nat Cole  they’ve been a big influence on
me. The way they phrase vocally is something I’ve tried to
capture."
Jazz vocalist Rebecca Parris joins the Gary Burton Quartet to
open UCLA’s Jazz Series at the Wadsworth Theater Saturday, Oct. 29
at 8 p.m. Recognized for her diverse abilities, Parris recently
collaborated with Burton on his latest album, It’s Another Day.
The Quartet appears Saturday night as part of a tour which
features work from this recent album. The Christopher Hollyday
Quartet, led by the young sax player, opens for Burton’s group.
Pianist Makoto Ozone, a major star in Japan and familiar to
American audiences as well, joins the group on this occasion.
Burton enjoys working with Ozone, whose talent he praises, and
Parris as well. He describes the recording with her as "a project
I’ve always wanted to try."
"In my case," says Burton, "I was looking forward to the
challenge of interweaving my playing with her singing. I happened
to hear Rebecca singing a couple of years ago, and all through it,
I kept imagining what it would be like to play behind her."
Burton seems interested in challenges and innovation. Some
commentators believe that jazz, with the increasing attention young
artists give to standards from the ’50s and ’60s, is regressing,
but Burton disagrees.
"I do not think it’s regressing. Art forms don’t go backwards,
they only go forward," says Burton.
"Music as a whole will ultimately continue to evolve," says
Burton, "because all art forms do. I’ve been a little bit surprised
with the revivals of standards."
"Even though there are some standards on the record with
Rebecca, we do them in a different style. There’s room for every
approach."
CONCERT: Gary Burton Quartet featuring vocalist Rebecca Parris
and pianist Makoto Ozone. At the Wadsworth Theater, Saturday, Oct.
29, 8 p.m. TIX: $25, $9. For more info, call (310) 825-2101.