Gary Burton Quartet Plays Jorgensen Cabaret Tonight

Not one to rest on his seven Grammys and 50 years of knowhow at the heights of the jazz scene, Gary Burton stops on his 70th birthday tour with the New Gary Burton Quartet to kick off Jorgensen's new season tonight, Sept. 26, 2013, at UConn in Storrs. Not your grandfather's septuagenarian, Burton just released in August his quartet's second album, "Guided Tour," and his autobiography, Learning to Listen (Berklee Press).

The New Gary Burton Quartet will play in Jorgensen's award-winning cabaret at 7:30 p.m. tonight Sept. 26; doors to the cabaret with cash-only food and drink open at 6:30 p.m.

Burton's newest group includes guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez. Their first album, "Common Ground," released in 2011, included six originals by quartet members.

Burton and pianist Chick Corea, who boast a four-decade association, picked up a 2013 Grammy Award for their most recent project, "Hot House." Burton first recorded at age 17 and has played with the greats, nurturing early artists such as Pat Metheny in the '70s and Lage, who he first recorded with in 2004 when Lage was 15.

The pioneer of the four-mallet technique on vibraphone, Burton creates a Signature Sound, akin to the piano chord, on an instrument that is often mono or duo syllabic. A former executive at the Berklee School of Music, he is at his best working with the young lion, innovating, teaching, and celebrating improvisation. He developed Berklee's first online courses, recently expanding his web presence through a course in improvisation for Coursera, which signed up 25,000 students two months before its launch.

Formed in 2010, the new quartet sold out its run at the Blue Note that fall and began recording in December. "Since my very first group in 1967, I can count maybe three times that one of my groups over the years clicked so perfectly," Burton says.

In his upcoming autobiography, Burton traces his steady work as a musician in rural Indiana in his high school years, before heading for Nashville, recording the very first jazz-and-country album (with guitarist Hank Garland), and scoring a major-label record contract, before entering the Berklee College of Music at 17 in 1960. Burton credits Garland for turning him on to the guitar/vibes sound, saying, "The sound of the two instruments together has an ideal timbre and coolness." Burton's new book is a personal story of not only his musical journey but his life as one of only a few openly gay musicians in jazz.

As with "Common Ground," the new album features original material from the quartet members, including "Legacy," a ballad by Colley honoring his recently deceased father; two Sanchez pieces, "Caminos" and "Monk Fish," and three pieces by Lage, now a 10-year veteran, including "Sunday's Uncle" with its challenging melodic themes. Burton's contributions are a jazz waltz called "Jane Fonda Called Again" and "Remembering Tano," a tribute to his "tango mentor" Astor Piazzolla.

Victor Aaron recently writes in Something Else Reviews, "The hallmarks of a great Gary Burton quartet are present here, too: exceptionally talented young musicians with vocabularies of their own. These are all strong leaders who nevertheless play under Burton because the well of knowledge from one of the all-time great jazz performers, educators and visionaries has no bottom."

At UConn on Sept. 26, Burton will deliver a master class and appear before a Freshman Year Experience class.

Jorgensen's Cabaret was designated "Best Cabaret" in Connecticut Magazine's "Best of Connecticut" issues, 2011-13. Jorgensen was also named Best College/University Performing Arts Center in the Hartford Advocate Best of Hartford Readers' Poll for 2012 and 2013.

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Sandwiches, dessert, alcohol and other beverages can be purchased before the show (cash only). Or pre-orders can be placed at www.jorgensen.uconn.edu. Ticket prices are $60 for table seats, $51, $44 and $40, with some discounts available. For tickets and information, call the Box Office at 860.486.4226, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., or order online at jorgensen.uconn.edu. Convenient, free parking is available across the street in the North Garage.

Photo Courtesy of Ted Kurland Associates