Jazz Legend Gary Burton Reflects on Seven Decades in Music and Education The jazz fusion pioneer, LGBTQ advocate, and Berklee superstar is celebrating the 40th and 50th anniversaries of two Grammy-winning albums this year.
By
Daniel Pesquera
June 23, 2022
Gary Burton
Image courtesy of the artist
Berklee Nows Keyed In series features Berklee artists and experts making news and sounding off on the latest news and trends from the music world and beyond.
Few individuals have had as meaningful an impact on music and music education as jazz fusion pioneer and decorated Berklee alumnus Gary Burton '62 '89H. The vibraphonist made his presence felt early in his career, becoming the youngest winner of DownBeat's Jazzman of the Year in 1968, and his star never seemed to stop rising. He has performed on the world's biggest stages with legends including Thelonious Monk, Chick Corea, Stan Getz, Chet Atkins, and Eric Clapton, and his inventive four-mallet approach to vibraphone revolutionized the way the instrument was played. With over 60 albums as a bandleader to his name and seven Grammys in his trophy case, there isnt much that Burton has not achieved in his illustrious career.
Burton has had significant influence on countless up-and-coming musicians, many of whom he mentored while at Berklee. Beginning as a percussion teacher in 1971, Burton eventually became the colleges dean of curriculum before taking over the daily operations of the institution as executive vice president. He is credited with giving many current jazz stars their big breaks, including Berklee graduates Julian Lage '08, Tommy Smith '85, Vadim Neselovskyi '04, and Luques Curtis B.M. '04.
Beyond his music and accolades, Burton is also a strong champion of gay rights. While he did not come out publicly until the middle of his life, he has been an important advocate for the cause, even canceling shows in states to protest laws that he felt discriminated against the LGBTQ community.
This year marks the 50th and 40th anniversaries of Burton's Grammy Award-winning records Alone at Last, released in 1972, and In Concert, Z rich, October 28, 1979, the iconic live album with Chick Corea released in 1982, in addition to it being his 60th Berklee reunion year. The Media Relations team was fortunate enough to catch up with Burton during Pride Month as he looked back on his life in jazz, music, and higher education.
When you reflect on the multitude of incredible experiences in your seven decades in jazz, what moments stand out to you? A lot of those moments happened earlier in my career because that's when things impress you the most, such as the first time I played Carnegie Hall with Stan Getz in 1964. Just being in the place, the most famous concert hall in America. And here I am, a 19-year-old. How could this happen?
Image by Phil Farnsworth
Another performance that stands out was a 1968 jazz festival in Paris at the Salle Pleyel. My new quartet was kind of radical for the time. We were mixing rock influences with jazz and really starting the whole fusion thing. We opened the concert for Sarah Vaughn. We noticed that the audience was getting very restless between songs, talking loudly and even standing up and arguing with each. We found out later that half the audience thought we were the next great thing, and the other half thought we were blasphemy to jazz. As we finished the set, our drummer Bob Moses was playing a solo and one of his tom-toms fell off and hit the stage. A hush came over the audience Moses went with it and purposefully knocked over his cymbal, which crashed to the floor. At this point, the audience went crazy. The police actually had to come and make everyone leave the hall. For years that resonated with me as one of the wildest nights of my career.
You studied at Berklee in the early '60s during the incipient stages of your professional journey. How did music become your chosen life path and how did your early career goals compare to where you ended up? Well, I never planned to study music. My plan was to either study medicine or engineering. What changed everything for me was the very first jazz band camp that ever took place in the nation, which happened to come to my home state of Indiana the summer after my junior year of high school. The camp was amazing. There were a hundred kids like me playing music day and night. In fact, several of the teachers were from Berklee. I came home with a new plan to become a professional musician, and my parents, to their credit, said okay.
My goal originally after the camp was to get into Berklee, learn about jazz, and then go on to New York where, if I was lucky, I might one day get to play on a record. I wanted to be successful enough to make a living, feel secure, and make the kind of music that I wanted to make. That was it. It was never to become any kind of star or win awards. So everything on top of playing the music I wanted to play has felt like a gift, and I think that's really kept me grounded. I was fortunate enough to connect with the right people after graduating high school and ended up with a record deal before I even attended Berklee at 17!
As an educator at Berklee for 33 years, your impact on the next generation of jazz artists is immeasurable. Did you have an aspiration to teach or did you fall into it more organically after you became an established artist? I had never thought of becoming a teacher. At the time I graduated high school, there were only two jazz programs in the entire country: [University of] North Texas and Berklee. By 1970, there was an explosion of jazz offerings across the country and I was being asked to teach a lot of clinics. I found that explaining concepts in music came easy to me, which isn't always the case for a lot of jazz musicians. I loved teaching. I actuall
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Jazz Legend Gary Burton Reflects on Seven Decades in Music and Education The jazz fusion pioneer, LGBTQ advocate, and Berklee superstar is celebrating the 40th and 50th anniversaries of two Grammy-winning albums this year.
