Gary BurtonLearning to Listen: The Jazz Journey of Gary Burton: An Autobiography

I enjoyed this book immensely. For me it could have easily been twice as long. More about Stan Getz, George Shearing, road trips, what makes great music, and the life of a musician. The book is a well put together narrative and it's made me want to explore more of his music. What more could one ask for? As I said, a little more about everything!The first jazz record I ever bought was Gary Burton's Duster. I've always enjoyed his music but after reading this realized I've missed large portions of it. I suppose that says a lot about jazz, how little credit the musicians get, and how under the radar most of them truly are. After all the years of Grammy nominations and thousands of gigs and tours how is it more people don't seem to know him? Perhaps they do and it's just that I've been living under a rock, not listening to the right radio stations, or watching the right tv shows. I never remember seeing him in Texas where I grew up. We hunted the record stores for his releases. Now with the Internet and MP3 online stores it will be much easier to find his music.I enjoyed the books honesty and it was pretty eye opening about his early years. Even with his level of musicianship and enormous luck and support he still had to work hard to establish himself as a leader and get his first band off the ground. I felt he downplayed his leadership and would have liked to have read more about the different sides of the music business. Still it's a great overview of his life and career... And the book could have been much longer.

Gary Burton had a front row seat to Jazz history. In fact, he is living jazz history. He’s truly an American legend. One thing that strikes me is his sense of humor and humility, along with the confidence of a virtuoso genius. Jazz musicians aren’t known for humility or humor and his stories are truly entertaining. This is jazz geek porn but also accessible to anyone. I’ve had a great time listening to the records as he’s describing the back stories which has been fascinating. Can’t recommend this book enough whether you’re a jazz lover or not. Of course he’s left out some parts of his long and amazing life but his writing is so honest that this is a MUST read.

The great vibraphonist Gary Burton offers an inside account of the jazz scene, the emerging jazz rock scene of the mid 1960s of which he was a very important contributor, while also giving us a glimpse into his own creative process as an improvising musician. I especially enjoyed the standalone profiles of various musicians that he worked with or was influenced by, and the chapters on George Shearing and Stan Getz are absolutely fascinating. There are a couple of areas where I would like to have seen more information: first, Gary was a highly exceptional musician from a very young age and I would have appreciated more from him about the nature of his talent and how he was able to develop his musical talent so quickly. That he recorded professionally at age 16, was offered a record contract shortly thereafter, AND had his music school education subsidized by the record company is incredible to say the least. Second, since Gary has such a vast discography I would have appreciated more information about the artists he recorded with, the tunes, interactions in the studio, how the records were made etc. He does offer some great information in this vein but I wish he would have given us more. My one criticism of the book is that a fair amount of space is given to the details of touring, international travel, intineraries etc. While some of this is interesting, that aspect of the book did bog down a bit for me. All in all this is a really nice and very interesting book about a very brilliant jazz musician.

This is a must read for those who are interested in the jazz world after 60s. Gary Burton is perhaps the most acclaimed vibraphonist ever. He even invented the famous Burton grip to hold two mallets in each hand. In this book Burton tells you his left as a gay person who happens to be a jazz musician. He covers many topics. Gigs as a child, Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Berklee School of Music, Steve Swallow, ECM, Manfred Eicher, Astor Piazzola, and other vibist. Gary Burton's writing is excellent and convincing. He does not waver from topic to topic, but writes on a single topic in detail in each chapter. He is one of the first jazz musician that came out of closet and the book tells you about his struggle to understand his nature. From that end, the book can be an interesting read, but if you take out that part entirely from it, the book has much to tell you. A few topics that stuck to my mind include: Chick Corea's method of composing, Stan Getz's cliche, the discovery of Julian Lage. Highly recommended.

This is a world class autobiography from a world class, and classy jazz musician, the vibraphonist Gary Burton, loaded with interesting facts, observations, reflections, and anecdotes. Interspersed throughout the text are Burton's mini-profiles of artists he has either worked with or encountered over his long career, including George Shearing and Stan Getz (his first two major employers), Pat Metheny, Astor Piazzolla, Chick Corea, Thelonious Monk, and Duke Ellington. We learn about how he discovered the vibraphone as a child, his two marriages, his coming out as gay man, his second extended career as a teacher and later a Dean at Boston's Berklee School of Music, his physical setbacks, and, of course, his many groups and projects as a multi award-winning jazz musician. This is one of the more enjoyable, compelling, and personal jazz autobiographies you'll ever have the pleasure of reading.

Very interesting, openly sincere and with remarkable insights not only on Burton's life and music but also on the jazz scene and its protagonists. Some are revealing!

バークリー在学中は末端の生徒だった僕にとってゲイリーバートンは遠い存在で一度も習う機会はなかったのですが、彼のことを学ぶ良い機会と思いこの本を購入しました、しかしながら一度読み始めると彼の人間性と人生に魅了されて一気に読み終えてしまいました。常にコンテンポラリーでジャンルを超えた質の高い音楽で数々のグラミー賞を獲得し、パットメセニーや小曽根真始め数々の若いミュージシャンを育てた彼がジャズではなくカントリーミュージックのメッカ、ナッシュビルで音楽家としてスタートしたこと、ジョージシアリングやスタンゲッツのサイドとして経験した事、マイルスより何年も前にジャズにロックを取り入れた事、彼がゲイであったことなど知らないことばかりでした。しかし彼ほど偉大なキャリアを持っているにもかかわらずあまり知られていない音楽家も珍しいと思います、それはヴィブラフォンというマイナーな楽器によるのかコンテンポラリージャズを敬遠するリスナーによるのか、音楽だけではなくバークリー音大の教授もしていた為なのか？本書はとにかく音楽のジャンルを問わず真剣に音楽家を志す人達の必読書です！

This autobio by Gary Burton is really the real thing. Extremely well written, full of detail that the jazz enthusiast will enjoy and giving quite a personal view of the music and the business. Burton is not afraid to be clear about his personal life and one has to admire his clarity and wonderfully balanced thinking. The final chapter on "Creativity and the musician" is one of the finest examinations of that I have ever read, a challenging question of what is creativity and how does it manifest itself???? A great book for the Burton fan and the Jazz enthusiast.

This book arrived early and is a great read. Highly recommended for any jazz fan.

This is a fine read from one of my all time favourites. It could well be the finest autobiography of a musician yet. I've enjoyed Garys playing since his contribution to Hank Garlands "Jazz Winds from a New Direction" (the album every jazz guitarist should own). I've seen him play live on numberous occasions, admired his choice of sidemen with the exception of the grindingly dull Larry Coryell. Garys love of tango is something I share, I applaud his part in bringing it to the notice of the world. I'm convinced that no one on this planet can outplay Gary. Maestro.