Gary Burton Quotes

I was a big fan of Jim Hall as well. I liked his comping style, his accompanying. And that he played, generally, four note chords, the top four strings of the guitar.

I felt like I was a teacher. But nowadays, I am as much a student of his. He writes a lot of what we play.

I was surprised when I finally moved to Boston and the East Coast, to discover that there weren't that many vibraphone players around. And I was the only one playing with four mallets.

I know of musicians who have played together for decades who hate each other. The Modern Jazz Quartet for one.

It hasn't been hard getting nominated, but winning it is another thing. The competition is tough.

I've discovered all kinds of music and done all kinds of music over the past 40 years, from playing tango with Piazzolla to all the different bands I've had.

There are a few things that I will hopefully be credited for as a pioneer. One is my four-mallet playing. Another one is the starting what was first called jazz rock in 1967 when I started my first band, later became jazz fusion by the 1970s.

Certainly one of the more common experiences in the jazz field is discovering someone new. Improvising musicians are capable of being musical travelers, voyagers. We want to join in on whatever we hear. There is a freedom to wander the musical landscape.

I think I always have been someone who likes to push at the edges of things, looking for something different.