Duster/Country Roads & Other Places

Wow! Having been a Burton fan since the vinyl days of "Lofty Fake Anagram" and his live quartet date at Carnegie Hall, I've always hoped that these two fine efforts by Gary Burton would be reissued on CD. Both albums point the way toward what would become known as fusion music/jazz rock--albeit without all the screaming firepower that jazz-rock became known for later. Early in his career Burton was trying to meld jazz, country music, and rock into something new and exciting. And on these albums (and "Lofty Fake...") he pretty much succeeds. The jazz sounds are fairly obvious, as is his use of r'n'r (especially Coryell's guitar work). His incorporation of country strains is more subtle, but can be heard if you listen closely. "Duster", from 1967 (just prior to "Lofty Fake..."), introduces Larry Coryell on guitar to Burton's quartet. Also here are Roy Haynes-drums, and long time band member Steve Swallow-bass. Coryell played something close to r'n'r prior to joining Burton, and here his playing adds excitement and depth to the music."Country Roads and Other Places", from 1969 (just after the fine "A Genuine Tong Funeral" album from 1968), is the same quartet except for Jerry Hahn, who sits in the guitar spot. Hahn has always been an underrated player--hear his "Jerry Hahn Quartet-Brotherhood" album from the same period--who could play straight ahead jazz or kick up the firepower if needed.Both these albums fill in a critical area of Burton's early discography besides having some fine jazz. Be aware that both albums are pretty short on playing time, but together they should be in every Burton fan's music library. Now if someone would reissue Burton's "Time Machine" album along with "Tennessee Firebird", that would be a small prayer answered. In case you didn't know, Burton's early stuff has been reissued lately--albums like "New Vibe Man In Town" and "Who Is Gary Burton?",--both show Burton early on, beginning to form his own sound and approach to jazz.

Love Gary Burton, Larry Coryell, Jerry Hahn, Steve Swallow and Roy Haynes! Interesting compositions with a Rock/Jazz vibe. Also some Country and Classical pieces. I highly recommend this twofer.

First heard this quartet years ago. Amazingly complex and melodic. Love the interplay between Gary Burton and Larry Coryell. Magical music.

to be able to listen to Gary Burton during these years of his mastery of the vibes is great,thanks for the availability of the cd.

great cd used it for listening of course

It's great to see these two fine albums back in print, and at a reasonable price. I first became familiar with this favorite era of Burton's through an excellent French RCA boxset that I purchased eons ago from the old Rounder Mail-Order service. It contained the three quartet albums with Larry Coryell, 'DUSTER,' 'LOFTY FAKE ANAGRAM' and 'LIVE.' 'DUSTER' had been available for a hot minute on a German CD in the early days of CD, and is also currently available as a  pricey Japanese import . 'COUNTRY ROADS & OTHER PLACES' was also available for a short time in 1998 on the Koch Jazz label, with rare copies going for  heart-attack prices . This new release makes a fine companion to BGO's previous pairing of ' LOFTY FAKE ANAGRAM' and 'A GENUINE TONG FUNERAL ' and Cherry Red's ' THE GARY BURTON QUARTET IN CONCERT ,' both essential as well......Vibraphonist Burton was self-taught beginning at the age of six, later taking piano lessons during high school before attending the Berklee College Of Music between 1960-1961. He began his recording career at RCA, releasing his first album, 'NEW VIBE MAN IN TOWN' in 1961. His initial albums for the label were mostly composed of jazz standards, Swallow became his steady bassist beginning with 'THE GROOVY SOUND OF MUSIC,' an album of jazzed-up arrangements of the titular film's score. His first foray into blended genres was 1967's 'TENNESSEE FIREBIRD,' his first try at blending jazz and country music that also featured such Nashville legends as Chet Atkins, Buddy Emmons, Charlie McCoy and Kenny Buttrey. Swallow and Haynes also participated, along with later Coryell collaborator Steve Marcus. It was with the addition of Larry Coryell on guitar that Burton could finally translate his vision to vinyl on the resulting 'DUSTER.' With Bob Moses taking the drum chair, the quartet honed their chops and style on the critical favorite 'LOFTY FAKE ANAGRAM.' Next came the Carla Bley composed 'A GENUINE TONG FUNERAL' album, that also featured her on keyboards with an expanded quartet that included Steve Lacy, Gato Barbieri, Jimmy Knepper, Howard Johnson and Bley's husband, Michael Mantler. Coryell made his final quartet appearance on vinyl with the release of their 1968 Carnegie hall performance, issued as 'THE GARY BURTON QUARTET IN CONCERT.' 1969 found Burton releasing his final RCA platter, 'COUNTRY ROADS & OTHER PLACES'......Considered to be one of the first "fusion" efforts, 1967's 'DUSTER' still sounds fresh and vital. The band, Burton (vibraphone), Larry Coryell (guitar), Steve Swallow (double bass) and Roy Haynes (drums), give an impeccable demonstration of telepathic musicianship. Three of the album's tunes were composed by Gary's former teacher at the Berklee College Of Music, Michael Gibbs, with two by Swallow, one apiece from Burton and Coryell, and one by the young and upcoming composer Carla Bley, who became a favorite composer of Burton's. Even when cooking, and man can they cook, the band exudes a gossamer vibe that some may feel is too mellow for their tastes. What they lack in grit is more than made up with bursts of furious melodic and harmonic interplay. You can catch hints here and there of Coryell's tentative steps toward a more aggressive style of playing, especially on his intense and free "One, Two, 1-2-3-4." Other highlights include the cool and swingin' lead-off "Ballet," the dreamy "Sweet Rain," Swallow's intricately melodic "General Mojo's Well Laid Plan" and what I feel is the album's highlight, a beautifully understated take of Bley's "Sing Me Softly Of The Blues"......'COUNTRY ROADS & OTHER PLACES' featured the same rhythm section with Coryell's replacement, the great Jerry Hahn. One reviewer called the quartet's output "modern American Chamber music" and I couldn't agree more. Much more successful than 'TENNESSEE FIREBIRD,' the album's tasty stew of country, rock, pop and classical music definitely seems more like Burton was aiming for all along, as evidenced by the title cut. Listening to this album is FUN. You can play "catch the influence" as the various genres speed by, tantalizing your brain cells. Swallow is beginning to play more electric bass , and his interplay with drummer Haynes, who can change tempos within tempos within tempos will have your head spinning. The secret weapon here is criminally unsung guitarist Jerry Hahn, his inventive playing is the perfect foil for Burton's dervish lines, their interplay on "Gone But Not Forgotten" is a good example. A real standout is Burton's version of Maurice Ravel's "Prelude (Le tombeau de Couperin)" as a duet with himself on piano. Listening to him chasing himself through the winding tandem lines makes your head spin! Burton also performs a beautiful solo version of the standard "My Foolish Heart." The album goes out punching with the pedal-to-the-metal "A Family Joy." Burton's weaving around Hahn's wild lines as Haynes weaves around Swallow's throbbing heavy electric bass sounds like a jazzier version of KING CRIMSON.....!After leaving RCA, Burton signed with Atlantic. His first album there, THROB featured Swallow, Hahn, Bill Goodman on drums, and Richard Greene (of  SEATRAIN  fame) on violin. After recording four more albums for the label, including a solo session, and co-leader dates with Stephan Grappelli, and Keith Jarrett, Burton signed with ECM. Many feel that Burton's tenure with ECM was the pinnacle of his career and it's hard not to argue. His album of Carla Bley compositions,  DREAMS SO REAL  with Swallow, Moses, and Pat Methney and Mick Goodrick on guitars, is considered by some (including me) to be his masterwork. After his ECM stint Burton recorded for GRP and then Concord Jazz, where he's remained since 1996......"DUSTER' (RCA, 1967) "Ballet" - 4:54 (Mike Gibbs) "Sweet Rain" - 4:24 (Gibbs) "Portsmouth Figurations" (Steve Swallow) - 3:03 "General Mojo's Well Laid Plan" (Swallow) - 4:58 "One, Two, 1-2-3-4" (Gary Burton, Larry Coryell) - 5:56 "Sing Me Softly of the Blues" (Carla Bley) - 4:05 "Liturgy" - 3:26 (Gibbs) "Response" (Burton) - 2:15the band:Gary Burton - vibraphone, pianoLarry Coryell - guitarSteve Swallow - double bassRoy Haynes - drums'COUNTRY ROADS & OTHER PLACES' (RCA, 1968) "Country Roads" (Gary Burton, Steve Swallow) - 5:06 "The Green Mountains" (Swallow) - 3:41 "True or False" (Swallow) - 1:45 "Gone, But Forgotten" (Burton, Mike Gibbs) - 3:45 "Ravel Prelude (Le tombeau de Couperin: Prelude) (Maurice Ravel) - 3:14 "And on the Third Day" (Gibbs) - 4:06 "A Singing Song" (Burton) - 2:46 "Wichita Breakdown" (Burton, Jerry Hahn) - 2:43 "My Foolish Heart" (Ned Washington, Victor Young) - 2:30 "A Family Joy" (Gibbs) - 4:45the band:Gary Burton - vibraphone, pianoJerry Hahn - guitarSteve Swallow - bassRoy Haynes - drumsIf you're a fan of the guitar, jazz or otherwise, you have to check out Jerry Hahn's discography. A good place to start would be with his ' TIME CHANGES ' CD. In 1970, Hahn had a band that released one self-tilted album, 'THE JERRY HAHN BROTHERHOOD.' This little gem was available for a while on Hahn's website, but is unfortunately out-of-print. Recorded in 1970 for Columbia Records, the band included Hahn on guitar, vocals and banjo, Mel Graves on bass, George Marsh on drums and Mike Finnigan on vocals, organ and harmonica. One fan of the group was Manfred Mann, whose EARTH BAND recorded the JHB tracks "Captain Bobby Stout" on their debut album and "Martha's Madman" on 'WATCH.' A real gem if you can find a copy......

This may sound rather over blown, but "Duster" is one of my very favourite Gary Burton recordings. I had this on vinyl as part of a 3 LP set of the Gary Burton Quartet that was issued on RCA in France in the 80s. Unfortunately some of the vinyl recordings were damaged by some rather uncaring individuals who got near my treasured set. But slowly and carefully over recent years I have managed to track down these titles on CD so that I can enjoy them all over again in pristine condition.And now at last, Duster is available - I have literally been searching reissue catalogues for years to find this on CD. So a big thank you to Beat Goes On for releasing this recording on CD. And I can also check out "Country Roads & Other Places", which is a title I have not heard before, but I'm sure I will enjoy. A real Win/Win all round.

Two 5 Star recordings at a great price. 5 Big Stars to Marvello! Thank you!!!

演奏者、曲目は Amazon のサイトと同じだったので、返品の手間を考えてそのまま受け取りましたが、感情的になにか割り切れませんでした。