Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
Jazz vibraphonist and music educator Gary Burton is host of the new weekly Sirius Satellite Radio music program, Artist’s Choice with Gary Burton, on channel 72, Pure Jazz.
Artist’s Choice with Gary Burton can be heard on Sirius Pure Jazz every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.
“I became a fan of Sirius when I bought a new car a year ago,” said Burton. “Finally, I could hear what I wanted to hear, when I wanted to hear it. Now I couldn’t be more pleased to be joining the Sirius team as host of my own show.”
Burton, who emerged as a major jazz talent during the 1960s, brings a storied career and a unique perspective to Sirius jazz listeners. A self-taught vibraphonist with a unique four-mallet technique, he made his recording debut with country artist Hank Garland at age 17, performed with jazz greats George Shearing and Stan Getz, and, with guitarist Larry Coryell, formed one of the early jazz fusion groups in 1967.
Burton has worked with such luminaries as his protégé Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Chick Corea, Stephane Grappelli and Keith Jarrett, among others. He was awarded his first GRAMMY in 1972 for Best Jazz Solo Instrumental Performance for his album Alone At Last.
During the 1980s, Burton began recording for GRP Records, and landed atop the Billboard jazz chart with Metheny for their Reunion album. He won his fifth GRAMMY for his 1998 Concord release, Like Minds. In recent years, his work has explored tango music and classical themes, and his latest recording, featuring his new quintet, is titled Generations, which will be followed in April 2005 by Next Generation.
Burton has been recognized as an important music educator, and served for 33 years as professor and dean at the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where he was also Executive Vice President from 1996 to 2004. Burton recently stepped down from his leadership role at the college to concentrate on recording and working on his new Sirius radio show.
Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.
Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
Albert “Tootie” Heath (1935–2024) followed in the tradition of drummer Kenny Clarke, his idol.
Apr 5, 2024 10:28 AM
Albert “Tootie” Heath, a drummer of impeccable taste and time who was the youngest of three jazz-legend brothers…
“Both of us are quite grounded in the craft, the tradition and the harmonic sense,” Rosenwinkel said of his experience playing with Allen. “Yet I felt we shared something mystical as well.”
Mar 12, 2024 11:42 AM
“There are a few musicians you hear where, as somebody once said, the molecules in the room change. Geri was one of…
Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Apr 9, 2024 11:30 AM
Big Ears, the annual four-day music celebration that first took place in 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee, could well be…
“I’m also at a point in my life where I don’t feel like I have anything to prove, like at all,” Akinmusire says about his art.
Mar 26, 2024 12:45 PM
At the risk of oversimplifying and romanticizing the story, Ambrose Akinmusire came bursting on the jazz scene at the…
