Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Gary Burton began revisiting his classic quartet in 2005 and the results of this meeting will appear on the 11-track disc, Quartet Live! (Concord) on May 26. The group includes guitarist Pat Metheny and bassist Steve Swallow, both of whom were part of Burton’s breakout band in the early 1970s. Antonio Sanchez is on drums.
Metheny, who came up with the reunion idea, remembered that, “as a teeanger growing up in Missouri just starting to appreciate jazz, Gary’s group was the most innovative band around.” The reunited group performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2005 and toured for the next three years. The songs on Quartet Live! were recorded at Yoshi’s in Oakland, Calif.
“We have all continued to evolve as players, so we play the songs in fresh ways now,” Burton said. “We’ve all become better improvisers, too. But, more importantly, though we have each gone on to new ventures, when we got back together again the rapport that always came so easily is still front and center. This has been the most fun I’ve had in a very long time.”
The new Gary Burton Quartet is planning on performing across North America throughout 2009.
Details: concordmusicgroup.com
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
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