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Learning to Listen: The Jazz Journey of Gary Burton: An Autobiography
by
Gary Burton
(Berklee Press). Winner "Best Book of the Year" 2014 award from the Jazz Journalists Association. In Learning to Listen, Gary Burton shares his 50 years of experiences at the top of the jazz scene. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Burton made his first recordings at age 17, has toured and recorded with a who's who of famous jazz names, and is one of only a few openly gay
...more
Paperback
,
384 pages
Published
August 1st 2013
by Berklee Press Publications
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Community Reviews
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The first jazz concert by a major figure I attended was by the Gary Burton Quartet, when I was about 17. It was an amazing evening, and I've been a fan ever since. So when I saw this on my friend Rob's shelves and asked him about it, he replied that Burton was not a great writer, but the facts are there.
That sums it up pretty well. The very talented Burton has had a remarkable career, and any fan would find this book worth reading. I doubt it's compelling enough to enthrall anyone who is not al ...more
That sums it up pretty well. The very talented Burton has had a remarkable career, and any fan would find this book worth reading. I doubt it's compelling enough to enthrall anyone who is not al ...more
I was totally let down with this book. I was wanting to find out insights into Burton's passion for playing and basically found he doesn't really have that. In fact, he tells how he doesn't practice, doesn't touch his instrument for months! It seems that playing is a means to making money to pay for everything. Constantly in the book he writes about how he was never sure if he was gay (believe me, my gay friends have known they were gay from the get go). He falls for women, marries, has babies w
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This is a refreshing autobiography of an incredibly talented guy. He went on the road with George Shering and Stan Getz when he was around 20. Recorded over 65 albums, played with all the major jazz legends from Grapelli to Mingus. Yet the book is very honest and humble. He is always very complimentary about his colleagues and forgiving of their faults. This is not an "as told to" book. It is straight from the heart (and he has had 6 heart surgeries). A really enjoyable read. My only gripe is th
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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 ...more
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 ...more
I was a young vibist at the University of N. Colorado in the summer of 1971. I had previously met Gary as the head of the NW Jazz Festival in Bremerton WA when we brought him in as an adjudicator. So, while at UNC I heard that he was performing at the Senate Lounge in Denver, so I drove down and we hung out after his gig. He laid a Berklee catalog on me, saying that he was to begin teaching there that Fall, so I uprooted, moved to Boston, and studied with him. I did the four years in three, then
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I heard Gary Burton's first album around 1970 when I was a high school percussion student and he was a new young player. It inspired me to learn to play the vibraphone well. Fortunately, I had a rented vibraphone and a good private teacher and I learning to play a few 4 mallet arrangements fairly well for a high school kid. I've continued to follow Gary's career and music and so I was pleased when his autobiography came out. I was doubly pleased when I started reading it and found it engaging an
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Aug 30, 2014
Dave Gerhart
added it
I am huge fan of Gary Burton and his music. I have almost every album he has recorded. I really enjoyed the honesty and candor in which Gary told this story. I haven't read a lot of autobiographies of musicians (maybe because there aren't many) but I would recommend this to anyone in the music industry and especially if you play vibes. I read this as part of a book club I host called BookChattr (
www.drumchattr.com
). I have written some posts and created a playlist of the albums Gary talks about
...more
Fantastic if you're interested in the author, but it is written in a simple, conversational style, and doesn't go into as much depth as I might've liked. Still, an enjoyable read.
Be sure to read the chapter "Understanding the Creative a Process" where Burton describes how he communicates to his "inner player" in images. Practical advice for any performer.
Burton has an interesting story, and he also shares some observations on music/jazz that made me use my Kindle's "highlight" feature for the first time.
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