Duster

Gary Burton, Pat Metheny | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 21, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Koch Records
• ASIN: B000005YPT
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,637 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ballet

2. Sweet Rain

3. Portsmouth Figurations

4. General Mojo's Well Laid Plan

5. One, Two, 1-2-3-4

6. Sing Me Softly Of The Blues

7. Liturgy

8. Response

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burton's best , and a genuine candidate for best jazz record, December 19, 1998

By 

William Mac Moss - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duster (Audio CD)

This one is a real gem.

Although a relatively meager quantity of music (33+ minutes), this was a unique, high-powered meeting of minds, with bassist Steve Swallow, guitarist Larry Coryell (relatively new to jazz at the time), and drummer Roy Haynes- always sounding young and exciting, melding into what I hoped in 1967 was a precursor of a genuinely new and exciting form of jazz fusion.

Instead, unfortunately, we wound up with 'Bitch's Brew', Weather Report, and you know the rest.

All the individuals on this CD went on with very distinguished careers (separately), but you will not find the same magic sense of discovery and exploration as on this work. Coryell's recent 'Spaces Revisited' probably comes closest.

As in all the greatest jazz recordings, both the compositions and the solos sound so perfect that they blend into a whole hugely greater than the sum of the parts: a genuinely continuous group song.

I've waited a long time for the re-release so I could replace my worn out LP (have gone through two of them). A real no-brainer if you're a fan of any of these players, or of mainstream jazz pushed into adventurous but at the same winningly lyrical realms.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of Gary Burton's RCA era, March 3, 2001

By 

T. Bombara (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Duster (Audio CD)

All of Gary Burton's RCA albums are worthwhile. This one comes out a notch above the others however, slightly better tunes, especially General Mojo's Well Laid Plan, and the great Roy Haynes on drums. Very few albums sound like this one, and Burton quickly abandoned this sound. Appeals to rock and jazz listeners with it's compact song construction, tasteful and concise solos and an instrumental lineup like few others. You will not regret purchasing this one, don't concern yourself with the brief length. In fact, you'll find it bursting with ideas. I still can't believe no one has mined this further. Jazz rock without the funk. Trust this.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly listenable., February 6, 2007

By 

Tom Brody (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Duster (Audio CD)

The album is a must for jazz enthusiasts, and also compatible with the conservative ears of folks in the easy-listening crowd. There are no thorny Coltranesque sequences. There are no lengthy "blowing sessions." Some of the pieces are quick paced, but not as driving and insistent as a typical be-bop piece. Gary Burton's music is adventuresome, but it will not alienate listeners who have unadventuresome ears.

BALLET starts with a short, jerking episode. The jerking episode is like the shifting of gears, shifting up, shifting down. The guitar vamps behind the vibes. There there is a stunning guitar solo. Larry Coryell's guitar playing sounds like Howard Roberts' playing. Bass solo. The piece ends with the same jerking sequence, reminding one of an industrial robot. FIVE STARS.

SWEET RAIN is slow, containing undulating waves of vibrophonic pastels. If Debussy had written jazz, it would have sounded like SWEET RAIN. The guitar solo is slow enough for any beginner to learn. FOUR STARS.

PORTSMOUTH is quick-paced. The tune is an excellent one and an original. The guitar vamps behind the vibes. Drum solo. The initial tune is repeated. FIVE STARS.

GENERAL MOJO is moderate paced, with Nashville overtones. Larry Coryell appears to be emulating a Nashville steel guitar. Bass solo. FOUR STARS.

ONE, TWO, 1, 2, 3, 4. is fast and starts with a guitar solo. Larry Coryell then urges feedback from the amplifier, invoking the rock'n'roll genre. The guitar solo then becomes a little silly. It consists in strings of fast notes, going up, going down, that any beginner with a couple of years' experience can put together. Vibe solo. TWO STARS.

SING ME SOFTLY is slow, staring with a guitar tune. The guitar tune is comprises of little, jabbing tunelets. Vibe solo. Then comes a swaying, swinging episode. The initial tune is repeated. FOUR STARS.

LITURGY is moderate paced. It sounds like normal, typical jazz, perhaps what one might expect from the combination of Milt Jackson and Joe Pass. FOUR STARS.

RESPONSE is another slow piece. It blankets the listener with sheets of bell-like sounds. This piece is like SWEET RAIN. THREE STARS.

I saw the Gary Burton Quartet in 1968, where Gary Burton opened for a little known folk-trio called "Cream." The show was at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Shortly thereafter, I bought the vinyl version of this album. Since that time, I have seen about 30 jazz performances at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA, Keystone Korner in San Francisco, CA, and elsewhere. The high point of my life was seeing Sonny Stitt's group perform, for an entire evening, inside a corner tavern somewhere in Milwaukee, WI, in early 1981. Would that I could live that evening all over again.