Search - Gary Burton, Fred Hersch, John Patitucci :: Gary Burton & Friends - Departure

Burton does standards!

Olukayode Balogun | Leeds, England | 07/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Vibes player Gary Burton is one of my all-time favourite jazz musicians but a couple of things mark this particular 1997 project apart. First, there's the very thrilling cast Burton pulled together for it; no doubt the inspiration for the "& Friends" part of the billing: Peter Erskine on drums, John Patitucci on bass, Fred Hersch on piano and, as I was particularly gleeful to see, John Scofield on guitar.



The second thing is the choice of songs; a departure that probably inspired the album title. For the first time in (reportedly) about 50-odd albums, apart from one song by Chick Corea, "Japanese Waltz", and another by Bruce Miller & Daryl Phinessee, "Tossed Salads And Scrambled Eggs" (the theme from the hit sitcom "Frasier"), Burton has decided to do an album of classic standards. These are songs that have been covered by anyone from Nat King Cole to Sarah Vaughan to Frank Sinatra and it's wall-to-wall class. This is, after all, a slice of the best in American songwriting.



I still have my favourites though: the album opener, the marching "September Song" by Maxwell Anderson & Kurt Weill; the shuffling "Poinciana" by Nat Simon & Buddy Bernier, (a doppelganger of the Ahmad Jamal 1958 version except this one has been opened up for multiple solos); the winding 'Arab-spiced' tune "Depk" by Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn; "Tenderly" by Jack Lawrence & Walter Gross, (one of my favourite standards of all time - I'm particularly partial to the versions by Ella Fitzgerald and Natalie Cole).



Then there's the typically wonderful aforementioned Chick Corea song and the "Frasier" tune, (I'm a huge fan of the show and regularly watch reruns) and also, "Born To Be Blue" by Robert Wells & Mel Torme, made famous for me by Nancy Wilson and then more recently, by Grant Green.



But really, it's great music all the way through, with some awesome solos by Scofield, Hersch and of course, Burton himself. The album is produced by Burton and arranged by him and Tommy Kamp. Well worth checking out."

One is enough

'satiably curious | Detroit, MI USA | 12/26/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Most of this CD is just okay, but the cover of Ahmad Jamal's "Poinciana" is worth the price. I listened to this one, Keith Jarrett's version and Ahmad Jamal's original while doing my treadmill. Thought I'd died and gone to heaven."

A must have CD...

Sebring | Boston, MA | 06/21/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you buy this CD only for Burton's stunning version of Poinciana- it's a bargain. Everything else is icing on the cake. Tenderly and Tossed salad and scrambled eggs are superb. I recommend this CD as a "must have" essential."