Sep 22, 2026 12:26 PM
Hyde Park Jazz Fest on Chicago’s South Side to Present 20th Edition
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival will take place for the 20th time on the final weekend of September 2026. Beginning half…
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.
A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.
Sep 22, 2026 12:26 PM
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival will take place for the 20th time on the final weekend of September 2026. Beginning half…
“It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”
Sep 22, 2026 1:39 PM
Editor’s Note: Tomorrow, Sept. 23, is the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth. In honor of the tenor and…
Camille Thurman took to the stage alongside bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Tommy Campbell for a rendition of Johnny Mercer’s “I’m An Old Cowhand” that recalled Rollins’ epochal 1957 trio outing Way Out West.
Oct 6, 2026 1:33 PM
As emcee Mark Ruffin noted at the commencement of an epic tribute to saxophonist Sonny Rollins at the Cathedral of Saint…
Kurt Elling, Katherine Russell and Emmet Cohen (host on the 2027 Jazz Cruise) share a laugh at sea.
Sep 8, 2026 11:52 AM
It began in 2001. A travel agent named Anita E. Berry had been booking clients on “partial” jazz cruises that took…
Sep 17, 2026 11:00 AM
The 2027 DownBeat College Guide is an invaluable resource for music students, especially jazz students, to find a school…
