Gary Burton Joins Scottish National Jazz Orchestra To Play The Music Of Wayne Shorter On Tour

Burton occupies a unique place in jazz as a pioneering instrumentalist and accompanist to Stan Getz and George Shearing among others. After being named Downbeat magazine's Jazzman of the Year in 1968 (the youngest ever to receive the title) and winning his first Grammy in 1972, Burton began a long standing collaboration with pianist Chick Corea, recognised for popularising the format of jazz duet performance. A box set of their recordings together including the seminal album Crystal Silence is set for release on the ECM label in September. Burton is also a major figure in jazz education, having taught at Berklee College of Music in Boston for 33 years.

The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra was set up in the mid-1990s and since then has performed with Chick Corea, Cleo Laine and John Dankworth among other big names and has brought on a new generation of young Scottish jazz musicians. The orchestra's director Tommy Smith was a member of Gary Burton's band at the beginning of Smith's career while still a student at Berklee.

Burton is now a patron of the SNJO and will next month perform in Scotland with the orchestra to pay tribute to another jazz great, saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter featuring specially commissioned arrangements by Mike Gibbs and Joe Locke among others. Dates are Byre Theatre, St Andrews (10 Sep); Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh (11 Sep); RSAMD Concert Hall, Glasgow (12 Sep); MacRobert arts centre, Stirling (13 Sep) and Gordonstoun school, Elgin (14 Sep). - Rosie Hanley

For more go to www.snjo.co.uk