In 1990 Gary Burton had for more than two decades been generally considered the predominant vibraphonist of modern jazz. He is a stylist and a virtuoso, an original and highly admired artist, not especially influenced by his predecessors on the vibe or by the wind styles of bop. He cites such jazz pianists as Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk as main inspirators. He has at the same time been open to and thus fused jazz with other types of music: country, rock, Latin America, contemporary European. Burton is famous for his harmonically sophisticated and lyric touch, his extensive use of dynamics, and his pioneering four mallets technique.
   After playing with George Shearing, Burton came to the fore as a member of the Stan Getz Quartet of 1964-66. Since then, he has led own groups most of the time and/or worked closely together with such brilliant performers as Carla Bley, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Steve Swallow, Mike Gibbs, Larry Coryell, Pat Metheny and Astor Piazzolla. In fact, Burton has toured all over the world with some of the most established musicians as well as with remarkable results of his activity as a talent scout and a catalyst. He is also very active as an educator and was in 1985 made Dean of Curriculum at Berklee School of Music, Boston.