Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
"Grow Your Own" by Keith Jarrett - A great composition from Keith as heard on the 1971 recording with Keith and Gary Burton. Gary used to play this one with his band quite a bit during the 70's. He played this song in 1972 at the New England Life Hall in Boston with the Mike Gibbs Big Band. It was one of those "lightbulb" moments for me and which initiated a change from studying drums to vibraphone during my studies at Berklee. (I was so fortunate to be at Berklee during the 70s.) After that concert, the following semester I took a beginning mallet lab with Gary where he showed us the grip. We started playing tunes right away. After that I made the principal major switch from drums to vibraphone. I then studied with Tom Van Der Geld and Dave Samuels who were both great teachers. After that, I studied with Gary for the rest of my time at the college. Upon graduation, Gary asked me if I would be interested in teaching vibraphone at the college. I jumped at the chance and I started teaching in '76 at the age of 21. I had only been playing vibes for three years. I put in a lot of work and I was very fortunate.
The next book out will be "Lessons and Clinics with Gary Burton". After every lesson with Gary, I wrote down the key points of the lesson along with key things he said. I kept it in a notebook and now we will be releasing all of that in a book (well over 200 pages) as well as 9 clinics and an important 19 page handout that he put together before he began teaching Berklee. (Gary had forgot about it when I told him about it.) It's amazing that all of his concepts for playing the vibraphone and improvisation were completely solidified and methodically laid at his young age and documented in the handout. The book will also have many transcriptions from his recordings as well as from the clinics. It's been a labor of love and I'm happy to pass it on. Stay tuned.
"Grow Your Own" by Keith Jarrett - A great composition from Keith as heard on the 1971 recording with Keith and Gary Burton. Gary used to play this one with his band quite a bit during the 70's. He played this song in 1972 at the New England Life Hall in Boston with the Mike Gibbs Big Band. It was one of those "lightbulb" moments for me and which initiated a change from studying drums to vibraphone during my studies at Berklee. (I was so fortunate to be at Berklee during the 70s.) After that concert, the following semester I took a beginning mallet lab with Gary where he showed us the grip. We started playing tunes right away. After that I made the principal major switch from drums to vibraphone. I then studied with Tom Van Der Geld and Dave Samuels who were both great teachers. After that, I studied with Gary for the rest of my time at the college. Upon graduation, Gary asked me if I would be interested in teaching vibraphone at the college. I jumped at the chance and I started teaching in '76 at the age of 21. I had only been playing vibes for three years. I put in a lot of work and I was very fortunate.
The next book out will be "Lessons and Clinics with Gary Burton". After every lesson with Gary, I wrote down the key points of the lesson along with key things he said. I kept it in a notebook and now we will be releasing all of that in a book (well over 200 pages) as well as 9 clinics and an important 19 page handout that he put together before he began teaching Berklee. (Gary had forgot about it when I told him about it.) It's amazing that all of his concepts for playing the vibraphone and improvisation were completely solidified and methodically laid at his young age and documented in the handout. The book will also have many transcriptions from his recordings as well as from the clinics. It's been a labor of love and I'm happy to pass it on. Stay tuned.
