MUSIC

Gary Burton's debut release on Mack Avenue Records, Common Ground, is Burton's first studio album since 2005, and introduces his latest band, the New Gary Burton Quartet, featuring guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Antonio Sanchez. The group performs during the closing night concert of the 2011 Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival. Burton, the Grammy-winning pioneer of the four-mallet vibraphone technique, has been well-known throughout his five-decade career for his quartets (beginning with his 1967 group featuring Larry Coryell, Roy Haynes, and Steve Swallow). "Whenever I start a new group, I often wonder how things will work, to see if the musicians will enjoy playing together and are ready to take the music to a higher level," says Burton. "With the new band, I'm thrilled. It's proving to be one of the standout bands of my career and has already quickly developed its own identity."