The album features three original members and jazz legends Gary Burton, Pat Metheny and Steve Swallow along with another new member, and perhaps one of the most prominent jazz drummers of his generation, Antonio Sanchez. The 11-song album was recorded live at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland, CA.
Quartet Live! starts off with Chick Corea’s “Sea Journey,” one of many songs Corea wrote for the Burton group, and features songs written by Carla Bley (“Olhos de Gato” and “Syndrome”) and Keith Jarrett (“Coral”). Metheny’s composing talents are also represented here by tunes composed during his Burton Quartet years: the fast and furious “Missouri Uncompromised,” the haunting “B and G,” and “Question and Answer,” one of Pat’s most well-known pieces.
The story begins in 1967 when bassist Steve Swallow joined with vibraphonist Gary Burton to form the original Gary Burton Quartet. In the early 1970s, then 19-year old guitarist Pat Metheny joined Burton’s band and one of the most celebrated careers in music began. A decade ago Metheny discovered drummer Antonio Sanchez, inviting him to join The Pat Metheny Group, and the two have been playing together ever since.
The result is four legendary musicians, improvisers and composers all, each at the top of his game, bringing modern jazz history to life on Quartet Live! The new Gary Burton Quartet will add more performances in the US and Canada in 2009.
