GARY BURTON — Duster (review)

GARY BURTON — Duster album cover Album · 1967 · Post Bop Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
darkprinceofjazz
Many believe this is the beginning of jazz rock, Duster certainly fuses rock and jazz styles, but I must confess I was disappointed at first listen, It doesn't sound all that ground breaking to me, it actually sounds dated a bit to my ears, Just a quartet session, With Burton on Vibes, Larry Coryell on Guitar, Roy Haynes on Drums, and Steve Swallow on Bass, an impeccably played chamber jazz of sorts, Coryell does play in a rock style, but he sure isn't riffing it up like on many of his own early 70's albums, Burton's Vibes are traditional and safe in the jazz zone, I don't feel much of a rock vibe here at all, just a little bit, I was expecting this otherworldly masterpiece of fusion, But in the end, it was just a start I suppose?, The ground breaking wouldn't happen until Miles Davis Got the Electric instrument bug, and Tony Williams Larry Young and John McLaughlin formed Lifetime at about the same time, who were all apart of some of the early Davis experiments.

So, was Duster really the first jazz rock album? well, maybe technically it could be considered that, but it doesn't feel like to me. I think the Coming together of jazz and rock was a spontaneous happening, younger rock and jazz musicians intermingling together, the British Invasion of America and the biggie, Miles Davis was being left behind, his music was considered an antique, a relic of the past, he was also running out of money, and Miles wanted desperately to have the fame of young blacks, I think the popularity of Sly and the Family Stone and Jimi Hendrix had a profound effect on him, Miles was the right guy at the right time to bring these elements together, Miles's greatest attribute may have been allowing these young talents to feel their oats, he did not attempt to stifle their growth, I think it would have been interesting to have heard Burton and Coryell play with Davis. Duster was a nice listen, but not all that memorable.
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