The New Crystal Silence
Chick Corea & Gary Burton
A fresh revisiting of their
classic repertoire

THE NEW CRYSTAL SILENCE
Chick Corea/Gary Burton
& The Sydney Symphony




Notes on Silence
By Gary Burton

We played our first duet by accident 35 years ago at a jazz festival in Germany. That night, the festival promoter asked each musician to wrap up the concert with a jam session. It turned out we were the only ones who said yes, so Chick quickly taught me his new song, “La Fiesta,” and that night we surprised the audience with our duet. It was a big hit with the crowd and that led to the making of Crystal Silence, the first of five CD collaborations and the start of 35 years of concerts around the world. At the time, neither of us thought it was going to turn into a lifelong pursuit. It was just a lot of fun to play together, but we soon realized that something more was going on.

We planned several days of recording time when we went into the studio, but to our surprise we finished the whole thing in a few hours.  All the tracks were first takes except for “Señor Mouse,” which we recorded twice. We sat around listening to the playbacks for a while then decided we might as well go home. We had what we wanted. And that ease of playing has been consistent for us throughout the years.  With any musician you will have some degree of rapport. It might be minimal or it might be at a high level.  With the two of us, it is at a level where magical things occur. We seem to read each other’s minds, sensing when new twists and turns in the improvisations are about to occur. By the time we finish a concert, we’re buzzing with excitement because of what happened on stage.

There is also the special intensity of one-to-one playing. Making music with a band is like being in a panel discussion. Playing completely solo is like giving a speech to an audience. But in a duet, it’s like having a conversation with a close friend. Except unlike spoken communication where you take turns speaking, with music you both play continually as you communicate with each other, so the interaction is far more intense and exciting.

That excitement has kept us going all these years. Friendship is a big part of it too. We have been touring and recording regularly for all these years. Sometimes we tour intensely, sometimes we just do occasional special performances, but we have never let a year go by without working together.

I’ve always held the theory that all musical collaborations, particularly among jazz musicians, eventually run their course as players evolve and everyone eventually moves on to new ventures. But, I’ve come to believe that what Chick and I have together is going to break that rule. The performing we have done over the past year has been our best in 35 years and we are very pleased to make it available to you on these CDs.

Enjoy the music and look for us to be out there playing concerts for many years to come.

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