In honor of vibraphone icon Gary Burton’s 83rd birthday, we spoke to guitarist Julian Lage about the lineage of master guitar players who have worked with Burton over the decades, including his own remarkable tenure in the vibraphonist’s band beginning in the early 2000s. Lage shares his thoughts on Burton’s integration of the guitar into his musical vision, the unique qualities each guitarist brought to the band, and the myriad lessons he learned under his leadership.

Beyond Burton’s career as an innovative instrumentalist, composer, educator, and bandleader, he was a keen-eyed talent scout whose band featured a procession of world class guitarists including Larry Coryell, Jerry Hahn, Sam Brown, Mick Goodrick, Pat Metheny, John Scofield Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Lage, who first met Burton at 12 and first recorded with him at 16.

In addition to the guitarists who found a home in his band, Burton recorded and performed with a litany of other greats during his singular career including Jim Hall, Hank Garland, Kevin Eubanks, Wolfgang Muthspiel, B.B. King, Joe Beck, and Ralph Towner, before retiring from music in 2017.