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Purchase Contrast from CD Baby or you can download it from Apple iTunes

Contrast is a recording which features a wide variety of musical styles and composers. For years I have  enjoyed the challenge of being involved in a variety of musical environments. This recording is an attempt to bring some of those elements (jazz, solo and chamber music) together into one place. Featuring the music of David Burge, Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Guo Wen-Jing, John Lewis and Rusty Burge.

Read the review of at contemporarymusicproject.com by Don Skoog. There are more reviews at the bottom of this page.

Audio Samples (mp3)

 After Five (835 kb)

 Waltz for Tomorrow (747 kb)

 When Love Prevails (744 kb)

 Hot House (796 kb)

 Drama (659 kb)

 You and the Night and the Music (600 kb)

 ©2004 Broken Music All Rights Reserved

Rusty Burge-vibraphone and marimba
Belinda Reuning Burge-viola
Jim Connerley-piano
Dan Dorff-percussion
Michael Sharfe-bass
Marc Wolfley-drums
Percussion Group Cincinnati-Chinese opera cymbals
(Allen Otte, James Culley and Rusty Burge)

Reviews

The vibraphone sings like never before on Contrast.  Rusty's touch produces a montage of beautiful lines and thoughts that  flow effortlessly across the instrument.  He recreates the scope and possibilities of the vibraphone with each carefully performed nuance.  Contrasts is a  landmark recording that champions a new era for vibraphone. Tom Miller-steel pan artist

Mallet artist Rusty Burge is a complete musician. He covers vibes and marimba on a wde range of material from twentieth century avant garde to jazz standards. Highly recommended. Dick Sisto-vibraphone artist

Rusty Burge's cd Contrast is a wonderful exploration of the different musical worlds that the vibraphone can enhance. Dave Samuels-vibraphone artist
 

Rusty Burge's recent recording, Contrast, may surprise some listeners as they hear the spectrum of musical styles and gestures that provide what Burge calls 'an accurate account of my musical life.'  Those who know Burge primarily as a jazz vibist, as I do, will no doubt be satisfied, as he offers several examples of his lyrical, sensitive playing.  However, the real pleasure of listening to this disc is in discovering Rusty's other diverse talents.  His original compositions in the jazz idiom fit comfortably alongside the tunes by Davis and Lewis, and his interpretations of contemporary art music demonstrate his ability to negotiate the challenges of an entirely different musical language.  Furthermore, Rusty has surrounded himself with top caliber musicians (including his father, noted composer David Burge), who partner with him to present excellent music.  Thanks, Rusty (and friends), for allowing us to get to know you better. Chris Tanner - Director, Miami University Steel Band

Highlighting and celebrating the distinct, nimble and crisp voice of mallet percussion, University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music faculty member, Rusty Burge, assembles a first-class collection contemporary classical chamber works as well as a wide-ranging palette of jazz that dances from clever, frolicking, light-footed numbers to explorative, resonant and reflective pieces, revealing the exceptionally dynamic possibilities of marimba and vibraphone. An album with a long-arcing vision, "Contrast" exceeds its name with remarkable color and variance delivered with palpable conviction and precision. But Burge's expression and artistry only begin at his technical mastery and are carried forward with his insightful feeling for and presence with the music. Burge does not simply deliver these vivid pieces, he inhabits them and, like the best of the best, he is inseparable from the performance, instilling the emotion and soul into these works as living, breathing entities. One gets the sense of these pieces being cradled and cared for then cast like a stone that draws perfect concentric circles in the water. Nevertheless, however one perceives it, "Contrast" is a must for classical and jazz percussion enthusiasts. Cd Baby-Tamara Turner
 

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