Saturday, May 28th - 8pm. $60
Avalon Theatre - Easton, MD 21601
Box Office: 410.822.7299
avalontheatre.com
chickcorea.com
If you’re a jazz-head, or even a fair weather fan of jazz, then you know the name Chick Corea; a masterful pianist who, along with Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, was one of the top stylists to emerge after Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner. You probably know he’s played with Miles Davis and that he fronted the definitive jazz-fusion ‘superband’ Return To Forever. You might even know about his more recent genre-hopping classical composer credentials that have earned him accolades galore.
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| Chick - early 1960's |
But for those who are not aware of the fact that the musician/composer is quite literally the definitive jazz pianist of his generation, and is coming to Easton, MD this May – I have attempted in the following paragraphs to justify why the serious music fan should absolutely and most seriously consider catching Chick during his upcoming Avalon gig.
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| Now He Sings, Now He Sobs - released March, 1968 |
One of the most significant jazzmen since the late '60s and never content at any time to rest on his laurels, Chick Corea began life in the Boston area as the son of his musician father Armando Corea. Known for its vibrant arts scene and hotbed of jazz musicians at the time, Boston turned out to be the perfect environment for a young Chick (tee-hee) to develop and hone piano and music composition skills that would soon catapult him into jazz’s most sought after brains. By 1968 he had recorded and released Now He Sings, Now He Sobs – an album that critics, fans, but even more importantly, his musical peers, considered the finest jazz/piano trio album ever released. It still holds this status today, which would be enough for many to hang there hat on; cruising into middle age on a plateau of similarly sounding records and projects, earning jazz royalty status and a respectable paycheck while never going out on any musical limbs.
But this is Chick Corea were talking about. This was simply the beginning of the man’s career. A career that has painted many pictures, wearing many, many faces.
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| Bitches Brew - released April, 1970 |
His musical curiosity has never dimmed. Early proof of this came when, after a short stint with "Sassy" Sarah Vaughan, Corea was asked and subsequently joined Miles Davis as Herbie Hancock's gradual replacement, staying with Davis during a very important transitional period (1968-1970). He was a player and major contributor on significant albums, such as Filles de Kilimanjaro and Bitches Brew...which also showcased his transition to the Fender Rhodes electric piano - suggested by none other than Miles himself.
It would also mark the beginning of a lengthy process of hopping back & forth between acoustic and electric sounds, a key to the player’s uniqueness and growing legendary status.
By the end of 1971 Corea had changed directions again, forming and leaving the quartet Circle, playing briefly with Stan Getz, then forming a latin-tinged, melodic outfit called Return To Forever. Within a year, Corea (with Stanley Clarke, Al DiMeola and Lenny White) had redirected RTF into a pacesetting, high-powered fusion band. While the music was rock-oriented – a first for Corea - it still retained the improvisations of jazz and the keyboardist remained quite recognizable, even under the barrage of electronics.
RTF has reared its sonically ambitious face on several occasions since the band first broke up in the late '70s – the most recent of which is happening right now, as Return To Forever IV embarks on a world tour. (Corea’s solo Avalon stop is his last before heading to Australia in June with Clarke, White, Frank Gambale (replacing DiMeola on guitar) and jazz violinist extraordinaire Jean Luc Ponty.)
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| Return To Forever |
Of course, having appeared on more than 100 recordings (most of which are his projects and compositions), there’s a lot more to the ever-evolving history of Mr. Corea. Like the Duo tour with Herbie Hancock where both pianists played acoustically, facing one another. Quartets with Michael Brecker; trios with John Patitucci & Roy Haynes; and countless, substantive collaborations (some recorded, some touring, some both) with Bobby McFerrin, Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett, Kenny Garrett, Dave Holland, Gary Burton, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny...and the list goes on.
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| Chick & Herbie Hancock |
1985’s Chick Corea Elektric Band and 89’s Akoustic Trio are stand out discs, as are 1999’s Concerto Corea with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Corea’s seamless foray into the world of classical), 2003’s Rendezvous in New York, 2006’s The Ultimate Adventure (an exploration of North African sounds), and 2007’s The Enchantment with banjoist and world music royalty Bela Fleck.
Fun Fact: All of Corea's 8 Grammy awards (from 25 nominations) have come during his last 15 years of work.
In anticipation of the new tour, Return to Forever IV recently graced the cover of DownBeat magazine, further reminding us why Chick is as hot as ever and prompting the musician to say, “I can’t wait to see what happens (on tour). So many people—and that includes the members of the band—have waited so long for this. Playing the music again with the guys in rehearsals has been so much fun, but doing this for our fans is almost too good to be true.”
What's almost too good to be true is that Chick Corea is performing in our own backyard. It’s definitely as monumental as Wynton Marsalis’ two-night stand in January of 2009. If you’re a classic rock fan, it’s like The Stones were coming to the Avalon and tickets were still available. Yup.
Chick Corea IS jazz. And jazz is alive. So do yourself a favor: Add a very impressive and worthwhile ticket stub to your collection by witnessing an artist who embodies an entire genre of music.
-D.E. Ferraris
