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Bob Powers In conducting a survey of the best musicians on Earth, Chick Corea would certainly receive a bundle of votes. But he's thought more of a band leader than as a pianist. However, those who see Corea as the head man of the group Origin may be persuaded to alter their opinion of this gifted musician after listening to his brand new two-disc set.
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"Standards" and "Originals" (on Coreas own Stretch label) present this wonderful musician in an unusual solo setting. No support whatsoever here, just Corea's masterful 10 fingers and a Yahama CF111-S nine-foot grand piano.
In the album notes, Corea says that ten concerts were recorded and then he picked out what he considered the best material from each. The result is a haunting collection of Corea's own music, which sometimes borders on classical, and a wise array of standards.
The material was recorded late in 1999, at concerts staged in Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway. Despite the hazards of concert recordings, almost all the cuts on the album seem pristine and unadulterated by crowd noises. As a working musician, Corea seems completely at home in front of an audience. From the evidence of these discs, the audiences were completely in tune with the performer, making for an almost perfect combination.
In listening to these discs over the past couple of weeks, I remain undecided as to which I enjoyed most. Except for two charts by Alexander Seriabin, "Originals" contains a healthy cross section of the music written by Corea over several decades. One of his most popular compositions, "Childrens Song," (written between 1971 and 1976) receives a gorgeous rendering of parts six, ten and twelve.
Another standout is "Armandos Rhumba," which Corea wrote for his father Armando in 1976. A jazz trumpeter, Armando inspired Chick to enter music as his full-time occupation. His salute to his dad is a dandy.
"Originals" contains four improvisations, using ideas given to Corea by his audiences on the tour. The penultimate track contains a spectacular version of Corea's 30-year-old song, the plaintive and beautiful "Spain."
"Standards" contains compositions that obviously have touched Corea in one way or another over the years. The album begins with a salute to Thelonious Monk, one of the pioneers of jazz as it exists today. "Monks Dream" carries a familiar theme, and easily makes the list of all-time jazz standards. Corea's performance is as good as anyone could wish.
The old ballad, "But Beautiful," is fairly new to Corea, he says. His rendition pays tribute to the melody, while soaring into improvisational territory with ease and grace. The majestic, romantic ballad, "Yesterdays," came from the prolific pen of Jerome Kern. Corea says he first learned the tune from Miles Davis' recordings. Beautiful song, beautiful interpretation by Corea.
Other songs on this album include "It Could Happen to You," "Round Midnight," "So In Love," "How Deep Is the Ocean," and "Brazil."
You can't go wrong by adding these stirring discs to your personal collection. As a performer, composer and jazz legend, Chick Corea ranks up there, about as high as you could possibly go.
Latin Soul
When the small package containing a copy of a new Latin soul album arrived at the Powers front porch a couple of weeks ago, I had to admit to myself that I'd never heard of Pucho Brown. But two things made me eager to listen to "How'm I Doin?" (Cannonball Records) First was an endorsement on the back of the jewel case by the late Tito Puente and second was the fact that the music had been produced by Todd Barkan, who has been involved in recording many of the major jazz stars of this generation."How'm I Doin?" is not groundbreaking music, but its a great deal of fun. To me, Latin soul must always translate into good times. On that rule, Pucho and his mighty men come through with distinction.
Some of the performers are well known to jazz or salsa fans, including flutist Dave Valentin (always a delight to the ears), tenor sax phenom Eric Alexander, and crack trumpet star Lew Soloff. This is quality music, always with a dazzling beat. Leader Pucho needs to bow to no others in his mastery of the timbales, that wonderful percussion instrument brought to enduring fame by the much-missed Tito Puente.
