COMPOSERS: Chick Corea
LABELS: GRP
WORKS: Music Forever and Beyond
PERFORMER: Chick Corea (p, elec p, kbds); with ensembles including Miles Davis, Bob Berg, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz, etc
CATALOGUE NO: GRD-5-9819 (distr. New Note via BMG)
At the height of Chick Corea’s fame in the Seventies as a fusion mercenary, a free pardon back to the ranks of acoustic jazz seemed impossible. His band, Return to Forever, represented on the second CD of this set, personified technique at the expense of content, which hastened the fall from popularity of the whole fusion genre. Subsequently he has been portrayed as a musical lightweight while the efforts of lesser talents have claimed the critics’ attention. But, as this career retrospective makes clear, Corea (still only 55), is not a musician who conveniently fits into any pigeonhole. His early work with Blue Mitchell, Stan Getz, and with his group Circle, reveal Corea’s fast-developing abilities that culminated in his first masterpiece, the album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, represented here by ‘Matrix’. Disc three deals with his GRP period, disc four explores his work with the likes of Gary Burton and Miles Davis, while the fifth disc is a previously unissued album by his acoustic quartet. Together, they comprise an important statement by a key figure in contemporary jazz. SN
Chick Corea: Music Forever and Beyond
At the height of Chick Corea’s fame in the Seventies as a fusion mercenary, a free pardon back to the ranks of acoustic jazz seemed impossible. His band, Return to Forever, represented on the second CD of this set, personified technique at the expense of content, which hastened the fall from popularity of the whole fusion genre. Subsequently he has been portrayed as a musical lightweight while the efforts of lesser talents have claimed the critics’ attention. But, as this career retrospective makes clear, Corea (still only 55), is not a musician who conveniently fits into any pigeonhole.
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:06 pm