Record Reviews

CHICK COREA / HIROMI UEHARA ~ DUET STRETCH 230827 (Barcode: 888072308275) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2007 Released: 2008 We all know Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist loves playing piano duets with other pianists. The legendary recordings from 1978 with Herbie HancockFind albums by this artist are to this very day some of my all time favorite Jazz recordings. Seeing this new album, featuring acoustic piano duets with another favorite pianist of mine, Japanese prodigy Hiromi UeharaFind albums by this artist, really made my heart “jump” for a brief moment, as this was almost to good to be true. I did know these two played live together before, but a whole album and a double one at that – stupendous! The album was recorded live at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Tokyo, and includes, as Chick puts it, eloquently as always: “1 night, 2 pianos, 2 sets, 4 hands, 12 songs, 20 fingers, 176 keys, about 600 people in the audience and thousands of musical ideas exchanging between the two pianist and the audience”. It is exactly that and so much more… Regardless is the song is a standard, a piece written by Chick or by Hiromi, the two have a field day each and every time. The interplay is telepathic, the improvisations divine, the humor obvious and it all makes perfect musical sense and is so beautiful, that I had a marvelous time listening to the album twice in a row, something I almost never do usually. I hope I really don’t have to convince anybody this is superb music. Let me just state that in the last couple of years I have heard so much stupid allegations regarding Hiromi’s “commercialism”, “selling out” and other bullshit, I’m really glad that this album just blows all these baseless nonsense out of the window. Absolutely essential music for body and soul!

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CHICK COREA ~ THE MUSICIAN STRETCH 888072026490 (Barcode: 888072026490) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2016 As 2021 nears its end it’s time to commemorate the passing of one of the greatest heroes of American Jazz, keyboardist / composer / bandleader Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist, who sadly passed in February this year. This is a 3CD album by Corea, recorded live at the NY Blue Note club in 2011, during the celebrations of his 70th Birthday. It features ten different lineups with thirty musicians, which span Corea’s extraordinary career and which produced some of the greatest American Jazz ever. The lineups include Return To ForeverFind albums by this artist, Five Peace BandFind albums by this artist, Electric BandFind albums by this artist, duos with Bobby McFerrinFind albums by this artist, Gary BurtonFind albums by this artist, Herbie HancockFind albums by this artist, Marcus RobertsFind albums by this artist and others. Together the collected list of musicians sounds like the Who’s Who of the 20th Century American Jazz (and a few Europeans for good measure). For the avid Corea fans, who followed his career for five decades (up to that point) the album does not innovate of course, being primarily an overview and it excludes his early days, when he played mostly Avant-Garde Jazz, but a comprehensive summary would have taken a few more hours (or CDs) of course. But as it is, it offers four hours of incredible, diverse and superb music, performed by brilliant musicians, so one can’t go wrong here. Overall, this is certainly a proper document of one of the many facets of Corea’s music, which embraced a plethora of styles, genres and approaches, from Avant-Garde to Fusion, always brilliant and completely unique. His Artistry will be sadly missed and his sweet personality, to those who met him, will be always a cherished memory.

Updated: 30/12/2021Posted: 30/12/2021

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CHICK COREA & STEVE GADD BAND ~ CHINESE BUTTERFLY STRETCH 888072042186 (Barcode: 888072042186) ~ USA ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is a 2CD studio album recorded by a band co-led by two legendary American musicians: keyboardist / composer Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist and drummer Steve GaddFind albums by this artist, who recorded together many times before, but never co-led a band together. They are joined by guitarist Lionel LouekeFind albums by this artist, saxophonist / flautist Steve WilsonFind albums by this artist, Cuban bassist Carlitos Del PuertoFind albums by this artist and Venezuelan percussionist Luisito QuinteroFind albums by this artist. Vocalist Philip BaileyFind albums by this artist joins them on one tune. The album presents eight tracks, six composed by Corea, one co-composed by him and Loueke and one is a John McLaughlinFind albums by this artist composition. The music is all highly melodic, with a strong Latin tinge, dominated by typical Corea’s Fusiony compositions and lengthy improvisations, which allows the excellent musicians to show their chops. Three of the tracks last for well over quartet of an hour and document the “jam like” atmosphere of this recording session. Most of the music is new, written by Corea especially for this album, but a new and much extended version of the classic “Return To Forever” song, which features Bailey, is certainly one of the highlights of this album. In some respect this album could be regarded as a preamble to the “Antidote” album recorded a couple of years later and features some of the musicians present on this album. Overall, this a great and highly rewarding album, which offers the familiar Corea’s musical explorations between Fusion and Jazz-World Fusion, to which he returned in the few last years of his life. Superb compositions and performances, which never fail to bring a smile. Highly recommended!

Updated: 13/04/2022Posted: 13/04/2022

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CHICK COREA ~ PORTRAITS STRETCH 888072356030 (Barcode: 888072356030) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 - 2012 Released: 2014 As incredible as it might sound, pianist / composer Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist has been an integral and continuous element of the soundtrack of my life for the last five decades. I travelled with him hand in hand through every album he released over the years, moving from modern Jazz, to Free and Improvised Music, to piano solo miniatures, to Fusion, back to modern mainstream, to piano-vibraphone duets, to piano duets, to electric groups and acoustic trios, to Classical explorations and on and on. What a journey... As usual every new album by Chick is an adventure. It´s been a while since he released a solo piano album and this 2CD set full of outstanding solo performances is a true delight in every sense. All the music was recorded live during his solo piano performances in Europe, Canada and US (and even Africa). On the first CD Chick performs several lengthy interpretations of pieces by Thelonious MonkFind albums by this artist, Bud PowellFind albums by this artist and Bill EvansFind albums by this artist, one standard and one pop song by Stevie WonderFind albums by this artist. The last track on the first CD is his composition dedicated to Paco De LuciaFind albums by this artist. On the second CD he performs twenty five miniatures, first by Classical composers Alexander ScriabinFind albums by this artist and Bela BartokFind albums by this artist and then two sets of his own compositions grouped under the common titles: "Children´s Songs" and "Portraits". Both CDs include Chick´s spoken interludes explaining his intentions and motivations behind the music he performs. It seems pretty superfluous to try and explain anything about the music herein. Obviously it presents a wide scope of cultural backgrounds from Classical European music to modernism and than Jazz and its various facets and finally the personal universe of Chick Corea, which is able to contain all that infinite richness and expand upon it. Chick´s way of playing is very personal and quite recognizable to his followers and connoisseurs, so there are no great surprises in that area, except that for a man in his seventies Chick is infinitely more alive, creative and inventive than today´s young zombie generation stuck inside their smart phones. Technically the music is superbly recorded, with excellent detail and warm ambience, which makes listening to this album a delightful experience. Chick is still one of the leaders of the Jazz pack and life seems to treat him and his music well, for which we all should be grateful. Listening for two hours to this music is a trip to sanity so put your feet up and enjoy as long as you can.

Updated: 26/08/2020Posted:

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CHICK COREA ~ TRILOGY STRETCH 888072356856 (Barcode: 888072356856) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 - 2012 Released: 2014 This is an album by the American Jazz pianist / composer / bandleader Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist recorded with his trio which includes bassist Christian McBrideFind albums by this artist and drummer Brian BladeFind albums by this artist. Three guest musicians appear on selected tracks. The music was recorded live during two extended tours by this trio. The album presents seventeen tracks, which are a mixture of five Corea originals, eleven standards and one Classical piece arranged by Corea, spread over 3 CDs. Corea (born 1941) has been one of the most prominent American Jazz musicians in the last six decades and his contribution to the genre is simply beyond putting it into words. He performed in many diverse Jazz environments but his solo piano and the classic piano trio work was always my absolute favorite part of his astounding musical heritage. As much as I admire his own compositions, his interpretations of Jazz standards are among the finest out there, in the same stratum as those by Herbie HancockFind albums by this artist and Keith JarrettFind albums by this artist. I have followed Corea´s recordings zealously for decades and had the pleasure to listen to him play many a time as well as meet him in person on several occasions. Anybody who ever heard Corea play live must have observed his superb ability to communicate with the audience and create an unprecedented rapport, which is almost always also present on his live recordings, including this one. The trio plays together marvelously and the age difference between the Master and his rhythm section is completely insignificant. A perfect balance as far as dividing the roles and exchanging solos, which is flawlessly documented by the outstanding recording quality, turns this album into an ecstatic (but also highly aesthetic) listening experience. Yes there is nothing new here and we have heard it all before – so what? Jazz of such high quality is like air and water – there is never too much of it. Corea proved over time that he is one of the most inquisitive American musicians, who tried everything Jazz has to offer between Jazz-Rock Fusion to Avant-Garde explorations, so he certainly can´t be accused of clinging to the weathered American Jazz formulas. Playing classic mainstream Jazz as good as the music presented here is always high Art. Hats off to you Maestro!

Updated: 17/07/2019Posted: 17/07/2019

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AVISHAI COHEN ~ ADAMA STRETCH 9015 (Barcode: 013431901525) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 1998 Released: 1998 1st album by Israeli bassist / composer Avishai CohenFind albums by this artist, recorded while he was a member of Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist’s acoustic trio and the OriginFind albums by this artist sextet and released on Corea’s label StretchFind albums on this label Records. The core lineup, which participates in the album’s recording is a sextet with Cohen, Steve WilsonFind albums by this artist on soprano sax, Steve DavisFind albums by this artist on trombone (both Origin members), Jason LindnerFind albums by this artist on piano, another Israeli – Amos HoffmanFind albums by this artist on guitar and Jeff BallardFind albums by this artist on drums. In addition, some guest artists are also appearing, including Chick Corea, Brad Mehldau and Danilo Perez on piano. Cohen’s ability as a bass player is of course legendary and needs no further discussion here, but his true greatness is his extraordinary ability to compose superb Jazz pieces, which skillfully combine the American Jazz tradition with other musical elements, mainly folklore and World Music. Cohen’s Middle Eastern background is clearly evident in his music, although he is also wide open to other sources of inspiration. Of the twelve pieces on the album Cohen composed eleven using just one standard. The overall effect is truly refreshing and the combined skills of the musicians involved create an album of rare beauty, which contains an immense amount of new and exciting music. A truly remarkable debut, which announces many great things to come out of this extraordinary talent. A must!

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CHICK COREA / ORIGIN ~ LIVE AT THE BLUE NOTE STRETCH 9018 (Barcode: 013431901822) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1998 Released: 1998 Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist’s acoustic sextet OriginFind albums by this artist was formed in late 1997 by expanding his acoustic trio (Avishai CohenFind albums by this artist – bass and Adam CruzFind albums by this artist – drums) with the addition of trombonist Steve DavisFind albums by this artist and two reeds players Bob SheppardFind albums by this artist and Steve WilsonFind albums by this artist. After a brief period of rehearsals and one club performance the band was booked to play for six nights (two sets each night) at the NY Blue Note club, which was to be the band’s official premiere. All the music played at Blue Note was recorded, initially mainly for the sake of documentation, but upon listening to the results Corea decided to release this album, which presents just a taste of what happened there. A much more comprehensive recording project, capturing three entire nights (6 sets) was released as a 6 CDs set under the title “The Complete 1998 Live At The Blue Note RecordingsFind albums with this title”. Origin proved to be indeed an “origin”, a new beginning for Chick, who hasn’t led an acoustic sextet for over 20 years. It served as a perfect vehicle to develop and present a set of new compositions, which show an older and seasoned Jazz Master at work. The music is complex, somewhat dark, serious and multi-layered, requiring attentive listening. In many respects it often resembles some contemporary Classical Music influences. The players have plenty of space to develop both individual and collective extended improvisations, which of course are quite brilliant. Corea is not featured as the main soloist and steps back to become just one of the band’s members. All the music presented on this album, except for one standard, was composed by Corea, who re-examines his life’s achievements here, moving skillfully between his various musical activities, as diverse as Latin music and Free Jazz. All together this is a splendid example of modern Jazz at it’s best, with great music and excellent playing all the way. Corea’s fans don’t need any encouragement here and others should definitely investigate.

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AVISHAI COHEN ~ DEVOTION STRETCH 9021 (Barcode: 013431902126) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 1999 Released: 1999 2nd album by Israeli bassist / composer Avishai CohenFind albums by this artist recorded while he was a member of Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist’s acoustic trio and the OriginFind albums by this artist sextet and released on Corea’s label StretchFind albums on this label Records. The core lineup, which participates in the album’s recording is a sextet with Cohen, Jimmy GreeneFind albums by this artist on sax and flute, Steve DavisFind albums by this artist on trombone, Jason LindnerFind albums by this artist on piano, another Israeli – Amos HoffmanFind albums by this artist on guitar and oud and Jeff BallardFind albums by this artist on drums. Cohen expands his usage of instruments here, adding electric bass, piano, synthesizer and percussion. Cohen’s ability as a bass player is of course legendary and needs no further discussion here, but his true greatness is his extraordinary ability to compose superb Jazz pieces, which skillfully combine the American Jazz tradition with other musical elements, mainly folklore and World Music. Cohen’s Middle Eastern background is clearly evident in his music, although he is also wide open to other sources of inspiration. Of the fourteen pieces on the album, Cohen composed twelve, adding to the repertoire just one folk tune and one composition by the pianist. The overall effect is truly refreshing and the combined skills of the musicians involved create an album of rare beauty, which contains an immense amount of new and exciting music. This is a truly remarkable follow up to the great debut, which announces many great things to come out of this extraordinary talent. A must!

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

AVISHAI COHEN ~ COLORS STRETCH 9031 (Barcode: 013431903123) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2000 Released: 2000 3rd album by Israeli bassist / composer Avishai CohenFind albums by this artist and his most ambitious project to date. Cohen not only expands his personal musical range by adding electric bass and piano to the list of instruments he plays here, but also expanding the lineup of the participating musicians and even including a string quartet. The core lineup, which participates in the album’s recording is a septet with Cohen, Jimmy GreeneFind albums by this artist on reeds and flute, Steve DavisFind albums by this artist and Avi LebovichFind albums by this artist on trombone, Jason LindnerFind albums by this artist on piano, Amos HoffmanFind albums by this artist on guitar and oud and Jeff BallardFind albums by this artist on drums. In addition, some guest artists are also appearing. Cohen’s ability as a bass player is of course legendary and needs no further discussion here, but his true greatness is his extraordinary ability to compose superb Jazz pieces, which skillfully combine the American Jazz tradition with other musical elements, mainly folklore and World Music. Cohen’s Middle Eastern background is clearly evident in his music, although he is also wide open to other sources of inspiration, like Latin Music. Cohen composed all the thirteen tunes on this album. The overall effect is truly refreshing and the combined skills of the musicians involved create an album of rare beauty, which contains an immense amount of new and exciting music. This is a truly remarkable album, which portrays an extraordinary musical talent at work and shows a new path for the future of Jazz, which hopefully will open new horizons to the somewhat sleepy genre at the start of a new Millenium. A must!

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

AVISHAI COHEN ~ UNITY STRETCH 9036 (Barcode: 013431903628) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2001 Released: 2001 4th album by Israeli bassist / composer Avishai CohenFind albums by this artist and almost a complete about face for him in many respects. Cohen abandons the acoustic bass (which brought him his glory), switching to piano and electric bass and joins four other excellent musicians to form what they call The International Vamp BandFind albums by this artist. The quintet also includes Avi LebovichFind albums by this artist on trombone, Yosvany TerryFind albums by this artist on saxes, Diego UrcolaFind albums by this artist on trumpet, Yagil BarasFind albums by this artist on acoustic bass and Antonio SanchezFind albums by this artist on drums. Together they play some of the most exciting and invigorating music I heard in a long time, skillfully mixing Jazz with ethnic influences, mostly those of Latin, Cuban and Mexican music, but also touching on others, like the obvious Cohen’s Middle Eastern roots. Cohen wrote all the music, except for one standard. The performances are brilliant throughout, with many great solos, including Cohen on electric bass a la Jaco Pastorius. This music is a great document of the true “unity” that music offers to all people, regardless of race, nationality or cultural background – when it is good, it sound good to everybody. It is uplifting to see Jazz musicians embracing and incorporating ethnic roots, creating new mixtures and expanding the somewhat stiff palette of traditional Jazz. Cohen is undoubtedly a Master of his trade and his musical adventures so far provide a superb opportunity for his listeners to step across boundaries and learn new sounds, rhythms and musical colors. A must!

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