Solo
Piano: Portraits features Corea classics, music from Thelonious Monk, Stevie
Wonder, Béla Bartók and much more, as well as improvisations that paint musical
"portraits" of audience members from around the world
Solo
Piano: Portraits, set for international release May 6, 2014, is an
extraordinary audio document, a rare opportunity to hear Chick Corea, one of
the most legendary jazz artists of his generation, in a compelling, insightful
overview – spoken and played – of the intimate aspects of his art.
(International release dates may vary)
When
Chick recorded Piano Improvisations on the ECM label in 1971, he was one of the
first jazz pianists of his era to release such a recording. The groundbreaking
album literally opened the floodgates to a new genre of solo piano that
continues strong today.
In 2014,
Chick will be releasing this new solo CD set and embarking upon a world tour
with a presentation that is as fresh and innovative as ever. With a perfect
balance of in-the-moment improvisation, Corea classics, jazz standards,
classical renderings and the inimitable Children’s Songs, it is a must-see
concert if there ever was one.
The
roots of the album trace to the warm interaction Chick has always had with his
concert audiences. Thus the title of the
CD set.
“I've
always found it difficult,” he says, “to just walk on stage, sit down at the
piano and just play, without talking to the audience. Maybe I should try that some time, but I
don't know how to do it yet. What I
really do is try to create kind of a living room atmosphere in the concert hall
itself.”
In his
desire to enhance that environment, he began to invite audience members on
stage and offer to do individual musical portraits of each.
“We
place a chair beside the piano,” Chick recalls, “and a volunteer comes up, not
exactly knowing what's going to happen, I watch the way they walk, how they're
dressed, etcetera, I ask their name and then try to define who they are in an
improvised solo.”
On the
new album, Chick begins to take a similar path in the first disc with “Chick
Talks: About Solo Piano,” a thoughtful spoken narrative about the unique and
special qualities of solo jazz piano playing.
He follows his remarks with an in-performance presentation of those
qualities via his version of the standard “How Deep Is the Ocean?”
Having
expressed his own illuminating view of the inventive potentials of solo piano
jazz, Chick digs deeply into Portraits with a series of paired tracks, recorded
in various cities around the world. With
each, he discusses his views regarding the work of a group of legendary jazz
figures, followed by his own solo excursions through some of their familiar
originals and interpretations.
However,
the Portraits of Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Steve Wonder, Bud Powell etc.
were not, according to Chick, created as portraits comparable to those he
creates with audience members.
“I see
the Bill Evans, Monk, etc. pieces,” he says, “as something more than
portraits. They're really more like
interpretations of their music.”
The
initial “interpretation” opens with “Chick Talks: About Bill Evans,” in which
Chick's spoken thoughts about the much honored Evans are linked to the next
track, showcasing his unique version of Evans' “Waltz for Debby.” Eleven years older than Chick, Evans had a
powerful impact upon the pianists of the post WWII generation of jazz artists.
More than most, Chick – born in 1941 – has transformed that impact into his
desire to honor Evans' music while finding his own jazz pathways through the
ever-complex world of jazz.
The
second Portrait takes a different slant, as “Chick Talks: About Stevie Wonder,”
recalling his early interest in the soul and R&B sounds of Stevie Wonder,
followed by his own version of Wonder's “Pastime Paradise” from the hugely
successful album Songs in the Key of Life.
The
range of expressive creativity between the first two Portraits – Bill Evans and
Stevie Wonder – continues to be handled brilliantly by Chick as he goes on to
explore new Portraits over the course of the album's remaining tracks.
The next
Portrait focuses on the incomparable Thelonious Monk. The linkages between
Chick and Monk may seem unexpectedly wide, but Chick's creative imagination has
always been receptive to an extraordinarily far-ranging array of ideas. And, as Chick notes in “Chick Talks: About
Thelonious Monk,” he found some compelling aspects among Monk's many eccentric
musical qualities. Many of those
qualities are fully present in Chick's versions of “'Round Midnight” (the most
recorded jazz standard composed by a jazz musician) and “Pannonica” (inspired
by the British jazz supporter, Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter).
The
fourth Portrait explores the music of legendary bop pianist Bud Powell. Chick begins with his “Chick Talks: About Bud
Powell,” in which he tells of the impact Powell had upon his early
development. Fully illustrating that
impact, Chick follows his “Talks” with his richly communicative renderings of
Powell's “Dusk in Sandi” and “Oblivion” from Powell's album Bud Powell's
Moods.''
Disc 1
of Solo Piano: Portraits closes with a musical change of pace, devoting the
final track to the flamenco music of Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucía. The choice isn't surprising, given Chick's
affection for Latin music of all sorts.
After his “Chick Talks: About Paco de Lucía,” he wraps the first disc
with a rhythmically dynamic version of de Lucía's “The Yellow Nimbus,” (first
recorded by Chick on his 1982 album Touchstone).
Disc 2
of Solo Piano: Portraits continues with a very different collection of musical
illustrations. But this time Chick
begins with classical music and children's songs before climaxing with his
impressionistic jazz piano views of memorable locations around the world
The first
track features Chick's spoken thoughts about the melodic lyricism and the lush
harmonies of Russian composer Alexander Scriabin, whom Chick describes as a
powerful influence. Fully expressing the
significance of that influence, he interprets Scriabin's Preludes #2 and #4
from the unique perspective of his ever-exploratory solo piano playing.
Chick's
classical episode continues with one of his favorite composers, Béla
Bartók. Opening the segment with “Chick
Talks: About Bartók” he notes that “Béla Bartók was the first classical
composer that really caught my attention when I was in high school, a long time
ago.” He then underscores his narrative
with a dynamic performance of the arching, Hungarian-tinged phrases of Bartók's
colorful Bagatelles #1 through #4.
The
program shifts into a different direction next, via Chick's fascination with
music for children. After opening with
his narrative about children's songs, he plays a sequence of nine original
Children's Songs. Each overflows with luscious melodies and the tangy
dissonance of child-like rhythms.
Disc 2
comes to an enlightening geographical close with yet another collection of
Corea originals, this time applying his compositional and improvisational
talents to illustrate what he calls “A journey through some of my favorite
landscapes, and some unknown ones, too.”
The “favorite landscapes” are gifted with Chick's finest impressionistic
playing, creating convincing musical views of Krakow (Poland), Casablanca
(Morocco), Easton (Maryland) and Vilnius (Lithuania). Each is a spontaneous portrait of an audience
member in those geographical locations who came on stage to experience Chick's
musical artistry.
And it's
no exaggeration to describe the “favorite landscapes” on the second disc of
Solo Piano: Portraits as appropriate, climactic final acts in what will surely
be recognized as one of Chick Corea's most creatively mesmerizing performances.
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