Chinese Butterfly finds the two longtime collaborators
co-leading a band for the first time, joined by Lionel Loueke, Steve Wilson,
Carlitos Del Puerto, Luisito Quintero and special guest Philip Bailey
Fifty-year musical partnerships are rare. But the bond
between keyboard virtuoso Chick Corea and master drummer Steve Gadd is
legendary: five decades after they first met, Corea and Gadd are making some of
the most vital, adventurous music they’ve ever created. Barnstorming funk-based
workouts, dazzling and intimate lyrical excursions and Spanish-hearted
improvisations set a new standard for no-boundaries jazz. And thankfully, they
caught it on tape.
Chinese Butterfly, Corea & Gadd’s debut two-disc studio album,
featuring five epic new Corea compositions, is scheduled for release January
19, 2018 via Concord Jazz. The album’s title hints at the rare and transfixing
beauty of its music. Chick and Steve use their shared history of fearless
innovation as a launching pad, pushing into new territory with an inspired band
of collaborators: Benin-born guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke, saxophonist
and flutist Steve Wilson, Cuban bassist Carlitos Del Puerto, and Venezuelan
percussionist Luisito Quintero.
The album is the realization of a long-held desire that
Chick and Steve shared, to work together more intensively. “Whenever Chick and
I bump into each other, we’re always talking about playing music together,”
Gadd says. “After many years of saying that, we finally put some time aside.”
Corea and Gadd first crossed paths in 1965, when Corea
briefly joined up with Gadd’s regular gig in Chuck Mangione’s band. Over the
next 10 years, Chick became one of the most influential keyboardists and
composers of his generation, in jazz or any other genre. Steve, likewise,
became a drum legend, laying down ageless, iconic rhythms with Paul Simon,
Steely Dan and countless others.
In 1972, Corea reimagined his pioneering Brazilian outfit
Return to Forever as an electric band, and Gadd became its first drummer. His
commitments as the most in-demand session drummer on the scene could not
accommodate RTF’s extensive touring schedule, but Corea & Gadd would
reunite in 1976 for Corea’s Grammy-winning The Leprechaun and the acclaimed My
Spanish Heart, whose mix of electric jazz and Latin rhythms echoes through
Chinese Butterfly. Their camaraderie was the backbone of 1981’s Three Quartets,
a watershed album for Chick’s writing and a master class in next-level
straight-ahead jazz.
By the time they cleared their schedules to get together at
Corea’s Florida studio in early 2017, their unique chemistry provided Chick
with a burst of compositional inspiration, beginning with “Like I Was Sayin’”
and the playfully titled “Gadd-zooks”.
“I’ve always enjoyed composing music for a band, and hearing
what Steve would do with my compositions,” Corea says. “When we started playing
those two tunes together, it felt so good that we started to talk about putting
a band together.”
While Corea is credited as the composer on the majority of
the set’s eight tunes (with John McLaughlin’s tribute “Chick’s Chums” and
“Wake-Up Call,” co-written with Loueke, the only exceptions), he insists that
the end result is a group effort, indelibly marked with Gadd’s distinctive
rhythmic sensibility. “It’s a co-creation,” he explains. “I write the
compositions, and Steve puts together the form of the rhythm, which is the
backbone of the band. In my music, rhythm is everything – if the music doesn't
have the right emotion and rhythm, it can’t live.”
Right from the opening seconds – a whip-crack
pulse-quickening intro to the infectious “Chick’s Chums,” – Gadd’s signature is
all over this album. He and Corea drive a band with bottomless reserves of
firepower: the opener’s deep-pocket funk and elegant lyricism give way to
“Serenity,” a showcase for Loueke’s stirring vocals and Wilson’s lilting flute.
The band’s high-wire dynamic comes to the fore through the taut, roiling
grooves of “Like I Was Sayin’,” which strips the ensemble down to a trio with
Del Puerto for the session’s most full-throttle excursion.
Corea’s keyboard mastery is breathtaking throughout, melding
beautifully with Quintero’s percussive pulse for the intricate Latin sound of
“A Spanish Song.” The tune strikes a unique balance between passionate emotion
and effortless complexity. Disc one closes with the title track, inspired by a
verse written by Corea’s friend, poet Malin Gelfan. “Your heart will tremble,”
the brief poem concludes, “like a Chinese Butterfly.” The brimming, expressive
interplay between Corea and Wilson alone is enough to deliver those
palpitations.
The three expansive tracks on disc two find the group
stretching out even further. “Return to Forever” offers a glimpse of a parallel
universe where Gadd stayed in the band, revisiting that iconic group’s
eponymous theme song, with lovely, keening vocals courtesy of R&B great and
Earth, Wind & Fire original member Philip Bailey. The track alternates
between sparse, idyllic impressionism and joyous, celebratory bursts of soulful
colors.
The captivating drones of “Wake-Up Call,” with atmospheric
tones that suggest a lush jungle enlivened by birdsong and chants, adds gentle
African rhythms to the mix while maintaining a sharp focus throughout its epic
18 minutes – this is a tune that’s about digging deep, not losing control.
Finally, “Gadd-zooks” offers a comic book-inspired reaction to Gadd’s drumset
prowess, a 16-minute tasting menu of the drum master’s rhythmic eclecticism,
paired with a stunning palette of shimmering tones and inventive approaches
from Corea’s synths.
Artist Marc Bessant’s cover design shows the form of a
butterfly constructed by the instruments of the band – pianos for wings, drums
for the head and thorax, etc. It’s an image that perfectly encapsulates The
Corea/Gadd Band’s unique beauty – organic, one-of-a-kind, and inspiring in its
ability to take breath-taking flight.
