When an iconic pianist like Chick
Corea gets together with such modern masters as bassist Christian McBride and
drummer Brian Blade, perhaps it should come as no surprise that the music they
create together is absolutely magical. Their 2014 release Trilogy earned
universal acclaim, including a pair of GRAMMY Awards (Best Jazz Instrumental
Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo for “Fingerprints”), and confirmed the trio
as one of Corea’s most revered ensembles.
Despite sprawling across three jam-packed CDs, Trilogy left
fans everywhere clamoring for more. So when the three virtuosos reunited for
another world tour, the results were captured for posterity and the highlights
are now collected on the long-awaited follow-up, Trilogy 2. Set for release on
October 4, 2019 via Concord Jazz, the double album is another treasure trove of
sparkling energy and thrilling in-the-moment invention.
Each member of this trio is a giant in the jazz world and
beyond, but the peerless chemistry they share elevates their collaborations
into the realm of the truly special. Even before coming together as a
self-contained unit, the three had gelled on tour with Corea’s Five Peace Band,
an electrifying all-star ensemble he co-founded with fellow legend, guitarist
John McLaughlin, and featuring Kenny Garrett on saxophone. On their own, the
trio pairs high-caliber musicianship with an easy camaraderie, making for music
that is as artistically exhilarating as it is fresh and playful.
“In every group that I work with, the fun factor is the
number one criterion,” Corea says. “This trio is incredible fun. That’s not
something you can dictate, but if that’s the experience then the music just
flows. With Christian and Brian, we have a blast on the road.”
That feeling is captured throughout Trilogy 2, which
features tracks hand-picked by Corea from throughout the trio’s recent world
tour. The albums capture the feel of a concert program, both in the flow of the
music and in the illuminating recording by Bernie Kirsh, Corea’s longtime
engineer. The material spans a range of inspirations, from American Songbook
standards to jazz classics, reaching back into Corea’s own catalogue as well as
that of some of his most renowned collaborators, including Miles Davis and Joe
Henderson.
Corea likens the experience of playing live with this trio
to “taking a stroll down the street and having a casual conversation. We have a
pretty extensive repertoire of songs, and because of the looseness of the trio
each one becomes a new thing every time we approach it.”
After briefly welcoming an audience in Bologna and
introducing his “genius partners,” Corea kicks off the program with an
incisive, querying solo introduction to “How Deep Is the Ocean?” – one of only
two tracks reprised from the original Trilogy. Over the next twelve minutes the
trio plumbs the depths of the familiar standard, seemingly intent on exhausting
every possible answer to the titular philosophical question. From the depths to
the heavens, they follow up with Corea’s own “500 Miles High,” originally
recorded by the first incarnation of Return to Forever in 1972.
The trio delves into Corea’s composition book for two other
pieces on the album. “La Fiesta” dates back to the first Return to Forever
album and showcases the pianist’s passion for Latin music, a side that he
explored earlier this year with the release of Antidote, the debut of his
Spanish Heart Band. “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” is the title track to Corea’s
first-ever trio album (and only the second release to his name), recorded in
1968 with Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes. This marks his first official
recording of the tune since then;
McBride and Blade both requested it for this tour, and the result is the
set’s most expansive excursion.
“More than being a pianist,” Corea says, “I always think of
my basic purpose as being a composer. Though I love playing the piano, too.
Thelonious Monk was a model for me in that regard. He was a composer, a piano
player, and a bandleader, who defied so many conventions and created a body of
work that is completely up there with Stravinsky and Mozart, in my opinion.”
Monk’s compositions are as ubiquitous a part of Corea’s live
repertoire as are his own tunes, and Trilogy 2 offers a pair of the jazz icon’s
eccentric pieces. “Crepuscule with Nellie” is a favorite of jazz pianists
(despite Corea’s admission to a lifelong misreading of the title), taken here
at a warm, leisurely pace. “Work” is a more obscure selection, though a
particular favorite of Corea’s; it also appears on the first Trilogy, and he
recently arranged it for Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
“‘Work’ is a quirk,” Corea jokes. “Monk was a quirk, for
that matter – the most genius, amazing quirk in the music world. His tunes are
incredibly fun to play and rework.”
The trio’s romantic side emerges on a lovely reading of
Jimmy Van Heusen’s “But Beautiful,” featuring lush brushwork from Blade, an
elegant, wistful solo by Corea and a breathtakingly lyrical turn from McBride.
The pace picks up for bassist Steve Swallow’s “Eiderdown,” its sharp turns
unleashing a ricocheting, rapid-fire back-and-forth between Blade and Corea.
Corea’s arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s classic “Pastime
Paradise” was sparked by a suggestion from the soul genius himself. “I’ve been
friends with Stevie since he used to come around to listen to Return to Forever
in 1973 at The Bitter End,” Corea says. “A few years ago Stevie sat in with us
at Catalina’s in Los Angeles and we went out to dinner afterwards. We were
talking about songs and I was using the term ‘standards,’ and Stevie turned to
me and said, ‘Hey Chick, what do you think about playing some new standards?’ I
thought that was interesting and asked, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘You
know – my music!’ He was kind of kidding around, but not completely, and I
thought that was a great idea.”
“All Blues,” of course, harkens back to Kind of Blue, the
landmark album by Corea’s famed former bandleader, Miles Davis. The trio takes
the tune at a loose, buoyant tempo that’s as infectiously fun to listen to as
it undoubtedly was to perform. Corea also spent some formative years in the
band of tenor giant Joe Henderson, whose “Serenity” (another McBride
suggestion) is rendered in a smoldering take featuring the bassist’s fleet,
muscular solo. The piece is tied in Corea’s memory with the closing tune, Kenny
Dorham’s “Lotus Blossom.”
As the pianist recalls, “I spent a great, memorable week
playing with Kenny at the Jazz Workshop in Boston when he and Joe Henderson had
their quintet with Reggie Workman and Joe Chambers. We played ‘Lotus Blossom’
and ‘Blue Bossa’ and some of Joe’s tunes. That was a really pleasant memory for
me.”
At the age of 78 Corea continues to generate indelible
memories for audiences around the world. No doubt the performances captured on
Trilogy 2 have lingered in the imaginations of the audiences fortunate enough
to catch them live; now they get to live on in the minds of jazz lovers
everywhere.
Track Listing
Disc 1:
How Deep Is the Ocean
500 Miles High
Crepuscule with Nellie
Work
But Beautiful
La Fiesta
Disc 2:
Eiderdown
All Blues
Pastime Paradise
Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
Serenity
Lotus Blossom
