7/4 Posted May 13, 2004 Report Posted May 13, 2004 Something bad happened to that band when Bill Connors was replaced by Al DiMeola. How true....I never could connect with Al. Quote
Aggie87 Posted May 13, 2004 Report Posted May 13, 2004 It's Al DiMeola you're talking about... Didn't he write a nasty letter to DownBeat defending himself last year? Quote
chris olivarez Posted May 14, 2004 Report Posted May 14, 2004 He was one of the first pianists I listened to but I really haven't listened to much of his music lately. Quote
take5 Posted May 14, 2004 Report Posted May 14, 2004 Corea, like Miles and 'Trane, means different things to different people. My tastes lately have favoring "standard" acoustic jazz, but I used to be into electric fusion type stuff before, so RTF and some of his solo work both mean a lot to me. Of his acoustic music, I like his Origin and New Trio the most. I may be biased because Origin is the only live Corea I saw (at Carnegie Hall, with the Roy Hanes trio opening, no less). I liked the Akoustic Band when I first heard, when I first starting exploring jazz. Now I feel it's too "plastic," no grit, and no fun to listen to. Corea offers a great mix of innovation, brilliance, cheese (Mad Hatter, Leprechaun) and composition. Quote
chris olivarez Posted May 15, 2004 Report Posted May 15, 2004 That refrence to Scientology dredged up a sour memory. Several employees of the radio station that I was working at and I were invited to meet Chick after an RTF concert. The problem was that the meet and greet was at the Scientology church in Phoenix. We went anyway and it didn't take long for the scientologists to make us not feel welcome. They didn't care that we were only there to try and meet Chick. Their message to us was either convert or leave so we left without meeting Chick. I realize it is wrong to stereotype but in the case of the scientologists I don't feel totally bad about doing it. As far as I'm concerned the scientologists are fucking assholes best avoided. Quote
GregK Posted May 15, 2004 Report Posted May 15, 2004 Corea's new trio's CD Past Present and Futures from a few years ago is very very good. Some great piano trio music. I'd have to say it rivals Now he Sings.... I wasn't expecting it to be this good but I find that I have been playing very frequently since I got it 3-4 months ago. Quote
JSngry Posted May 16, 2004 Author Report Posted May 16, 2004 The CIRCLING IN BN 2-fer now available for $7.99: http://www.dustygroove.com/jazzlp.htm#28312 Quote
gdogus Posted May 16, 2004 Report Posted May 16, 2004 I'll put in a very positive recommendation for both the Origin band and the New Trio (the latter group is the rhythm section of the former ensemble). I've really enjoyed Origin's A Week at the Blue Note (6 discs), which presents some very challenging, searching music. The New Trio's Past, Present and Futures is something of a return to the approach of Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, and a thousand times more interesting than the Akoustic Band stuff of the 1980s, imo. Corea's legacy? Time will tell, but he'll probably be remembered most for whatever innovations were made by Return to Forever, if fusion should prove to be something more than a digression in jazz. Quote
Daniel A Posted February 6, 2006 Report Posted February 6, 2006 I'm reviving this old thread since a recent purchase of a Corea album made me think more about what I find attractive with his playing and writing. (I suspect that this album is completely unknown around here; it seems it was only released in Norway, and I have not found any web resources - see below) I don't find everything Corea's been involved in to be good. His more synth-laden albums fail to make me happy, but perhaps more because I find the whole setting unattractive than because of lack of musicality or ideas. But much of what he has done - both his composing and playing - I find beautiful, without being at all sentimental. I don't agree with those who think his playing is too "sweet". As a player, he is also in perfect control of the keyboard while still always retaining a lot of spontanity - a bit in the same way as a very different pianist; Hank Jones. His latest projects don't have the "conceptual grandness" of the last few albums of Herbie Hancock, a player whose career path is partly similar to Corea's. But I can't help thinking that Corea comes out the winner; Herbie never managed to really find his own voice again after the fusion years. The Norwegian album that was released in 2005 is a live recording from the Molde jazz festival in 2000, featuring Corea with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. The program is exclusively consisting of Corea originals in some rather excentric arrangements from Erlend Skomsvoll. It takes a few listens to get into them, and while not all of the succeed, it's a pure joy to hear Corea once again playing an extended solo on such a tune as "Windows". Quote
johnagrandy Posted February 7, 2006 Report Posted February 7, 2006 I saw Chick a little while back. He sure put on some weight .... like Faddis and Turre. These are well proportioned gentelmen. Great rapport with the audience. Does anyone know if he's still doing music with Avishai Cohen ? (Avi opened for him and then played bass on a few numbers). You know what still blows my mind even today is Maynard's version of La Fiesta. Well, you gotta be into the screaming brass ... but if you are, that's the one to listen to. Quote
Peter Friedman Posted February 8, 2006 Report Posted February 8, 2006 Very little by Chick during the past 25 years or so has appealed to me. I loved much of his early playing so it has been disappointing to find so few things I have enjoyed by him in recent decades. One story I recall from long ago. I was in NYC for a few days and dropped by the Village Vanguard on Monday night to catch the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orch. A piano player was subbing that evening, and I did not recognize him. He played wonderfully all evening long and really knocked me out. After the first couple of numbers I asked someone sitting close by who he was. The answer was Chick Corea. This was probably somewhere in the late 1960's. Quote
Daniel A Posted June 12, 2007 Report Posted June 12, 2007 Corea turns 66 today. Happy birthday! Quote
Alexander Hawkins Posted June 12, 2007 Report Posted June 12, 2007 I can't get with Corea at all, and really don't enjoy his playing. That said, IMHO he completely smoked in Circle - I guess I really like the way he's pushed by Braxton, Altshul, and an early Dave Holland (although Holland and Corea together these days would be close to my idea of purgatory). Quote
AndrewHill Posted June 13, 2007 Report Posted June 13, 2007 Also, seeing that you listen to lots of hat these days, "Circle" might interest you, a great 2CD set by the collective of Braxton, Corea, Holland and Altschul. If you're into more hardbop kind of sound, try "Tones for Joan' Bones", that's a good one, featuring Joe Farrell and Woody Shaw. ubu Missed the 2CD Circle ECM set, but I have 'Early Circle' on Blue Note, with the same line up. I agree that it seems his legacy is somewhere between Tones/Inner Space and the RTF records. I absolutely enjoy Tones, but my favorite is the Complete IS sessions (the Solid State material, sans Now He Sings, Now He Sobs?). I also like the two volume solo disks 'Solos and Improvisations' on ECM as well. Besides that, I don't reach for much else. Quote
AndrewHill Posted June 13, 2007 Report Posted June 13, 2007 The CIRCLING IN BN 2-fer now available for $7.99: http://www.dustygroove.com/jazzlp.htm#28312 I was looking at the script for this one and saw its comprised of two dates-one in '68 and the other in '70. My CD copy of 'Early Circle' is material recorded in '70. Is this the first half of this BN LP two-fer? Was the '68 material ever reissued on CD? Quote
Shawn Posted June 13, 2007 Report Posted June 13, 2007 I must admit that I haven't connected with Corea yet. I appreciate his playing, like his tunes...but I just don't "feel it". I've gone through this with other players before and later it clicked, so I haven't given up on him. Quote
sal Posted June 13, 2007 Report Posted June 13, 2007 Not a huge fan, but "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs" is one of my favorite piano trio recordings. Its rare to hear a group of musicians not only so inspired, but working on such a high level of interactivity. Quote
Jazz Kat Posted June 13, 2007 Report Posted June 13, 2007 I would call myself a fan. Corea's a musician who has studied a lot and is a very good piano player. I can't think of anyone else who has recorded in as many contexts as Corea. It's kind of hard to associate Corea's music with a specific time period, since you never know what to expect. One minute he's playing straight ahead, the next he's playing fusion, then he's playing classical music, then he do some free form avant garde thing, and also he'll do some spanish influenced stuff. If I could pick my top 5 favorite Corea recordings, it would be Light As a Feather, Three Quartets, Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, and Akoustic Band. Quote
RDK Posted June 13, 2007 Report Posted June 13, 2007 I'm a fan, too, though I haven't listen as much lately as I did 10 or 20 years ago. Terrific player whose only "fault" (if one considers it a fault) is that he's very eclectic and doesn't often stick with one style for very long. Thus you have his fine playing on various BN albums of the 60s; his more "outside" work with Braxton, Altschul, etc; his "Latin" period and his exquisite RTF albums on ECM (I don't care for his later RTF discs); and various trios and quartets, both acoustic and electric (much prefer the acoustic stuff myself). Of the last 10-15 years or so, I've only really cared for him in an acoustic trio setting, but that's just me. Like Metheny, Chick seems determined to cater to all crowds... and this is a problem for some to accept. Quote
Spontooneous Posted June 13, 2007 Report Posted June 13, 2007 His solo recital in Kansas City last year demonstrated that the spark is still in there, and sometimes it comes out. A great performance. Then along come things like "The Ultimate Adventure" and the weak disc of duos with Bela Fleck. Yecch. Wish I had a tape of that KC show. Chick's legacy might best be served by bootleggers. Quote
Jazz Kat Posted June 13, 2007 Report Posted June 13, 2007 Let's see how you feel in 10 or 20 years. About what? His playing, or his albums? Quote
7/4 Posted June 13, 2007 Report Posted June 13, 2007 Let's see how you feel in 10 or 20 years. About what? His playing, or his albums? Huh? What? Quote
RDK Posted June 13, 2007 Report Posted June 13, 2007 Let's see how you feel in 10 or 20 years. About what? His playing, or his albums? Huh? What? Has Chuck hijacked your account? Quote
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