CHICK COREA's 70Th BIRTHDAY BLOWOUT
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November, 2011 Issue 338 jazz &blues report now in our 37th year Photo by Martin Philbey CHICK COREA’S 70th BIRTHDAY BLOWOUT November 2011 • Issue 338 CHICK COREA’S 70th BIRTHDAY BLOWOUT Editor & Founder Bill Wahl Layout & Design Bill Wahl Operations Jim Martin Pilar Martin Contributors Michael Braxton, Mark Cole, Kelly Ferjutz, Nancy Ann Lee, Peanuts, Matt Simpson, Wanda Simpson, Mark Smith, Dave Sunde, Joerg Unger, Duane Verh, Emily Wahl and Ron Weinstock. Check out our constantly updated website. Now you can search for Photo by Martin Philbey CD Reviews by artists, titles, record labels, keyword or JBR Writers. 15 years of reviews are up and we’ll be At New York’s Blue Note Blowout, November 1-27 going all the way back to 1974. NEW YORK – The incomparable Trio Chick Corea, known for his genre- • Chick Corea’s Flamenco Heart Comments...billwahl@ jazz-blues.com Web www.jazz-blues.com defying brilliance, captures the (Josele, Benavent, Pardo, Ballard, evolution of his adventurous mu- Buika) Copyright © 2011 Jazz & Blues Report sic career with a month-long 70th Chick Corea & his various guests birthday celebration at New York’s will be performing at the Blue Note, No portion of this publication may be re- Blue Note, featuring ten different 131 W. 3rd St, New York, from produced without written permission from star-studded lineups in more than November November 1 through the publisher. All rights Reserved. forty performances. November 27 with 2 shows nightly Founded in Buffalo New York in March of Fresh off a 70-city, multi-conti- at 8pm and 10:30pm. 1974; began in Cleveland edition in April nental tour with Return to Forever IV, TICKETS: $45 - $85, available of 1978. Now this global e-zine edition is posted online monthlyat www.jazz-blues. Corea returns to Greenwich Village at http:// com fifty years after his debut on the See the full schedule and get NYC scene, bringing along a dizzy- tickets here: http://chickcorea.com/ ing slate of guests, all of whom have blue-note- nov-2011 been integral players in his legend- A “keyboard giant” and 17-time ary career: Grammy winner, Corea remains • Return to Forever Unplugged relentlessly creative as a composer www.jazz-blues.com (Clarke, White, Gambale) and performer and is more prolific • Original Elektric Band (Pati- than ever. In 2011, his most produc- tucci, Marienthal, Weckl, Gam- tive year yet, he held a gala per- “Buffalonious” bale) formance of his compositions with Our original • Herbie Hancock the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, mascot from the • Bobby McFerrin released three new albums, recorded very early • Five Peace Band (McLaughlin, his second concerto (due out early Buffalo Jazz Report Patitucci, Garrett, Blade) 2012), and reassembled his super- days – mid ‘70s. • Gary Burton with Harlem group Return to Forever IV for the He is older now, String Quartet From Miles (Gomez, biggest jazz tour of the year. but global & DeJohnette, Roney, Bartz) Fifty years ago, Chick arrived in still very cool! • Marcus Roberts New York City and embarked upon • Gary Peacock & Paul Motian his legendary career as one of the Page Two November 2011 • Issue 338 great jazz pianists, composers and bandleaders of our flamenco legends guitarist Nino Josele, bassist Carles time. And he amassed quite a few friends along the Benavent and flautist Jorge Pardo (all veterans of Paco way. De Lucia’s band); and one of Spain’s most in-demand Now he’s back. With friends. And in a big way. drummers, Jeff Ballard (who moved to the country to Chick celebrated his 60th birthday with a sold-out be immersed in his love of Spanish/Flamenco rhythms). three-week stint at the Blue Note jazz club in NYC. Appropriately dubbed Chick’s Flamenco Heart, this is Every moment was filmed and recorded as the Ren- an extension of Chick’s landmark album My Spanish dezvous in New York project and the CD went on to Heart and his most famous composition— Spain. garner a Grammy award. Chick Corea & Marcus Roberts Piano Duet – Nov. 22 So how does a jazz legend top that for his 70th Marcus Roberts joins Chick for one night only. birthday? Roberts, a longtime partner of Wynton Marsalis and By playing with 10 different bands over 4 glorious Jazz at Lincoln Center, has mastered every style of weeks throughout November. Where it all began — at jazz piano since the pre-bop era. the Blue Note, NYC. Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock Duet – Nov. 23 10 Bands Performing with Chick: One night only! An unbelievable must-see show: Return to Forever Unplugged – Nov. 1 & 2 Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, piano duet. In 1978, Featuring Chick, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White and at the height of electric jazz, Corea & Hancock shocked Frank Gambale (fresh from their hugely successfully the jazz world by touring as an acoustic piano duet. world tour with Return to Forever IV). Since that legendary pairing, their collaborations have Chick Corea Trio with Gary Peacock – Nov. 3 been extremely rare. For one night only! Corea pairs with Gary Peacock, Chick Corea Elektric Band – Nov. 25, 26 & 27 the brilliant bassist in Keith Jarrett’s “standards” trio Chick wraps up the month with the original Elektric and long time friend and collaborator with Chick. Band: Eric Marienthal, Frank Gambale, John Patitucci Five Peace Band – Nov. 4, 5 & 6 and Dave Weckl. This is the lineup that defined the Three nights with guitar legend John McLaughlin sound of electric jazz in the 1980s, with a series of & the Five Peace Band, also featuring Kenny Garrett, masterpieces including Light Years and Eye of the John Patitucci and Brian Blade. Having RTF and John Beholder. McLaughlin on the bill in the same week is like seeing Fly, drive or walk — just get yourself to New York the Beatles & Stones of jazz/rock fusion. The band’s and be part of this historic party. Again, the website to CD titled Five Peace Band Live won the 2010 Best Jazz visit is www.chickcorea.com/blue-note-nov-2011 . Instrumental Album Grammy award. Chick Corea & Bobby McFerrin Duet – Nov. 8, 9 & 10 LIKE JAZZ & BLUES PHOTOS? Week two kicks off with the storied duet of Chick and Bobby McFerrin. They have recorded two albums of far-reaching jazz and classical music. Their musical chemistry is legendary — a high-wire act without a net. Also look for some special guests to join them. Chick Corea & Gary Burton with the Harlem String Quartet – Nov. 11, 12 & 13 Next up is a true first for the Blue Note: Chick Corea & Gary Burton welcome the Harlem String Quartet, playing a preview of their upcoming CD Hot House (release date: February 2012). With this arrangement, Corea & Burton are pioneering a new sound: chamber jazz. From Miles – Nov. 15, 16 & 17 Miles Davis debuted many of the biggest names in jazz in his own bands. Here Chick assembles a quin- tet of them: Eddie Gomez, Jack DeJohnette, Wallace Roney and Gary Bartz. They’ll be exploring the music of the master and their own expansive sound. Corea & DeJohnette’s history with Miles stretches back to the seminal Bitches Brew sessions. This photo of Gary Bartz captured by Chick’s Flamenco Heart – Nov. 18, 19 & 20 Ron Weinstock at the 2008 Duke Ellington Jazz Festival Passionate, fiery and soulful, the top Flamenco is just one of hundreds of Ron’s photos and Spanish jazz artists meld with Chick for 3 nights: you can view online Latin superstar Concha Buika, the African-Inspired at www.flickr.com/photos/novaron Flamenco singer who sold out New York’s Town Hall; PAGE THREE November 2011 • Issue 338 43RD VOLL-DAMM BARCELONA INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL Gabriele Mirabassi Trio, Giovanni Guidi and Gianluca Petrella, Enrico Rava Tribe, Omar Sosa with Paolo Fresu, and Stefano Bollani. On November 18th at the Mandarin Hotel there will be a special dinner prepared by Carme Ruscalleda and a solo concert by Alfredo Rodríguez. Ruscalleda is the only female chef in the world to have earned six Michelin stars for her restaurants in Spain and Tokyo, and heads with her son Raül Balam the kitchen at Moments Res- taurant in the Mandarin Hotel Barcelona. The Gold Medal Prize, which has become an honored tradition of the Barcelona Jazz Festival, will be awarded to Maria Schneider. She has the distinction of being the first female and youngest person to receive this annual BARCELONA, SPAIN – The 43rd Voll-Damm award now in it’s 4th year. Previous honorees have been Barcelona International Jazz Festival opened Sunday, Bebo Valdés, Wayne Shorter and Sonny Rollins. “I like October 16 and runs through Thursday, December 1st. to think Maria’s orchestra and her musicians are like This month and a half long celebration will feature per- the Duke Ellington Orchestra of our time,” states artistic formances by Maria Schneider Orchestra, Vijay Iyer Trio, director Joan Cararach. In the last seven years she has Rudresh Mahanthappa Samdhi, Eliane Elias Brazilian played four times at the festival and Barcelona can’t get Quartet, Randy Weston and his African Rhythms Trio, enough of her lyrical and inspired compositions. Michel Camilo ‘Mano a Mano’ with Giovanni Hidalgo The festival will present three highly anticipated and Charles Flores, Madeleine Peyroux, Buena Vista programs at the world renowned Monvínic, which the Social Club with Omara Portuondo, Pat Metheny with Wall Street Journal proclaimed as “the best wine bar Larry Grenadier and Bill Stewart, Dave Holland with in the world.” DownBeat magazine will present a Blind- Flamenco guitar legend Pepe Habichuela, Joshua Red- fold and Winefold test moderated by journalist Ted man and Brad Mehldau, Michael Janisch-Aruan Ortiz Panken and JazzTimes will present a Before & After Quintet with Greg Osby and Raynald Colom, and Ken with alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa moderated Vandermark’s Made to Break.