Chick Corea a Week at the Blue Note

I was in NYC last week and managed to score a ticket to see The Chick Corea Elektric Band at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich.

Chick Corea is an icon in the music industry. A bandleader, a composer and a keyboardist; he is the fourth most nominated artist in Grammy awards history with 63 nominations and 22 wins. His depth is astonishing from bebop to jazz-rock fusion, straight jazz to avant-garde and even symphonic works. In the late 60's and early 70's he played with the legendary Miles Davis. In other words this man is a Giant of Jazz.

The Elektric Band gained fame in 1986 with the release of their self-titled debut album with Corea on keyboards, John Patitucci on bass and Dave Weckl on drums. What's considered the classic line-up began in 1987 when Eric Marienthal on saxes and Frank Gambale on guitar joined and they recorded Light Years.The E Band quickly became a top electric jazz unit with numerous world tours and eight albums produced with 2004's, To the Stars being its most recent.

I've been a huge fan of Chick Corea's acoustic work and was quite excited to finally see the Elektric band. I had a great seat about 3 feet off the stage and the view was perfect. I was so close that I could touch the guitars and drum kit.

The band came out on stage at 8:10 and proceed to play for roughly ninety minutes. They didn't announce the names of each song but I'm reasonably sure they played Trance Dance, CTA, Jocelyn -The Commander, Beneath the Mask, Silver Temple and perhaps as an encore, Got a Match?.

As you would expect the musicianship on display from the first note to the last was superb. But for me the performance was quite choppy with moments of brilliance interspersed with lacklustre performances that made me feel as if the band was simply going through the motions.

The rhythm section of Pattitucci, mostly on 6 string electric bass and Weckl on drums did a fine job and played with imagination, brilliant technique and at times seemed so in synch as to be one.  I'm not a fan of lengthy drum solos and yet, for the most part I enjoyed Weckl's trips to solo heaven and I simply marvelled at the sound Pattitucci delivered.

Gambale on guitar was a whole other story. Again, there is no doubt of his masterful technique but he had no personality and you could have substituted any number of guitarists without missing a beat or stanza. The most revealing thing about Gambale was when he removed his hat to show us that he was totally bald. I would have much preferred that he astonished us with his guitar rather than a magic hat.

The big surprise for me was Marienthal. I found his solos on three of the pieces to be simply exquisitel. His musical line was creative, fluid and eloquent. I knew he was a good player but some of his solos bordered on genius. I'd go well out of my way for a chance to see him again.

 So that brings us to the bandleader, composer and keyboardist himself, Mr. Chick Corea. I found it hard to believe he was really into the performance and felt oftentimes he was playing by rote. His juvenile sense of humour was a painful and a jarring surprise. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad and there was some real  wizadry and mysticism on Silver Temple (Ginkakuji) a song he penned while on tour in Japan in post-bop fusion piece. I found the whole piece simply enchanting and wondered if Corea's memories of Japan gave him a new energy that elevated his playing to a level we had not experienced earlier.

I've often said a band's last song of the evening  is its most important because it may have the most lasting impression due to the recency effect. Consequently, it was an unfavourable impression with which I left. Chick broke out the keytar, a lightweight electronic keyboard supported by a strap around the neck similar to a guitar.

He began by playing a few notes and asking the audience to sing them back. This went on for about 5 minutes which was about 4 minutes too long as evidenced by the band's disinterest in the whole process. He finally broke into the final number and the band joined in followed by individual solos eventually circling back to Corea who was taking perverse delight in playing with his left hand and slapping one of the drummers cymbals with his right and then handing the keytar to the drummer to play a few notes. This tiresome antic finally ran out of steam and the mercifully the song ended.

After a round of applause, some standing to ovate, the band exited the stage and the audience poured out onto west 3rd and dispersed into the cold dark night while past the line-up of expectant fans looking forward to the second show of the evening.

As you might have noticed it has taken me more than a few days to write this piece and I know it's partly because of how conflicted I feel about the show. Chick Corea is a jazz legend whom I have followed for years. I have almost all his albums and have quite enjoyed his music for many years. Seeing him live I was expecting fireworks and amazement. Instead I got firecrackers and was totally underwhelmed. There were moments of brilliance but there was also a lot of mediocrity and a dismal stage presence. I'm writing it off to a bad night by the band. But there is only one way to be sure.

In the near future I plan to return to New York and go to another one of the Chick Corea shows. Hopefully, I'll see the master I was expecting and can report back on an elevated  level of enchantment and enthusiasm for this jazz icon.

My latest concert review. Chick Corea and the Elektric Band at the Bluenote.

battleswhistakabece1983.blogspot.com

Source: https://warning-strangedog.tumblr.com/post/152640665196/chick-corea-at-the-blue-note