Jazz Articles

Chick Corea: The Ultimate Adventure: You Can't Return to Forever

by Marc Davis
June 7, 2014

The Beatles are gone. I know that. But I keep thinking if I buy just one more Paul McCartney CD, maybe the old magic will return. Maybe. But it never does. Paul McCartney is like that. You know how great he was with the Beatles. You even know how great some of his solo records were. And even though you know he'll never write another “Band on the Run," and surely he'll never write another “Sgt. ...

Chick Corea: The Vigil

by John Kelman
August 28, 2013

While he's never come close to falling out of the spotlight, there's little denying Chick Corea's two Return to Forever reunion tours and resultant live recordings of the past half decade have been two of the keyboard star's most eagerly anticipated events, considerably raising both his visibility and viability. That The Vigil--the name of both his new group and its much-anticipated debut recording--has been garnering even greater buzz only means that there's a whole lot to live up to.

Chick Corea / John McLaughlin: Five Peace Band Live

by John Kelman
April 22, 2009

Superstar collaborations often look good on paper but don't pan out in reality, so it's a real pleasure to see that the pairing of two modern legends--keyboardist Chick Corea and guitarist John McLaughlin--is far more than some marketing representative's wet dream. Teaming with three younger players who add their own cachet--saxophonist Kenny Garrett, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta--Five Peace Band Live captures the group on the first leg of a nearly year-long tour, hot on the heels of ...

Chick Corea: The Ultimate Adventure

by John Kelman
February 4, 2006

Some artists find it enough to find their niche and work it over the course of their entire career, refining it in ways that keep it fresh but still inherently focused. But there are also others whose voracious musical appetites compel them to explore a wider musical world, all the while evolving an instantly recognizable voice. Over a lifetime, they continue to find new sources of inspiration and fresh ways to broaden their viewpoint, still managing to remain consistent and ...

Dave Weckl Band: Multiplicity

by John Kelman
August 7, 2005

Sometimes it's best to take things on face value. A solid collection of engaging compositions, plenty of infectious grooves, and strong soloing/interplay can go a long way to making an album worthwhile, even if it doesn't demonstrate any kind of specific characteristics that give it a distinctive personality. Sometimes an album is just plain fun, nothing more, nothing less.

Over the course of his 25-year career, drummer Dave Weckl has created an almost unparalleled reputation in fusion circles as a ...

Chick Corea Elektric Band: To The Stars

by Chris May
September 18, 2004

Here's a question. How could an artist with as much talent as Chick Corea--for the pretty and the trippy ( In A Silent Way ) and the flaming and the visceral ( Miles Davis Live At The Fillmore East 1970 ) and, some thirty years later, for the sophisticated and the swinging ( Origin: Live At The Blue Note ), with many a sublime moment in between--how could such an artist put his name to an album as shallow, mechanistic ...

Chick Corea Elektric Band: To The Stars

by Jim Santella
September 8, 2004

The fiction of L. Ron Hubbard provided the inspiration for this new album. Chick Corea wrote the music to express his feelings about the adventures and the mysticism that surrounds the writer's intergalactic spirit.

Corea's Elektric Band is in fine form. With guests, they interpret each scene with characteristic authority. Samba, mambo, tango, calypso, and other hip rhythms carry them on a contemporary adventure of funk and groove.

Frank Gambale forges a searing rite of passage ...

Chick Corea Elektric Band: To the Stars

by John Kelman
September 3, 2004

Hard to believe it's been ten years since pianist Chick Corea last did something in an electric vein. During those years he concentrated on a variety of projects, including his sextet Origin, his new trio with Jeff Ballard and Avishai Cohen, and duets with Gary Burton. But like Herbie Hancock, who also spent much of the last ten years in an acoustic context, the allure of a broader sonic canvas never left him completely. And so we have To the ...

Chick Corea Elektric Band: To The Stars

by Mark Sabbatini
August 21, 2004

Normally it's nice to hear progression in an artist's work, but in this case an exception is warranted.

Pianist Chick Corea returns to some of his better days with his Elektric Band of the late 1980s and early 1990s on To The Stars , a reunion with the original five members of the group. They pick up pretty much where they left off, even though some of the players have progressed well beyond the familiar roles they return ...

Avishai Cohen: Colors

by AAJ Staff
November 1, 2000

Releasing already his third CD on the Stretch label, Avishai Cohen is further elaborating on the vision he revealed on “Adama" and continued through his second CD, “Devotion."Make no mistake about it: “Vision" is the appropriate word for explaining the aesthetic he expresses on “Colors." Not only does Cohen possess an broad artistic perspective that becomes more evident with each release, but also he quite literally compares the music he embraces with the literal sense of vision. Indeed, ...