The quotations and overworked gags about growing older are multitudinous. There they are, on T-shirts, coffee mugs and bumper stickers: I'm not getting older, I'm getting better, I'm not 60, I'm 18 with 42 years of experience, etc., etc. You've seen and heard them all. So, too, has Chick Corea, and he undoubtedly heard them in abundance as he approached the landmark transition point of his 60th birthday.

Humor aside, of course, that particular celebration contains, for many folks, the soon-to-blossom seeds of the blessings of retirement, only five years in the distance. But for Corea, whose forward-looking view has always focused upon the next challenge rather than the blandishments of enhanced leisure time, the 60th year marker was simply another milestone in his continuing journey.

Until, that is, his friend Sal Haries, manager of New York City's Blue Note, began to suggest putting together a celebratory performance event at the club. That didn't sit  particularly well with Chick, who like most dedicated creative artists, has little interest in revisiting past glories. "Been there, done that" is a notion that could well have been conceived to describe how musicians such as Corea and Miles Davis – to name another legendary jazz  performer who also expressed little interest in musical  reunions – responded to requests to, so to speak,  recapitulate their greatest hits.

Chick's view was basic and to the point: '"No reunions, as they are Îreturning to the past.'"

But, as the concept of something vastly different from a by-the-numbers reunion began to coalesce – the concept of a celebration of musical friendships – Corea began to focus upon the simple pleasures of making music with those he describes as '"treasured musical partners."

The result is a truly extraordinary musical project: nine different ensembles – from duos and trios to large ensembles – performing every two nights over the course of three weeks at the Blue Note (the audio highlights of which were released on the GRAMMY"-winning double SACD Rendezvous in New York [Concord/Stretch; Universal]) and were captured using the most sophisticated and innovative audio/visual technology available, 24p HDTV and Direct Stream Digital sound.

The participants make up a virtual A-list lineup of contemporary jazz artists: Bobby McFerrin, Roy Haynes, Miroslav Vitous, Joshua Redman, Terence Blanchard, Christian McBride, Gary Burton, Dave Weckl, John Patitucci, Avishai Cohen, Jeff Ballard, Steve Wilson, Steve Davis, Tim Garland, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michael Brecker, Eddie Gomez and Steve Gadd. Add to that the sitting in and presence of, among others, B»la Fleck, George Benson, Chaka Kahn, Dianne Reeves and – appropriately – Gayle Moran Corea (Chick’s musician wife), and the gathering becomes even more remarkable.

That's a musical congregation that Norman Granz, even in the heyday of his Jazz at the Philharmonic programs, surely would have envied. And it's hard to believe that anyone other than Corea could have attracted such participation. The result has been a collection of written and improvised works that are joyously free of boundaries and external limitations. I used the word '"joyously" intentionally, because an important quality in Corea's art – a quality that is an essential part of who he is, besides sheer talent, virtuosic technical skills, an informed, intelligent mind, and an exposure to music from a wide variety of sources – traces back to the sheer joy of making music, a quality that seems ever present, regardless of the size of the ensemble, the nature of the performance or the character of the audience. And it never has been more apparent than it is in the series of musical encounters that are chronicled on these discs. – Don Heckman

  
'"Ambitious... Stunning... Well-crafted... Virtuoso.
No fan of Chick Corea will be disappointed
with this wide-ranging compilation of live music...
Also a great starting point for those not familiar
with his voluminous works.
Highly recommended."
ÛAll Music Guide

  

RENDEZVOUS IN NEW YORK 
Limited Edition Autographed 10-DVD set
9 Concert DVDs PLUS Bonus Film—RENDEZVOUS IN NEW YORK: THE MOVIE, your backstage pass to the proceedings. Filmed in 24p High Definition and recorded in digital surround sound, you join the V.I.P.s for a front-row seat to the best of each legendary performance. Produced during the recording of the Grammy-winning double album, “Rendezvous In New York” over three consecutive weeks at New York’s famed Blue Note jazz club.  With such a stellar cast of collaborators, and an awe-inspiring range of music, the 10-DVD box set will become a milestone in jazz history. Autographed edition available for a limited time only.
89.00 10-DVD set, autographed
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