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| A Piano Concerto for Mozart's Birthday A Legendary Jazz Composer Gets a Prestigious Classical Commission |
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| In 2006, there was no time for Chick to rest on his well- deserved laurels.
In July in Vienna, he premiered his “Piano Concerto #2,” commissioned by Wiener Mozartjahr 2006, in celebration of Mozart's 250th birthday anniversary. He performed the piece with the Bavarian Chamber Orchestra and toured throughout Europe with the group. (Read Chick's blog entry on the Mozart commission)
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| In addition, Chick delivered Super Trio: Corea/Gadd/McBride, featuring drummer Steve Gadd and bassist Christian McBride. The live set, comprising many of Chick’s compositional gems, was released only in Japan through Universal and is available as an import and through Chick’s website. It was named the "Jazz Album of the Year" by Japan's Swing Journal, thereby winning the publication’s coveted Gold Disc Award. | ||||
The Enchantment With Bela Fleck on Banjo |
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In December 2006, Chick recorded The Enchantment, a remarkable duo outing with genre-defying banjoist extraordinaire Béla Fleck. The two had admired each other's music for several years. Chick had previously recorded three songs on Béla’s 1994 CD, Tales From the Acoustic Planet, as well as on the group’s 1996 live CD, Live Art |
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Fleck said that The Enchantment was “one of my greatest experiences as a musician … playing with my hero, Chick Corea.” Chick returned the compliment by saying that the album broke new ground for him, with Fleck inspiring him to delve into “unfamiliar territory.” He said, “I love those kinds of challenges, and we had a blast on The Enchantment, which has a totally new kind of sound.”
Chick and Gary Burton Longtime Partners Re-imagine Their First Masterpiece Also in 2007, the indefatigable artist stretched his creative reach further with The New Crystal Silence, the dazzling duo partnership with Gary Burton that celebrated the 35th anniversary of their first collaboration, documented on the 1972 ECM disc, Crystal Silence. That debut album not only forged their chemistry, but also brought to renown the deep and insightful collaboration of the two virtuosic improvisers. (The duo recorded four more albums and never skipped a year performing together.)
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 Photo Gallery: Chick and Gary Burton |
Released on Concord Records, The New Crystal Silence was a double CD featuring the pair performing their classic repertoire in an orchestral with the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House and as a duet captured in a sublime performance at the Molde Jazz Festival in Molde, Norway. For the duo disc, Chick and Gary marked their long relationship onstage of anticipating each other’s musical ideas by embarking on a worldwide tour and then chose one of their best performances to document. | |||
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Burton said, “We both feel that our music has evolved in the last 10 years more than it did before. We play the tunes very differently, with fresh concepts and new inspiration.” Chick agreed: “The way we were approaching the music during our 35th anniversary concert tour was so different that I thought it warranted documentation.” Five Trios and One Duet The trio discs featured Chick leading the following bass/drum bands: John Patitucci and Antonio Sanchez (for the disc named “Dr. Joe”); Eddie Gomez and Airto Moreira (for “The Boston Three Party,” a tribute to Bill Evans recorded at Boston's Berklee Performance Center on April 28, 2006); Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette (for “From Miles,” a tribute to Miles Davis, recorded live in New York, 2006); and Christian McBride and Jeff Ballard (“Chillin’ in Chelan,” a tribute to Thelonious Monk recorded live in Chelan, Washington in 2005). The new studio recordings featured French bassist Hadrien Feraud and drummer Richie Barshay. |
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The banner year of 2008 also saw the release of the two-CD Duet: Chick & Hiromi. The album featured Chick’s collaboration with Japanese jazz pianist Hiromi, recorded live at the Tokyo Blue Note. Their repetoire of originals and standards showcased tremendous rhythmic and melodic interplay, on tunes by Thelonious Monk (a bouncing "Bolivar Blues") and Lennon & McCartney (a riveting new take on "The Fool on the Hill"). The album became the No. 1-selling jazz CD of the year in Japan. |
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As a result, the two performed a duet at the Budokan that attracted a sold-out audience of 5,500 people. |
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This collaboration with Hiromi is very special because she is such
a shining product of the growing jazz culture in Japan. —Chick
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Video: See performance clips from Piano Concerto #2
. Chick, in turn, had enlisted Fleck to perform with him and Bobby McFerrin on the 2002 
project.
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Music from 2006-2008
Albums from 2006-2008
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