Chick Corea - Notes From the Road

Cindy Blackman and her quartet opened for us tonight in Cork. What an amazing drummer - she breaks all the stereotypes about women playing the drums — she’s bad! She took a solo on the toms and snare with the snares off that was a bit reminiscent of Tony’s approach — really creative — definitely her own thing.

On our set, Hymn To Andromeda and New Blues Old Bruise were the highlights for me. We’re all still working out John’s 15/8 New Blues — it’s the best musical puzzle I’ve ever tried to solve …� > > >

Early leave for Bucharest — 2 planes — Ouch — g’night … > >

Opening night in Monte Carlo - - wow - - what a fun band! John is� spectacular! The music’s tricky - - but everyone loves the adventure. The band is bursting with energy - - - > > > Can’t wait to play in� Cork , , , > > >

Well the RTF tour is well over by now - all 54 concerts. It was quite a thrill renewing the RTF experience and refreshingly surprising to see how well remembered the band was to all the audiences we played for. Playing the “old” music was a kick too. Of course it’s a trick to call it old. What about times right now when we hear Mozart’s music, or even the standards of the 30’s and 40’s: “My Funny Valentine”, “Autumn Leaves”, “Night And Day”, etc.? It could make you look at the subject of new versus old in a “new” light. In fact, the songs were used mostly as the usual excuses for improvisations that are usually fun for the musicians.

It was very heartening to me to see such enthusiastic responses for the edgy, instrumental music we played - especially since there was no recording released in all these years - no performances - and no record company support of any kind. The whole experience was just live, with the band and the audience - no need for extra hype. It confirmed for me the truth and importance of the primary and direct communication right from the artists to their audiences. I guess this is a fixture of life: people love to entertain and be entertained. And the simplest, straightest way to have that pleasure is “live”. As an added thought: in jazz, the most real and exciting performances that exist on record are the live recordings - no editing or “fixing up” - just the untouched moment of creation.

Well, it looks like the PR phrase used to promote the tour has become a reality: Return To Forever has returned! And I’m very happy about that.

That night playing with RTF in Boston was a real thrill - an experience that happens maybe once in a lifetime, of coming back home with a band that was so fondly remembered. But what topped it off was the presence of my family and friends who came out en masse. In the photo, Minna’s the girl who has been a school chum since the first grade at Williams School in Chelsea, through our High School graduation in ‘59. Working for the City Of Chelsea, she and Leo were the ones that made the first city acknowledgement that happened some years ago; a main street in Chelsea was renamed “Chick Corea Way.” It’s the street I was born and raised on. Now there is a welcome sign to the city. I’m glad they put in the word “Jazz” on the sign!

(From L to R) Chelsea City Councilor Leo Robinson, Chick, Minna Karas-Marino (Chick’s school chum and Chelsea City Official Mover and Shaker for CC) & her husband, Nick Marino. In front: Bella Minacapilli. Standing in the rear is Chris & Erica Maggio.

The new sign that greets visitors and residents alike in Chelsea, MA.

These notes come directly from Bill Rooney – manager for Chick Corea
for more than ten years and official road warrior.

Tour starts fortuitously with skycap being hugely honored to be
checking in Chick’s bags. Then we meet a couple in high enthusiasts
telling Chick that they are big fans and will be seeing at least 2 or
3 shows on this upcoming tour and wishing RTF good luck! Nice to feel
so welcomed.

Morning flight into Austin, TX finds us in a perfect place for
launching the tour. Great atmosphere, creative climate, beautiful, and
hot! Almost 100 degrees in May! A hot start for a hot tour.

Run into Stanley and Al at airport. Stanley flew from London direct
from gigging there.

On to the rehearsal room – our second home for a while – where band
meets crew: handshakes, “good to see you”’s, and with very little
ceremony, boom! It gets musical, and the group is right on it. RTF
sounding better than ever and really working hard to get the music
just right. The rehearsals last only four days to prepare before the
first show, and this music isn’t easy to play. You know RTF wants to
give their first audience their money’s worth.

Checking into the gear bag: Stanley’s set up looks like the old Grand
Funk Railroad! It’s arena sized!
Lenny got a brand-new custom drum set made of the same color (baby
blue) as his original (think any fans will notice?)

The real problem of the day is figuring out how we’re going to fit all
this gear into our buses and trucks! This is the most exciting tour
yet and also the loudest!

Crew is first-rate – here are the people behind the stage, setting it
up just right for the band and digging in for a world-wide trek:

Bernie Kirsh (FOH) — with Chick since the 70s. He has engineered most
of Chick’s records.
Denny Jagard (monitors) — Most recently worked with Prince
Travis Rogers — Stanley’s bass man, and, like Stanley, he too has to
switch between electric and acoustic and make it all good through that
massive setup (and it’s turned up to 11 no less)
Ethan Weber — Lights. Fresh from (ladies and gentlemen) The Stones!
Andy Brauer — One of the world’s top guitar techs. Just look at his
Web site: http://www.andybrauer.com/
Gary Grimm — Drum tech extraordinaire with Clapton, Eagles, and many others
Zero Nylin — Tour manager for McCoy Tyner, Lionel Richie, George Benson and more
Terry Cooley — Production manager for Beyonce, etc.

This RTF caravan is 20 people (with merchandise peeps and other
techs), 3 buses, and two trucks. Big wheels keep on turnin’ – and
we’re doing it all for you.

RTF’s first day was a 14-hour marathon of rehearsal, tech tweaking and
local (also hot) Tex-Mex food.
Here’s a peek at what the set list will probably look like to start the tour:

First Set
Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy
Beyond the Seventh Galaxy
Dayride
Sorceress
Song to the Pharoah Kings

Second Set
Vulcan Worlds
No Mystery
The Romantic Warrior
Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant

Possible Encore (if you all want and clap loud):
Medieval Overture

Speaking of tunes, Chick has written a new one that will be ready soon
called: Galaxy 32 Star 4.

We couldn’t be more excited, from the guys tearing it up on the stage
all the way to the folks selling you T-shirts. This is as much fun for
us as it is for you. Except maybe the loading the truck part.

Please come back often for updates along the concert trail plus some
exclusive pix, perhaps a video or two and maybe a little howdy from
the guys.

Here’s to the first show: Tonight!

Chick & Hiromi onstage at the Budokan

I’m at Narita Intl. Airport with Bloggish downtime and thought I’d tell you about what we got away with last night at the Budokan arena in Tokyo :-)

Here’s a little description of the venue from Wikipedia:

For many Westerners, the Budokan is synonymous with large-scale rock concerts. It was here that The Beatles made their Japanese debut and the location where many “Live at the Budokan” albums were recorded. The Nippon Budokan, however, was originally built for the judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics, hence its name, rendered into English as Martial Arts Hall.

5,500 attend the Chick and Hiromi concert at the Budokan

It was wild to see 5,500 people in attendance for my piano duet with Hiromi, the brilliant young Japanese pianist and composer. Our 3 days last year at the Tokyo Blue Note became a double CD of our duet (released in Japan only) – it became the No. 1 selling jazz CD of the year and consequently the interest seemed to warrant a try at a larger audience.

I wasn’t sure how an audience that large in a venue that sprawling would receive our duet, which was conceived as an intimacy, largely improvised and for a jazz-wise public. Well, what a surprise when the audience calmly and appreciatively took in the almost 2-hour concert with great interest and standing ovation approval. I was so happy to see that this could happen in this day and age, and then thought, “Well, the Japanese have such an artistic culture that it could only happen there.”

This concert brought back memories of the only other time I played the Budokan ‘79 with the first piano duet I ever tried – me and Herbie Hancock.

So big thanks go to the Japanese music fans for their support of jazz music through the years.

5,500 people attending a one-off concert of intimate piano improvisations, not part of any “series” or “festival,” – wow – pretty nice. :-)

Just back from 10 concert dates in the US and Europe with my longtime duet with Gary Burton. It was the last in a series of tours we began Sept 2006 to celebrate our duet’s 35 years together.

We played some beautiful concert halls - and I’m always surprised when so many people turn out to hear our duet music with “no drums.” Our music kind of falls in the cracks between clearly defined styles like “pure jazz” or “salsa” or “chamber music” or “rock,” etc. Whatever the “style” falls between, no matter, it’s FUN! I get paid to do this!! Unbelievable!! :-)

As long as I’ve worked with Gary, he’s never ceased to amaze me - every night! And now that we’ve been playing together through so many duet projects, the duet’s rhythmic rapport has heightened to the magic level. It got me thinking about how the rhythm of a song is the element in music that really carries the message more than any other element. You could take the same song and render it in 2 different rhythms - like a slow waltz to a fast samba - and the same song could have two completely different emotions and thus communicate two different things. Rhythm!

Gary, the great John McLaughlin and Chick in Vienna

During our Vienna concerts, John McLaughlin came in to visit. It was to be the only time we were close enough on the planet to get together before our upcoming fall tour, so we took the opportunity to talk it over and make some plans. I’ve known John since ‘68 when he first came to the US to play with Tony Williams. We performed and recorded together in the Miles Davis bands and have been friends ever since. Except for one brief piano-and-guitar duet we did at the Montreaux Festival years ago, we haven’t had a chance to play together until now.

Stanley Clarke and I went to see John play with his newly formed Mahavishnu Orchestra in ‘73 and were both blown away with John’s playing and his new band. We walked out and said: “Right, let’s find an electric guitar player that can do THAT!” RTF thanks you, John.

I should write about my tours when I’m on them, as they tend to evaporate into the Great Tour Log Of All Tours in my mind, and I’m on to begin the Next Tour - which is this one now with Bobby McFerrin and Jack DeJohnette.

More later . . .

ChickPS: It’s “later” and I’ve now played 4 gigs with Bobby and Jack. What FUN! It’s . . . . well, it’s . . . . I mean, it’s really . . . . . W I L D ! ! :-)

Well, it’s time to turn on my electric keyboards - a new rig at that - best sound I’ve ever had. I started gearing up with this 3-week Elektric Band tour. We played the Oakland Yoshi’s, Catalina’s in LA where we also celebrated Eric and Frank’s birthdays, and now have two more days to go here at the Blue Note in NYC. It’s been crazy/wild-great. The best playing the band’s done - and Victor Wooten has added a warmth and fire that we’re all loving.

We recorded three nights here in NY. Got some energetic and creative sets on “tape” - (well, on the hard drives is what I meant). Al Dimeola came in to the club the other night and sat in with the band. We played “Spain” and thoroughly enjoyed the first time we’ve been on stage together in many moons. It was a blast - and he and Frank Gambale tore it up. Pretty exciting hearing these two guys go at it.

It’s my Electric Year coming up! I’m working on it - developing some new sounds and improving some old ones.

-a Chick from New York - 30 Dec 07 - and in 24 hours: Happy New Year!

Back in the U.S.S.R

When I’m into it I’m right there - but later (like now) when I try to write about it, it seems a blur. We traveled 33 days, did 18 gigs (4 solo, 14 duet with Béla) - that’s 13 countries, 18 cities - with the last 5 concerts in Spain. It all went by in the blink of an eye. I need new pages on my passport.

The Eastern European countries were refreshing because the audiences were so appreciative. It’s a part of the world that stayed pretty much out of reach to us traveling musicians until more recently with these countries attaining their independence. I think one reason these audiences enjoy seeing us play is because we represent a spirit of individual freedom and freedom of expression to them. We have a good time on stage and it shows. It’s something we all want - and should have.

I played 2 solo concerts in Portugal and enjoyed the Portuguese audiences and the language they speak, which is so musical to the ear. Playing solo is relaxing to me as I usually don’t prepare any written music. I take the few solo shows I do as an opportunity to not follow a set program and just improvise as I go - since there’s no other player there to coordinate with. I tried some new Bill Evans compositions out. He’s a wonderful composer as well as the piano innovator that he’s well known to be. And I’m always interested to play the Thelonious Monk songbook. And my “Childrens Songs” are fun to try to play differently each time.

The shows with Béla were the highlight though. We took the compositions we made for our recording The Enchantment and stretched them every which way each night. I learned quite a bit about the banjo and its history from talking with Béla and watching the wonderful film he was editing while we were traveling. It’s called Throw Down Your Heart and is a very captivating film documentary of his trip to Africa - the home of the banjo - and his collaborations with many African musicians, mostly in the villages. There was a part which featured this enormous marimba played by several musicians at one time. It made me think that this must have been the beginnings of what later became not only the modern marimba and the vibraphone but also the idea of a keyboard and finally the piano. The film makes you fall in love with Africa.

A subtle poster for Lativa concert.

We played in Russia, Latvia, Croatia, Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic then on to the more familiar Italy, Spain and England. Sounds exotic doesn’t it? Well, it was in a way - but not as much as you might think, if you haven’t recently traveled to these parts. All the Eastern European countries are in a resurgence and so we were treated to some pretty nice hotels and some very good food.

The music? You want to know about the music? I’ve always had a hard time trying to describe to another what it’s like other than saying how much of a great feeling it is to make music for people everywhere. It’s a charmed life we lead.

Well, there you go - and over to you - - hang by your thumbs and have a very pleasant holiday season.

Chick

Here are a few minutes to write a few bits of Road Notes – oops, gotta go! (Just kidding.)

Chick on the hill

We’re just back from China and Japan. Whirlwind traveling – and first time in Beijing and Shanghai. It was great to be able to touch China and bring some music there. “How was it in China?” everyone asks – well, simply, in the two big cities I visited, very similar in many ways to Atlanta, Paris and New York. Our “modern society” is certainly very much there, signaled by the presence of every modern “convenience,” from CNN to Starbucks. But my interest was more in touching Chinese culture and the ancient traditions, of course, which we didn’t have enough time to do – except for taking a quick tour of the amazing Forbidden City of Beijing built 600 years ago by Emperor Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty. I also bought a nice book on Chinese drawing and painting techniques, in my continued attempt to become a great graphic artist when I grow up.

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I was at the wonderful Tokyo Blue Note, the most comfortable “jazz club” in the world. There was great Japanese hospitality and food with Japanese music fans filling the club at each set. It was a mini Rendezvous in Tokyo, with nine days of three different groups. A blast!

Hiromi and Chick

The first three days at the Tokyo Blue Note were with the amazing Hiromi – 40 years my junior (in body age only), but a very challenging and fun piano duet partner who carries on the tradition of two pianos and 176 keys all vying for attention. I had first met Hiromi when she was 15 years old; she was introduced to me by her Yamaha friends. I was knocked out then – but by now she has completely developed her own voice with the courage to express exactly what she means, without worry – an admirable quality. We recorded a DVD and a double CD from our live shows – both being mixed as I speak.

Blue Note Gang

Then, another hilarious three nights with my old buddy John Patitucci and my new buddy Antonio Sanchez. (I call him “Antonio 1″ and he calls me “Antonio 1″ – one of us must be “Antonio 2″ – we’ll decide that later after our next “bored meeting.”) We played the music from our Dr. Joe CD and had, as I said, a hilarious time.

And finally (but not leastly), there were the last three nights with Béla Fleck, who drew in every Japanese banjo player in Tokyo. Another fun three nights, in preparation for our upcoming European tour.

The personal perk of the trip for me was my several journeys to my Ginza Mecca, the incredible seven-story department store of stationery and art materials called Itoya. I’m now supplied and ready for the serious launch into the execution (meaning ” carrying out of” - not ” killing of someone as a political act”) of my hobby – the soon-to-become-serious-profession of Number One Graphic Artist.

Have fun and hang by your thumbs – talk to you soon again.

Chick