Chick Corea The Spanish Heart Band

Chick Corea
The Spanish Heart Band – Antidote
Concord Jazz

This new Chick Corea album with his new band is simply terrific. Corea's piano and keyboards are supported by his 8 piece band that includes flamenco guitarist Niño Josele; saxophonist/flutist Jorge Pardo; bassist Carlitos Del Puerto; trumpeter Michael Rodriguez; trombonist Steve Davis, drummer Marcus Gilmore; percussionist Luisito Quintero; and the fiery footwork of flamenco dancer Nino de los Reyes. Also heard is the great vocalist Rubén Blades and gifted singers Gayle Moran Corea and Maria Bianca.

Corea states that his "genetics are Italian but my heart is Spanish. I grew up with that music. This new band is a mix of all the wonderful and various aspects of my love and lifetime experience with these rhythms that have been such a big part of my musical heritage." It is a heritage that gets off with the volcanic opening title track with Blades joyfully singing as well as giving Josele and the horns a chance to solo. Corea himself dazzles on acoustic piano and electric keys, while the arrangement and layering of the horns, piano, and guitar add to the joyous fire here.

The music is so wonderfully played but the incorporation of the flamenco dance to open "Duende," a composition and performance of lyricism and passionate romanticism along with the interplay between Pardo's flute and the brass of Rodriguez and Steve Davis. Nino de los Reyes dancing is even more of a presence in "The Yellow Nimbus" that was initially written as a duet between Corea and Flamenco master Paco de Lucía, with the flurries of the dancer matched by Corea's piano and the responses from Josele's guitar.

"My Spanish Heart" was the title of one of Corea's most successful albums in addition to being a beautiful composition. It opens with an introductory vocal choir before Corea introduces it with stark chords as the performance builds in complexity including an enchanting Blades vocal with the horns providing a counterpoint. It is followed by a thrilling rendition of "Armando's Rhumba," with sterling solos by Davis, Pardo, Rodriguez, and Josele in addition to Corea's magnificent playing while comping for some percussive fireworks by Gilmore and Quintero.

Other performances include Paco de Lucía's "Zyryab" with its Spanish and Middle Eastern influences; the smoldering heat in the rendition of Jobim's "Desafinado" with Maria Bianca's heartfelt vocal; Corea's captivating solo piano arrangement of "Pas de Deux" from Stravinsky's ballet "The Fairy's Kiss" that weaves into Corea's original "Admiration." This fabulous recording will undoubtedly on many Best of 2019 lists.

I received a review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the July-August 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 385).  Here is Chick Corea and the Spanish Heart Band at the 2019 North Sea Jazz Festival.

Charles Davis For the Love of Lori

With a six decade career that includes associations with such iconic artists as Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Sun Ra, Ben Webster, Kenny Dorham, Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison, Illinois Jacquet, Freddie Hubbard, Johnny Griffin, Ahmad Jamal, John Coltrane, Clifford Jordan, Cedar Walton, Sam Jones, Billy Higgins and countless others, Charles Davis has not recorded as frequently as a leader as his talent as a saxophonist, composer and arranger merited. Perhaps best known as a baritone saxophonist, he is on tenor sax on his new recording “For the Love of Lori” (Reade Street Records). On this session he is joined by a superb band that includes pianist Rick Germanson; trumpeter Joe Magnarelli, trombonist Steve Davis; bassist David Williams and drummer Neil Smith.

The Lori, on the beautiful title track, is his late wife Lori Samet-Davis who passed away and the beautiful ballad is one way of his coping with the loss. His wife’s passing was not the only loss Davis suffered as his long-time musical collaborator, Cedar Walton, was supposed to be on this recording but passed away prior to the September 2013 recording date so Rich Germanson replaced him while Walton’s long-time bassist Williams helps anchor this album along with the marvelous drummer, Neil Smith.

The wonderful opening selection “Beques” displays the authority of the ensemble, whether soling or playing as an ensemble. Davis’ arrangement of Irving Berlin’s “What’ll I Do?” provides a lazy feel and after Davis states the theme on tenor, Magnarelli mades judicious use of a mute before Steve Davis masterful solo which is one of the album’s many pleasures. Julian Priester’s “Juliano” is a bright swinger as Steve Davis swings gruffly followed by Magnarelli’s forceful trumpet that segues into the leader’s robust tenor as the rhythm section pushes the performance along (Germanson takes a well conceived solo as well). It is followed by the leader’s salute to Kenny Dorham, “KD” that spotlights Magnarelli’s lyrical and driving playing.

Charles Davis warmth, strength and lyricism as a ballad player is evident on the title track while Smith’s drumming is wonderful in adding embellishments under the solos and the ensemble portions. In addition to his wonderful playing, Germanson contributed the arrangement for the first-rate hard bop rendition of Cedar Walton’s “Cedar’s Blues,” which also allows him to stretch out with the first solo over Williams walking bass line and Smith’s subtle rhythmic accents. The closing “I'll Be Seeing You” is a nicely paced and wistful rendition of this standard.

From the loss of his soul mate and a close friend, Charles Davis has found the strength to bring together the excellent band and music that makes “For The Love of Lori” such a delightful and marvelous hard bop recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Charles Davis in performance.

David Weiss' Endangered Species: The Music of Wayne Shorter

Wayne Shorter's 80th Birthday (which was two days prior to this review being posted) has led to  world-wide celebrations of Shorter's music. For example, in Washington DC, there have been several groups leading retrospectives of Shorter's compositions from different stages of his career. In a similar vein, trumpeter David Weiss arranged and orchestrated several Shorter compositions and then assembled an All-Star, twelve member big band. This band performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center where they were recorded. Endangered Species: The Music of Wayne Shorter (Motéma Music) is collected from those performances.

Its quite a band that Weiss assembled. The saxophone section included Tim Green on alto sax; Marcus Strickland on tenor and soprano sax; Ravi Coltrane on tenor saxophone and Norbert Stachel on baritone sax and bass clarinet. Diego Urcola and Jeremy Pelt along with Weiss are the trumpet section while Joe Fiedler and Steve Davis are on trombone. The rhythm section has Geri Allen on piano, Dwayne Burno on bass and E.J. Strickland on drums. This large group provides for a different take on these compositions than generally were initially heard when first recorded with smaller groups. Also, it does result with a certain similarity between the performances whereas Shorter's performance of a composition such as Nellie Bly with Art Blakey would have a different flavor than Fall with Miles Davis.

With that in mind, there are plenty of pleasures. Weiss' arrangements provided a rich backdrop along with the marvelous full ensemble playing to set the mood and frame the solos. The rhythm section sparkles with Geri Allen stunning both as part of the rhythm and as soloist . Throughout there are plenty of brilliant playing including trombonist Davis at the beginning of Nellie Bly; trumpeter Pelt and saxophonist Coltrane on Fall; Tim Green on "Mr. Jin"; Marcus Strickland on soprano sax on Weiss' The Turning Gate (the one non-Shorter composition but based on one of Shorter's works); Pelt and Allen on the lovely ballad Eva; and Pelt and Strickland on the closing Prometheus Unbound.

Whether one agrees with annotator Bill Milkowski that Wayne Shorter is jazz's greatest living composer, there is little question that he is amongst the greatest and has produced one of the most significant body of compositions over six decades. By investing the compositions with his own musical vision and assembling a terrific band, David Weiss has produced this substantial salute to Wayne Shorter that shows how fresh and contemporary the music of Wayne Shorter remains as it continues to inspire so many musicians and listeners.

I received my review copy from a publicist for this release.  

Alex Terrier NY Quartet Takes Us On A Roundtrip

Roundtrip (Barking Cat) by the Alex Terrier NY Quartet, is the second CD by the Parisian-born and Brooklyn based saxophonist. Originally classically trained as a pianist, he turned to jazz when first exposed to it, with Parker, Miles, and Coltrane being initial inspirations, and later he crossed the Atlantic to study at Berklee. He has established a reputation as a saxophonist, composer and band leader on both sides of the ocean.The NY Quartet is comprised of Roy Assaf on piano, François Moutin on bass, and Steve Davis on drums with guitarists Akira Ishiguro and Edouard Brenneisen each appearing on two of the 11 tracks.

The publicity for the disc suggest that the music here has the energy of the New York scene meeting the melodic poetry of European jazz. The diverse The opening Roundtrip is a burner, inspired by a Wayne Shorter piece, features his alto but gives space to all of the quartet to display their talents. The Spirit Will Not Descend Without a Song, has him on soprano and is an original inspired by reading Leroy Jones’ Blues People, and has some dreamy sections with Ishiguro adding some color with his single note runs often against Assaf’s melodic lines. E.S.B. and Ecstasy, is a multi-sectional composition in the mode of some of the Dave Holland Quintet with Terrier’s soprano (sounds occasionally overdubbed as two sopranos) snaking around Moutin’s bass line. 

The ballad Song for Keli, shows how effective Terrier and his group is in this vein, while Le Miroir Des Anges Deguises (The Mirror of The Disguised Angels), is a poetical evocation of a famous Paris bookstore and its mirror where people leave messages for others to read as the band with shifting moods and some really intense alto and some impressionistic piano on a performance that fans of the Blue Note Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter should appreciate. Ton Coeur De Petite Fille Est Mort, is a reflective performance featuring his soprano that captures the sentiment of the title, which roughly translated is“Your Little Girl’s Heart Has Died.” A walk around the Village, with an artist friend, inspired the joyfully playful Tompkins Square with Terrier’s playing shifting from a serene melodicism to an energized ecstasy, animated in part by Brenneisen’s guitar. 

The closing The Dark Side of Democracy is an Ornette Coleman inspired number with Terrier on tenor, going from a whisper to an ecstatic shout, as the band display the same interplay between each other that is one of the hallmarks of this impressive contemporary jazz recording. Terrier is as impressive here as his reputation would suggest. His music is muscular and cerebral at the same time and his NY Quartet provides the foundation for some remarkable performances.

This review originally appeared in the January 15-March 1, 2010 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 323). I received a review copy from a publicist. Here is Alex Terrier performing Roundtrip at Smalls in new York City.