Trilogy 2 (Concord)
Chick Corea / Christian McBride / Brian Blade
Released December 5, 2019
JazzTimes Top 10 Albums of 2019
Jazzwise Top 10 Releases of 2019
YouTube:
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Spotify:
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About:
When an iconic pianist like Chick Corea gets together with such modern masters as bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade, perhaps it should come as no surprise that the music they create together is absolutely magical. Their 2014 release Trilogy earned universal acclaim, including a pair of GRAMMY Awards (Best Jazz Instrumental Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo for “Fingerprints”), and confirmed the trio as one of Corea’s most revered ensembles.
Despite sprawling across three jam-packed CDs, Trilogy left fans everywhere clamoring for more. So when the three virtuosos reunited for another world tour, the results were captured for posterity and the highlights are now collected on the long-awaited follow-up, Trilogy 2. The double album is another treasure trove of sparkling energy and thrilling in-the-moment invention. Each member of this trio is a giant in the jazz world and beyond, but the peerless chemistry they share elevates their collaborations into the realm of the truly special. Even before coming together as a self-contained unit, the three had gelled on tour with Corea’s Five Peace Band, an electrifying all-star ensemble he co-founded with fellow legend, guitarist John McLaughlin, and featuring Kenny Garrett on saxophone. On their own, the trio pairs high-caliber musicianship with an easy camaraderie, making for music that is as artistically exhilarating as it is fresh and playful.
“In every group that I work with, the fun factor is the number one criterion,” Corea says. “This trio is incredible fun. That’s not something you can dictate, but if that’s the experience then the music just flows. With Christian and Brian, we have a blast on the road.” That feeling is captured throughout Trilogy 2, which features tracks hand-picked by Corea from throughout the trio’s recent world tour. The albums capture the feel of a concert program, both in the flow of the music and in the illuminating recording by Bernie Kirsh, Corea’s longtime engineer. The material spans a range of inspirations, from American Songbook standards to jazz classics, reaching back into Corea’s own catalogue as well as that of some of his most renowned collaborators, including Miles Davis and Joe Henderson.
Track Listing:
Disc 1
1. How Deep Is the Ocean (Irving Berlin) 12:48
2. 500 Miles High (Chick Corea) 11:02
3. Crepuscule With Nellie (Thelonious Monk) 06:40
4. Work (Thelonious Monk) 04:54
5. But Beautiful (Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen) 09:01
6. La Fiesta (Chick Corea) 07:10
Disc 2
1. Eiderdown (Steve Swallow) 11:07
2. All Blues (Miles Davis) 11:35
3. Pastime Paradise (Stevie Wonder) 08:26
4. Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (Chick Corea) 16:18
5. Serenity (Joe Henderson) 07:39
6. Lotus Blossom (Kenny Dorham) 10:12
Personnel:
Chick Corea: piano
Christian McBride: bass
Brian Blade: drums
Recorded 2010 – 2016
Review:
As the 78-year-old Chick Corea reminded UK audiences at this summer’s Love Supreme festival, wear and tear doesn’t touch the relish, grace and inventiveness with which he has performed in a multiplicity of styles all his life. But, as an early admirer of Bud Powell and Bill Evans, Corea has regularly returned to trio line-ups, and this one (with bass maestro Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade) deservedly brought him two Grammys in 2014 for the first of its Trilogy sessions. Now comes the much-requested second, a double-album which discreetly sidesteps mentioning recording dates but which appears to have been drawn from various performances with the same partners in the US and Europe since late 2010. But whether recent or current, nothing stops Corea’s irrepressible musicality and pleasure in jamming with kindred spirits from exerting its melodiously laidback charm. ‘How Deep Is The Ocean’ kicks the collection off with a glossy masterclass in fresh lyrical invention and canny accompaniment, an eagerly impulsive ‘Work’ and a languid ‘Crepuscule With Nellie’ celebrate Corea’s affection for Thelonious Monk (and also his partners’ adroitness at the rhythm-juggling it invites), favourite Corea originals like ‘500 Miles High’, ‘La Fiesta’ and ‘Now He Sings, Now He Sobs’ are given freewheeling makeovers, and a throbbing and increasingly urgent account of ‘All Blues’ typically develops a high-stepping, dancelike feel that distinguishes it from its brooding source. Maybe Trilogy 2 is for Chick Corea completists, but it’s premier-league spontaneous music-making for all that.
John Fordham (Jazzwise)
