Chick. Solo.

[David Beckett]

Having seen him play in a number of groups and instrumental configurations over the years, I almost passed on seeing Chick Corea last night. But he performed solo, in a glorious ornate theatre which has fairly recently been restored. So I went.

I witnessed a delightful show by a performer with nothing to prove and all sorts of music to share, much of which fit only into the context of a solo performance.

He opened with Irving Berlin's How Deep Is The Ocean, and after a few remarks, played Jobim's Desafinado. Two pieces in tribute to Bill Evans followed - Waltz For Debbie, and My Foolish heart.

Seemingly enjoying himself, Chick spoke frequently, after every piece or two, and asked the audience if we minded if he "practiced" a bit, after which he proceeded to play a Chopin Mazurka and Opus 11 by Alexander Scriabin - which he improvised on subtly.

He called for Intermission and as the piano tuner "touched up" the piano a bit, he chatted with audience members at the lip of the stage. He never really got a break, himself. I thought, "well, this is terrific - and the second half will be great. I had no idea...

He began the second half with an original he wrote in the 80's he'd recently pulled out and discovered was "hard to play" - a remark which elicited chuckles from the audience. Then he played a piece he'd recorded with Paco De Lucia, called Yellow Nimbus.

What followed was something I've never witnessed in a lifetime of pretty dedicated concert-going: after saying he liked to "doodle" and draw ("mostly dry media, because I'm usually on the road") Chick asked for volunteers to come up one at a time, and while they sat in a chair 3 feet away, he improvised their "portraits" at the piano. Each of these short pieces sounded nothing like what we'd heard during the rest of the evening, and nothing like one another. He did these extemporaneous musical sketches of 4 audience members, while looking at them and grinning impishly, reacting to their obvious delight.
Remarkable.

Next he played 7 or so of his Children's Songs, after remarking that he'd occasionally had the pleasure of seeing them played by classical pianists "in tuxes".

Then for an encore, he lead the audience in a singalong - of Spain - which caused a lot of laughter (it's not an easy one to sing).

No matter how many times you've seen Chick Corea - and with whom - If he comes to a nearby town to play solo piano, grab a piano loving friend (I kicked myself for not bringing my childhood piano teacher, a concert pianist) go.

[Ron Thorne]

Thanks so much for that review, David. Man, I wish I'd been there. What a spectrum of tunes! I love Chick, and have seen him in a few different settings, but never solo. I had the pleasure of meeting him decades ago when he appeared on our University of Alaska Anchorage campus with my college mate, Gary Burton.

We'll be enjoying Chick with Bela Fleck in exactly two weeks from tonight.

[David Beckett]

Chick and Bela will be great!

I love seeing Chick and Gary play duets, too.

...modern masters all of them guys...