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first time we tried to play as a duet, a spur-of-the-moment thing at a concert
in Germany.”
The engagement—like Corea’s previous 60th-birthday residency at
the Blue Note, Rendezvous In New York—was recorded (both for DVD
as well as CD release) for possible future release. As for the other
shows, they included a trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer
Brian Blade; a regathering of the Five Peace Band with Blade, guitarist
John McLaughlin, saxist Kenny Garrett and bassist (and former
Elektric Band member) John Patitucci; duet engagements with singer
Bobby McFerrin and pianists Marcus Roberts and Herbie Hancock;
and Elektric and Return To Forever (the latter “unplugged”) band
reunions.
“These kinds of projects can sometimes be a little tricky, because
everyone has to check their egos at the door,” Eddie Gomez said later
about playing with the “From Miles” band. “With Chick, that’s generally
the case; everyone is very professional. In the end, the Blue Note
gets to make money, and Chick gets to celebrate his birthday and put all
these groups together, which he loves. And not to travel and stay in New
York for a month was satisfying, and very attractive.”
“I came to New York from Madrid to celebrate Chick’s birthday,”
longtime friend and collaborator Jorge Pardo reflected about his
“Flamenco Heart” engagement with Corea. “But I’m afraid he celebrates
any day, any hour sitting in front of a piano! And I see Chick’s
face on the Blue Note stage ... he’s like a seven-, not 70-, year-old boy,
blowing out the candles on his birthday cake at his birthday party.”
—John Ephland
Dreamlike Musings on a Milestone Event
Corea reflects on the
conception and execution
of his birthday
celebration
Chick Corea (right) with Niño Josele
Please discuss the origins of the idea
of doing this monthlong Blue Note residency
for your 70th birthday.
The event I did in 2001 for my 60th birthday celebration
at the Blue Note went so well that the
management of the Blue Note suggested we do it
again for my 70th—and this time four weeks long
instead of the three weeks we did in ’01.
At first I thought it would be quite a stretch to
try to fill four consecutive weeks, so we tossed
the idea around for a while until deciding to start
with a wish list that might fill it up.
How did you go about deciding which
artists to recruit
I had to approach the idea as a birthday party
rather than a four-week “gig.” So I made a list
of friends who I thought might like to come and
join me. The idea was to try to have two different
groups each week, three nights each. So I
quickly found out that even four weeks would be
too short to include all the friends I’d like to come
and play. But we figured that, schedule-wise, of
course not everyone I invited would be free to
make it.
Happily, most everyone who I wanted to
come and participate was able to make it. It was
pretty magical, in fact.
How did you decide what selections
to play
When everyone’s schedules were secured, and
I knew who would be coming and when, I began
to write and call everyone to get their input
on what they’d like to do. I also made up suggested
set lists of songs and sent them to everyone
for response. In this way, set lists came
together and I began to find the sheet music that
would be needed to prepare each group. That
was the most time-consuming thing, really, the
whole librarian function. Because I knew once we
all knew what the program would be, everyone
would come super-prepared. And that’s what
happened.
I was blown away by how prepared everyone
was with the suggested sets. I was barely
keeping up with each new configuration. But the
amazing musicians who came to play pulled me
through each time.
Was there any music written especially
for this residency
There weren’t any brand new compositions written
especially for the event. I had just come off the
road having played 70 shows around the world
with RTF IV [the fourth edition of a Return To Forever
reunion tour], and so had just enough time
to put these preliminary set lists together. There
were lots of new combinations and a lot of improvisation
that was fresh and exciting to me.
Were there any favorite moments
There were just too many highlights to single any
out ... unless I ran through the whole 10 groups
one by one. I feel so lucky and rich to have friends
who are such genius artists and who continue to
inspire me.
I have long and wonderful music-making
associations, of course, with Stanley Clarke,
Lenny White, John McLaughlin, Jack De-
Johnette, Eddie Gomez, Gary Burton, Gary
Peacock, Gary Bartz, Bobby McFerrin and my
wife, Gayle [Moran]. Also, Herbie Hancock and
I go back to the mid-’60s and then our duet in
the ’70s. This was the first time we played duet
together since that time.
Of course, all the members of the original
Elektric Band—with Dave Weckl, John Patitucci,
Frank Gambale and Eric Marienthal—and I traveled
a lot of road and made many recordings
together. Wallace Roney, Kenny Garrett, Brian
Blade, Jeff Ballard and myself also covered a lot
of road together with various projects. I made
music newly for the first time with Concha Buika
and Marcus Roberts. And it was the first time
that Gary [Burton] and I performed live with the
Harlem String Quartet. And the three members of
the “Flamenco Heart” band—Jorge Pardo, Carles
Benavent and Nino Josele—came all the way
from Spain!
The four weeks were dreamlike. Magically,
every show rolled off without a hitch. I’m still floating
from the esthetics and exhilaration of the experience.
—John Ephland
John Rogers/Johnrogersnyc.com
MARCH 2012 DOWNBEAT 17