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Inside
81 I Jazz
86 I Blues
89 I Beyond
92 I Historical
99 I Books
Chick Corea (left) and Gary Burton
Chick Corea/Gary Burton
Hot House
Concord Jazz 33363
HHHH
From the first track of this sparkling album—a happily
retrieved standard with a zigzag opening favored by Art
Tatum, called “Can’t We Be Friends”—Chick Corea and
Gary Burton sound like a couple of dapper old pals having
a playful reunion. Forget the atmospheric color fields
of Crystal Silence. Hot House is all about swingin’, boppin’,
straightahead storytelling and having one hell of a
good time.
Corea and Burton share a sibling-level simpatico, the
way they deal with narrative and surprise. Corea takes
on the rhythmic chores more often than his four-mallet
compadre, chugging and churning under Burton’s ebullient
cascades. On a couple of tracks (“Once I Loved,”
“Eleanor Rigby”) the room feels a bit crowded, but for
the most part, these 10 sorties are masterfully clear.
I particularly enjoyed the soft-shoe vibe of “Can’t We
Be Friends” (no surprise Burton started out as a tap dancer),
on which Corea’s solo fleetingly recalls the fourths of
Bix Beiderbecke’s “In A Mist.” Burton’s solo on “Chega
De Saudade” is a sonic textbook on how to judiciously
balance a roller coaster of scales with punctuations
that keep the story interesting. Most players take the
album’s title track—Tadd Dameron’s unlovely chromatic
descent through the changes of “What Is This Thing
Called Love”—at the loping pace favored by Charlie
Parker, but this impetuous pair spits it out at a scorching
tempo, with a crisp hint of a Latin attack. They get
so excited after the head they both start soloing at the
same time, but it feels fine. Burton fondly caresses the
melody of the little-played Dave Brubeck ballad “Strange
Meadow Lark.” The duo cuts right to the odd heart and
soul of Thelonious Monk’s “Light Blue,” my favorite
track, though the stretched time and complex textures of
“My Ship” are luxurious, as well.
Both Burton and Corea enjoy improvising on classical
music, and what bebopper doesn’t love the crisp clarity
of Mozart? According to Burton’s notes, as an afterthought,
they decided to close the album with a cute caper
with string quartet, “Mozart Goes Dancing”—a preview,
says Burton, of next year’s project. So even as you enjoy
this extraordinary musical conversation, be assured there
is more to come.
—Paul de Barros
concord music group
Hot House: Can’t We Be Friends; Eleanor Rigby; Chega de Saudade; Time Remembered;
Hot House; Strange Meadow Lark; Light Blue; Once I Loved; My
Ship; Mozart Goes Dancing. (74:35)
Personnel: Chick Corea, piano; Gary Burton, vibraphone; Harlem String Quartet
(10): Ilmar Gavilan, Melissa White, violin; Juan Miguel Hernandez, viola; Paul Wiancko,
cello.
Ordering info: concordmusicgroup.com
DECEMBER 2012 DOWNBEAT 77