Track Listing

1. Wigwam
2. Armando's Tango
3. Little Flamenco
4. Early Afternoon Blues
5. Before Your Eyes
6. L.A. Scenes
7. Home
8. Spinner
9. Compassion [Ballad]
10. Night (Lyla)
11. Awakening

Product Details

• Released on: 2001-12-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Import, Best of
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

From Amazon.com
If Change is any indication, the long and dizzying career of pianist Chick Corea is again on a decided upswing. The second studio album recorded by Corea and his sextet, Origin, Change is heavier on Corea's own compositions than was the group's Live at the Blue Note single-CD debut or expanded Week at the Blue Note six-CD box set, and the aural evidence is that the pianist has found a wellspring of inspiration in the group's company. It isn't hard to see why. The group's rhythm section of bassist Avishai Cohen and drummer Jeff Ballard is enormously supple and elastic, swinging on everything from the midtempo Miles Davis-ish "Early Afternoon Blues" to the thrilling rhythms of "Armando's Tango" and "Little Flamenco," and the group's three horn players provide an astounding array of different textures and moods. At times Change sounds almost like one of the spacious and groundbreaking Blue Note albums of the mid-'60s recorded by artists like Andrew Hill and Jackie McLean, reverberating with a kind of freedom that unleashes the best from each musician while tempering the compositions with enough structure to keep them constantly engaging. Several of the tunes, most successfully "L.A. Scenes" and "The Spinner," jettison the familiar jazz-song format of head-solos-head in favor of a through-composed approach that pushes the group through different pieces of terrain every step of the way. --Ezra Gale

Customer Reviews

By any reckoning . . .
. . . this is a great disc: impossibly tuneful, deeply swinging, rhythmically charged, featuring wonderful ensemble playing and stunning soloing.

The question arises--Where're the follow ups?

Yes, there was a previous disc, Origin, as well as a six-disc live recording of this group (too much of a good thing? Said all they wanted to say?).

Then nothing more.

Why?

Probably too hard to hold a band this talented together. Certainly, drummer Jeff Ballard has gone on to other important projects. Bassist Avishai Cohen's become a leader in his own right, turning out five very good discs before stumbling with Lyla. Altoist Steve Wilson's got several solo discs to his credit. As does trombonist Steve Davis. And tenor player Bob Shepherd has any number of projects going. Yet other talented bands, notably Ben Allison's Medicine Wheel and the Dave Holland Quintet, have stuck together.

As great a jazz trio leader and piano player as Chick Corea is--and he's among a handful of the very greatest--I think a larger ensemble fits his prodigal talents even better. There's more instrumental color, increased band interaction, a wider ranging sound signature, and more excitement.

Of the scores of Corea discs out there, this is my favorite.

Give it a whirl; I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Chick at his best
I purchased this CD after seeing Chick perform live with this sextet, and I was certainly not disappointed. As much as an album cannot usually capture the experience of a live performance, this CD is truly exceptional. This is a truly unique group, which features non-traditional jazz instruments like bass clarinet, flute and trombone among others. The result is a rich musical tapestry. Chick's piano flourishes certainly enhance the album, but he is not the only virtuouso here - bassist Avishai Cohen is one of the most amazing on the scene right now and you will see why. The best tracks : "Armando's Tango" - a truly rhythmic piece that provides a real taste of Argentina and the atmospheric ballad "Home." That said, there is not a bad track on this disc.

recommended
Chick is a very deliberate and emphatic pianist--yet playful. (He's learned to work the vibraphone.) His new co-conspirators play a variety of instruments. Sunday's concert (September 5, 1999) began with trombone, soprano saxophone, and bass clarinet, an unusual set of timbres that don't quite congeal and please for just that reason. Well, Origin: great musicians all and very much recommended.

Also recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.