CHICK COREA & RETURN TO FOREVER: LIGHT AS A FEATHER

CHICK COREA & RETURN TO FOREVER
Uma questão me intrigava, antes de decidir pela postagem deste álbum: será que Chick & RTF cabem no "rótulo" de Latin Jazz? Tomei a decisão que achei mais correta pois a "fusion" de CC é abrangente e mescla um pouco de tudo do seu vasto universo musical. Ademais o "hard bossa-nova groove" se faz presente em "You're everything" e "Spain", com o auxilio-luxuoso de Ayrto Moreira e Flora Purim. Este raro álbum é imprescindível em qualquer coleção de jazz.
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I've been wondering if Chick & RTF would fit in the label "latin jazz"' . I solved myself this intriguing issue and decided to post this album - a landmark of "jazz-fusion". To make said decision has been quite easy, face the strong "hard bossa-nova groove" found in two tracks: "You're everything" and "Spain". Besides, a famous brazilian couple, singer Flora Purin and her husband, percussionist Ayrto Moreira imprinted their fingerprints in the whole album, delivering the "latin tinge" I've been looking for.
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Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (Chelsea, 12 de junho de 1941), pianista, tecladista e compositor de jazz, pioneiro do jazz fusion. Descendente de italianos, seu pai Armando, trompetista de jazz que liderava uma banda de Dixieland na região de Boston nos anos 30 e 40, apresentou o piano a Chick na idade de cinco anos. Crescendo com jazz ao seu redor, o jovem Chick foi influenciado pelos músicos de bebop Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Horace Silver e Lester
Young. Uma influência importante foi o pianista concertista Salvatore Sullo do qual Chick tomou lições desde os 8 anos, o que o introduziu à música clássica, aumentando o seu interesse em composição. Adquiriu experiência tocando nas bandas de Mongo Santamaria e Willie Bobo (1962-1963), Blue Mitchell (1964-1966), Herbie Mann e Stan Getz. Sua primeira gravação como líder foi em 1966, Tones for Joan's Bones, e seu álbum em trío de 1968 (com Miroslav Vitous e Roy Haynes) Now He Sings, Now He Sobs se considera um clássico. Após um breve período com Sarah Vaughan, Corea fez parte do grupo de Miles Davis, substituindo Herbie Hancock, e permanedcendo com Davis., que o persuadiu a tocar piano elétrico. Chick obteve muito sucesso nos anos 70 com a formação Return to forever, à qual Al di Meola, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Flora Puim e Ayrto Moreia, entre outros.
(Fonte: Wikipedia; edição CB)
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Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (born June 12, 1941) is a multiple Grammy Award winning American jazz pianist/keyboardist and composer. He is known for his work during the 1970s in the genre of jazz fusion. He participated in the birth of the electric fusion movement as a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, and in the 1970s formed Return to Forever. Corea was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, growing up surrounded by jazz music, he was influenced at an early age by bebop stars such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Horace Silver and
Lester Young. At eight Corea also took up drums, which would later influence his use of the piano as a percussion instrument. Corea developed his piano skills by exploring music on his own. Given a black tuxedo by his father, he started
doing gigs when in high school. He enjoyed listening to Herb Pomeroy's band at the time, and had a trio which would play Horace Silver's music at a local jazz club with conga drummer Bill Fitch who introduced him to Latin music: I liked the "extraversion" of Latin music, especially the dance and salsa style music - bands like Tito Puente's band and Machito's band. Corea started his professional career in the '60s playing with trumpeter Blue Mitchell and Latin greats such as Herbie Mann, Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaria. In September 1968, Corea replaced Herbie Hancock in the piano chair in Davis' band and appeared on landmark albums such as Filles de Kilimanjaro, In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. Corea's composition "Spain" first appeared on the 1972 Return to Forever album Light as a Feather. This is probably his most popular piece, and it has been recorded by a variety of artists (notably Al Jarreau). Corea usually performs "Spain" with a prelude based on Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez (1940), which earlier received a jazz orchestration on Miles Davis' and Gil Evans' "Sketches of Spain".
Recent years have also seen Corea's rising interest in contemporary classical music. He composed his first piano concerto and an adaptation of his signature piece, Spain for a full symphony orchestra — and performed it in 1999 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Corea has continued releasing jazz fusion concept albums such as To the Stars (2004) and Ultimate Adventure (2006). The latter album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group.
(Excerpt from Wikipedia; edited by CB)
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ALBUM COMMENTS
Return To Forever, uno de los grupos pioneros y mas conocidos del jazz fussion. Creo que para los amantes del jazz no necesita presentación. Chick Corea y los suyos hacen en este "Light as a Feather" de 1973 música que deleitan nuestros sentidos, sobre todo la composición de Chick Corea "Spain", versionado hasta la saciedad por los músicos de jazz más importantes del panorama actual. Ahora no más letras, sólo música y la voz de Purim... Sin duda un álbum lleno de belleza y tranquilidad.
(By Fred Quiñonez)
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MINHA OPINIÃO : Outro dia eu escrevi que considerava impossível que qualquer músico tocasse corretamente algumas músicas de Tom Jobim, sem consultar a partitura. Repito o mesmo raciocínio em relação a YOU'RE EVERYTHING, de Chick Corea: duvido que qualquer músico (pianista ou guitarrista) consiga reproduzir toda a complexa harmonia desta obra-prima, sem ter na frente a partitura original. Esta música, ao lado de "Spain", já seriam suficientes para fazer deste álbum o que é: um marco na evolução do "fusion-jazz".
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CHICK COREA & RETURN TO FOREVER: LIGHT AS A FEATHER
Label Verve (USA)
Orig Year 1973
Catalog# 557115

FAIXAS/TRACKS:
01. You're Everything
02. Light As A Feather
03. Captain Marvel
04. 500 Miles High
05. Children's Song
06. Spain

PERSONNEL
Chick Corea: Piano eléctrico
Flora Purim: Voz, percussão
Joe Farrell: Sax tenor, flauta
Stanley Clarke: Baixo
Lenny White: Batería
Ayrto Moreira: percussão

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