Evening With Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea
It's unlikely that two major musicians could have more in common than Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Born a year apart, they both got their starts on Blue Note sessions in the early 1960s, worked extensively withMiles Davis(albeit in very different periods), and were among the architects and biggest successes of fusion in the 1970s. Equally distinguished as pianists and composers, they share many of the same influences, both in classical music (Ravel,Debussy,Bartók) and jazz (Davis,John Coltrane, andBill Evans), and in the late 1970s, both were dividing their time between electric and acoustic projects.This 1978 duet concert testifies to a remarkable empathy, along with the polish that each brings to any venture. Their two grand pianos seldom collide as they dovetail and overlay runs, rhythms, and chords, clearly enjoying the challenge and creating tremendous energy in the process. "Someday" inevitably invokes Miles, while the chromatic fantasia onGershwin's "Liza," complete with stride, suggests populist roots inRhapsody in Blue. "Button Up," an extended improvisation, is a highlight, including rhythmic dialogue between hand-muted strings, while "February Moment" is a relatively rare Hancock foray into solo piano. The most remarkable playing, though, is saved for the end: segued performances of hits--Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" and Corea's "La Fiesta"--that run to 35 minutes of sustained keyboard invention.--Stuart Broomer