Chick Corea: Further Explorations

Celebrating the great pianist Bill Evans last year at New York’s Blue Note nightclub, Chick Corea recruited two former members of the Evans trio—drummer Paul Motian and bassist Eddie Gomez. Those recorded-live performances are now made even more poignant by Motian’s recent passing. Motian’s playing had evolved over the past four decades to become far more elastic and idiosyncratic than your typical timekeeper, and his quicksilver spirit underscores this exhilarating two-CD set. While he makes some token stabs at playing traditional time on a few tunes, it’s his color and unpredictability on numbers like LaFaro’s “Gloria’s Step” or standards like “They Say That Falling in Love is Wonderful” or the uptempo “Diane” that separate him from conventional drummers, adding unique freshness and surprise to this gig. Gomez, a direct descendant of LaFaro’s soloist approach to the bass, is typically virtuosic on “Alice in Wonderland,” Jimmy Van Heusen’s “But Beautiful,” and his own “Puccini’s Walk.” Corea—one of the most influential pianists on the scene since Evans—is brilliant throughout, alternately swinging with ferocity, and meditating with crystalline perfection on ballads like Evans’ “Turn Out the Stars” and his own loving homage to his personal hero on “Bill Evans.”