Search - Chick Corea :: Music Forever & Beyond: Selected Works

Subtitled "The Selected Works of Chick Corea," this enlightening collection offers four discs that survey the keyboardist's remarkably diverse output between 1964 and 1996, plus a fifth disc of Corea performing assorted jazz standards with an animated acoustic quartet of bassist John Patitucci, saxophonist Bob Berg, and drummer Gary Novak. The first three discs progress chronologically. Disc one touches on early solo work leading up to the debut of Return to Forever. Disc two follows Corea into more elaborately arranged pieces (the two-part "Duel of the Jester and Tyrant" and "Hymn of the 7th Galaxy" are delicious memoirs from the experimental early 1970s). And disc three offers 11 tracks that showcase the froth, funk, and finesse displayed in his assorted Elektric and Akoustic bands through 1986. Disc four opens with an 8-year-old Corea (captured on 78 rpm vinyl) announcing and briefly performing "I Don't See Me in Your Eyes Anymore." A career cross-section follows: a spunky duet with Herbie Hancock on "Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)"; a 1982 concert performance of "Beautiful Love" with John McLaughlin; plus selections with artists ranging from Gary Burton ("Crystal Silence," recorded in concert in 1994) to Bobby McFerrin. The handsome package includes a 36-page booklet featuring insightful commentary on nearly every track by author Tony Cohan. A fine overview of a prolific, influential artist. --Terry Wood