Chick Corea Five Peace Band - amazing

"Will Kenny Garrett's sax live?"  was what I kept thinking during his first solo after the interval.  It was an amazing performance. Mr Garrett took the sax places it really shouldn't go, and was lucky to make it back from.  I'm sure watching Pete Townsend smash up a telecaster was great, but Garrett did it with no percussion required.

The Five Peace Band concert was in the Concert Hall, in the Sydney Opera House.  (Both named in the traditional "name it what it is" Australian way.) We had seats a few rows back staring at Chick Corea, and (to our pleasant surprise) with a clear view of Brian Blade, the drummer. Listening to five musicians who use all elements of music in their playing is great in the concert hall as the sound is so good.  There's no fancy light show or pyrotechnics, it's just the music, and the music was brilliant.

The concert was only seven tunes, each one packed with a density of virtuosity that almost hurt. I don't know the full set list, but they did a blues "New Blues Old Bruise", a weird assed seven final sections Chick Corea thing"Hymn to Andromeda", something from Milestones, and encored with "In a silent way".  All very tasty.  Each player given space to solo, with the rest of the band following their lead; louder, quieter, pushing the beat, laying back, repeating phrases, all brilliant playing.  Then for fun Chick, John and Kenny switched to 4s, ie four bar solos in turn, utter show offs.

Kenny Garrett was the highlight.  Amazing sax work.  Brian Blade and Christian McBride were the surprises.  Blade looked to me like a happy idiot who was allowed to play on the drums, constantly smiling.  His fills were amazingly tight, and just when I thought he would never settle into a groove he pulled one out and sat on it for ages. 

McBride is a great bassist.  Used upright and electric as appropriate.  His "bring the house down" solo was on the upright, and again the sound quality was excellent, we didn't miss a note.

John McLaughlin said that he and Chick Corea have been collaborating for 4o years, which is a healthy amount of time to be working with someone - even on and off.  (I did think there are people in my industry who haven't collaborated for 10 minutes.) It's great to see such excellent musicians working together rather than trying to out do each other.  There was no mystical connection between them due to the time they had been together, but they listened to what each other was doing and played off that.

We didn't all rise when the jazz fusion nobility entered, maybe we should have.   We did when they left.

If I could have a personal soundtrack

The kind that plays when I am doing stuff, something appropriate to my mood or action I would want to Nik Bartsch to write it. Stoa is an amazing piece of work, wonderfully indescribable. It sounds spontaneous, like some of the best small group jazz, but must be insanely well rehearsed. It feels like some of Reich or Glass's minimalist work with a less rigid frame, no phasing and more emotion.

I found Bartsch's description of "Zen Funk" confusing when I listened to Stoa. Having now spent up big on the Ronin canon I can understand the description. REA certainly has some funky grooves, but not so much Stoa.

My label is "Small Group Minimalism". A poor attempt to bring together the
ideas freedom (small group jazz) and constraint (minimalism).

Stoa takes you on a journey through brilliantly described aural landscapes. Each Modul has its own rhythmic and harmonic landmark that is regularly shown, sometimes in the distance or brought quickly into sharp focus. Sometimes built upon with extra timbres or dynamics, sometimes left starkly exposed like a solitary peak.

There is always a sense of motion with this music, fast - slow, staggered - even. The moving is well contrasted with periods of rest. Staring out a train window, as we are flying through stations with this music coming through head phones is an unreal experience taking me out of the carriage through the waiting crowds.

Stoa is both comfort music and music that demands my attention. I can't keep away from it, I listen to it at least once a month. It's musical crack. I find myself trying to tap out the polyrhythms on the mouse when my mind has wandered. It's way too addictive. I just need to stitch some little speakers into my jacket, have the nano buried in the pocket and get some clever-clogs to attach the controls to my heart-rate, blood pressure, and whatever chemical my brain is playing with at the time. easy peasy

The only hassle with this as my personal soundtrack is the deep loathing my wife has of it. Am I willing to pay the price...hmmm.


Modul 33

In the eyes and ears

Reading

• Waltzing with Bears
• Spook Country
• Collaboration Explained

Listening

• Allan Holdsworth - Hard Hat Area
• Allan Holdsworth - All Night Wrong
• Nik Bärtsch's Mobile - AER
• This Sporting Life