Chick Corea’s Elektric Band Reunion Tour

Review: Chick Corea’s Elektric Band Reunion Tour 930 Club, Washington DC 13 Oct 2002

Jazz composer/pianist Chick Corea has performed in numerous musical settings during his 40-plus year career. From the mid 1980’s to the early 1990’s, his main vehicle for composing, recording, and performing was the Chick Corea Elektric Band. This group of virtuosi set the gold standard for instrumental electric jazz of that era, selling millions of CDs, winning awards, and inspiring musicians to practice more studiously. In celebration of his recent 60th birthday, Corea has reunited the best-known, best-loved lineup of the band for a tour. Joining Corea’s piano and synthesizers is bassist John Patitucci, drummer Dave Weckl, guitarist Frank Gambale, and saxophonist Eric Marienthal. After a comparatively tame tour opener in Tarrytown, NY last week, the band stormed into Washington DC for an evening of music that treated the enthusiastic and appreciative crowd to selections from each segment of the band’s career.

The evening opened with the strains of City Gate / Rumble, the first two songs from the first Elektric Band recording (1986) played on a vintage “suitcase” Fender Rhodes (modified to be a MIDI controller as well). This opening number featured fast-paced syncopations from the ensemble as Corea improvised on the electric piano, then on a wireless midi controller worn on a strap like a guitar. Everyone in the band took a mini-feature in this warm-up selection, giving fleeting hints at the extended solo turns each would take during the night. Next was “Trance Dance” from the band’s 1988 recording, “Eye of The Beholder.” This tune featured stretched-out improvised excursions by Marienthal and Gambale, who unleashed his sweep picking technique to thunderous applause at the climax. Not to be confused with garden-variety shredders from the 80’s, the native Aussie (nicknamed the “Thunder from Down Under”) created superior melodic content to match his pyrotechnic technique. He is a world-class example that technique is simply a tool – a means to an end – not a goal unto itself.

Sweep picking is a technique that offers economy of motion in the picking hand for better articulation and greater speed. Similar to strict alternate picking (where all notes are rigidly played with upstroke followed by downstrokes), when all the notes of a given lick are on the same string, sweep picking provides for a single stroke to play two notes with only one right hand motion when moving from one string to the next. Gambale developed his amazing ability with this technique and has produced instructional articles, books, and videos. He’s also taught the technique in master classes, and as part of the curriculum at GIT and the L.A. Music Academy, where he is head of the guitar department.

Chick introduced the next song, “C.T.A.,” as one he first heard back in the early 1960’s on a Miles Davis album (most likely Miles Davis, Vol.2). The bandleader then noted that a different incarnation of the band (known as the Chick Corea Elektric Band II) had recorded this Jimmy Heath composition in 1993, but concluded his remarks with a warm chuckle by saying “this band plays it better.” Again, Marienthal and Gambale soloed to broad applause. But the end section, with Corea (playing a custom-made 9′ concert grand), Patitucci, and Weckl playing an extended section in simple trio format, was absolutely transcendent. These too few minutes of improvised interplay brought to mind the brilliant work the three had done in the “Chick Corea’s Akoustic Band” recordings.

Introducing the closing piece for the first set, Corea described “Make A Wish,” from the 1990 recording Inside Out, as his personal favorite of the Elektric Band repertoire. The very difficult composition, with extended jazz harmonies and poly-rhythmic feel, was executed masterfully by the quintet. And the combination of cohesive ensemble playing and over-the-top feature sections foreshadowed the second set’s display of elite-caliber musicianship. Gambale’s tone was in full voice as he pulled out all the stops on his signature Yamaha solid body (AES-FG) through a rig consisting of a Marshall JMP-1 preamp, TC Electronic G-Force multi effects, and Stewart PA1000 power amp, through a Marshall JCM-900 cabinet wired for stereo with four 12″ Celestion speakers. The grooving propulsion of Weckl’s multi-limbed independence further augmented the solo to its stunning crescendo.

Patitucci also displayed unrivaled soloing skills on this tune with his signature Yamaha 6 string bass. Moving from his spot in the center of the back line to center stage, he was fully immersed in the moment as his amazing display of fretboard wizardry produced long arpeggiated lines over the accompaniment of Corea and Weckl. Seamlessly weaving his role across the continuum from simple groove-locking support to masterful soloist, Patitucci’s career continues to be an embodiment of the precept that musicians must not pigeonhole themselves with rigid definitions of musical roles. With elegant simplicity, he lets his ears and the music guide his performance, taking cues from the mood of the soloist, the vibe created by the other members of the rhythm section, and the momentum of the piece when his turn arrives for the spotlight.

The second set opened with “Silver Temple,” a bonus track found on the CD release of the band’s first recording. Again taking a turn in the spotlight, the bassist glanced at a chart of the tune intermittently, his face showing a sometimes smiling, sometimes wincing expression of self-effacement, as if somehow his playing wasn’t quite up to his standards. (John, the solo was outstanding. Don’t sweat it, bro’). Corea later indicated that it was the first time Patitucci had ever soloed in that song.

This situation illustrates several interesting aspects of musicianship: First, even top performers – whom most folks would be happy to be even one one-hundredth as skilled as – are often critical and unsatisfied with their own work. Second, taking risks (as Patitucci did) with music is vitally important, and handsomely rewarding. Third, sometimes we can learn from masters by observing the things that go on around them besides the notes and the rests.

Next, the band played along with a pre-recorded backing track to “Home Universe” as introduction to the “Eternal Child” from Eye of the Beholder. This was perhaps the most ambitious piece of the evening – so much so that Gambale played the piece sitting down in front of a music stand with at least 4 pieces of sheet music containing the composition. Recreating the recorded version with great authenticity, he played this piece on a steel string (Yamaha FPX-300) acoustic guitar. His solo was another amazing amalgam of chops and soul, to the extent that when he looked up to signal his intent to re-enter the head section, Corea encouragingly waved his hand in a circle to indicate that the guitarist should take another chorus.

Smiles flashed appreciatively on the faces of the band members as Gambale somehow found another gear with which to take it up a notch. The crowd responded with tremendous ovation as Gambale was signaled to yet another chorus. Taking his solo to absolute melodic and technical extremes, he climbed to the highest registers of the neck – literally coming over the top of the body – for stunningly rapid arpeggios across the complex chord changes at breakneck speed.

Chick introduced the next song by offering his opinion that the noted filmmaker Ken Burns (of Civil War and Baseball fame) should make a follow-up to his award-winning documentary, Jazz, because that film ended without exploring the jazz masters that came after the late 1940’s when Miles Davis came onto the scene as a 17 year old phenomenon with Charlie Parker. Corea offered that this sequel should use Miles as the common thread for all the jazz of the second half of the 20th century, owing to the staggering number of world-class talents that held chairs in Miles’ bands over the years.

This 12 bar blues, “Blue Miles,” was written by Corea as a tribute to Davis and recorded by the Elektric Band II lineup. It has a familiar turn-around riff in the final four bars that served as a perfect vehicle for the Elektric band to really spread out and continue to build the night’s improvisational energy to a new peak. Each player started their turn with slow, low riffs over a restrained but funk-tinged accompaniment. As the soloists built their statements into increasingly energetic explorations, the rhythm section kept pace by driving them on with matched vigor.

Each soloist reached soaring heights to conclude their turn with the crowd wildly acknowledging the display. Each time, the band brought down the dynamics over 12 “naked” bars allow the audience to settle in for another round and the next soloist to begin with a clean sheet. After Corea, Gambale, and Marienthal took individual turns, the three then began “trading fours,” with the bandleader taking the first four bars of the chorus, Marienthal responding over the middle four, and Gambale tearing up the turn around four. This continued as Patitucci and Weckl built up the rhythm support with increased intensity after every chorus. “Trading fours” soon gave way to “trading twos” as the conversation grew more frantic, and pretty soon the three were actively jamming at the same time with lots of interplay and a crowd gone wild. The rave-up ending was perfect as the band obviously enjoyed the moment.

The band’s final song of the second set saw Corea once again strap on the wireless keyboard controller and take a seat on a stool at center stage. He asked the audience to sing back to him some phrases in a call-and-response fashion. The phrases started out simply enough, but got progressively more challenging in pitch and melodic complexity. As the phrases got more difficult, the crowd (largely made up of musicians) matched him note for note as the band members cheered on the crowd. The climax of the participation section saw the band launch into “Got a Match?” a wild display of virtuosity from the first of the Elektric band’s recordings. As expected, each member gave a master clinic on his respective instrument that brought the house down.

And once again, they demonstrated how the whole they create is much more than the sum of its parts. They demonstrated tight ensemble melody lines, subtle accompaniment shadings, dynamic shifts, and accented rhythmic syncopations that responded to the feeling being created by the soloist at any given moment. They were a living, breathing testament to the importance of listening while performing. They finished the song with Marienthal, Corea, Patitucci, and Gambale standing side by side at the front of the stage to hit the unison line of the main theme in crisp, note-perfect fashion.

The Band’s encore was the title track from Light Years, their second recording, and the first to feature the lineup that performed in this concert. Its groove literally had the folks in the balcony dancing. The band left no notes unplayed as they left the crowd simply wowed at the spectacle they had observed. The last echoes of the final sustained chord had barely finished reverberating through the hall as a chilly and rainy Sunday night morphed silently into Monday morning. Without a doubt, the echoes of two and a half hours of passionate, musical excellence will reverberate much longer through the souls of those who were graced with the chance to experience it.

The tour continues into the first week of November, with Jimmy Earle taking the bass chair after October 19.

Related websites of interest:

Chick Corea’s Elektric Band Discography

  • 1986 – THE CHICK COREA ELEKTRIC BAND
  • 1987 – LIGHT YEARS
  • 1988 – EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
  • 1988 – GRP SUPER LIVE IN CONCERT
  • 1990 – INSIDE OUT
  • 1991 – BENEATH THE MASK
  • 1993 – PAINT THE WORLD