Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Southern California Fires Hit the Jazz Community
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
Chick Corea will celebrate his 75th birthday year with a tour of the U.S., Europe and Asia, culminating in an 80-day residency at the Blue Note in New York.
(Photo: Stephanie Shacter)For his 75th birthday, pianist Chick Corea has chosen to return to one of his favorite places: the road. The DownBeat Hall of Famer, who observed the milestone birthday in July, is adding additional dates to his celebratory world tour, which will culminate with a two-month residency at the Blue Note jazz club in New York City from Oct. 19–Dec. 12.
For Corea, the additional dates extend a globe-spanning tour that began in April, when the pianist performed at the International Jazz Day concert on The White House lawn in Washington, D.C. That performance was followed by an East Coast duo tour with banjo player Béla Fleck, and then a month of shows in Japan with fellow pianist Makoto Ozone, including two nights with the NHK Orchestra.
July brought European concerts with the all-star “Homage to Heroes” quintet, featuring trumpeter Wallace Roney, saxophonist Kenny Garrett, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Marcus Gilmore.
In August, the Chick Corea Elektric Band—featuring drummer Dave Weckl, bassist John Patitucci, saxophonist Eric Marienthal and guitarist Frank Gambale—appeared at the iconic Catalina Club in Los Angeles for 14 sold-out shows across seven nights. The Elektric Band will reconvene for a handful of U.S. dates in October (including an Oct. 14 show in Nashville and an Oct. 16 concert in Boston) right before Corea’s residency at the Blue Note begins in New York.
In September, Corea will travel to Europe with vibraphonist and longtime duo partner Gary Burton, appearing at La Villette Jazz Festival in Paris. The pianist will also reconnect with bassist Avishai Cohen and Gilmore for appearances in Israel and Russia. That same trio will headline the grand opening of Blue Note’s Beijing venue on Sept. 13, and bassist Eddie Gomez will join Corea and drummer Brian Blade for a residency at the Blue Note Hawaii (Sep. 21–24) and the San Francisco Jazz Festival (Sep. 29–Oct. 2).
Back in New York City, the Blue Note residency (Oct. 19–Dec. 12) finds the pianist appearing in 80 shows with 60 musicians playing in 15 bands. Themes for the residency include a tribute to Miles Davis; a week with drum legend Steve Gadd; two nights of experimental electronica with drummer Gilmore and guests; and the return of Flamenco Heart.
Upcoming projects with Origin, The Harlem String Quartet and the 15-piece Trodheim Jazz Orchestra have also been scheduled, as has a three-night series of duets with pianists yet to be announced.
The final two weeks of the run will feature the music of Corea’s fusion band Return to Forever in acoustic and electric settings. The acoustic lineup (Nov. 30–Dec. 4) includes saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, flutist Hubert Laws, bassist Cohen and original Return to Forever drummer Lenny White. The electric band (Dec. 8–11), dubbed Return to Forever Meets Mahavishnu, will feature guitarist John McLaughlin, bassist Victor Wooten and drummer White.
For details on Corea’s tour, visit chickcorea.com.
For more info on Corea’s 80-day Blue Note residency, click here.
Gerald and John Clayton at the family home in Altadena during a photo shoot for the June 2022 cover of DownBeat. The house was lost during the Los Angeles fires.
Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
“She said, ‘A lot of people are going to try and stop you,’” Sheryl Bailey recalls of the advice she received from jazz guitarist Emily Remler (1957–’90). “‘They’re going to say you slept with somebody, you’re a dyke, you’re this and that and the other. Don’t listen to them, and just keep playing.’”
Feb 3, 2025 10:49 PM
In the April 1982 issue of People magazine, under the heading “Lookout: A Guide To The Up and Coming,” jazz…
The Old Country: More From The Deer Head Inn arrives 30 years after ECM issued the Keith Jarret Trio live album At The Deer Head Inn.
Jan 21, 2025 7:38 PM
Last November, Keith Jarrett, who has not played publicly since suffering two strokes in 2018, greenlighted ECM to drop…
“The first recording I owned with Brazilian music on it was Wayne Shorter’s Native Dancer,” says Renee Rosnes. “And then I just started to go down the rabbit hole.”
Jan 16, 2025 2:02 PM
In her four-decade career, Renee Rosnes has been recognized as a singular voice, both as a jazz composer and a…
As Ted Nash, left, departs the alto saxophone chair for LCJO, Alexa Tarantino steps in as the band’s first female full-time member.
Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
If only because openings for JLCO’s 15 permanent positions appear about as frequently as sub-freezing days on the…
