Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
In Memoriam: Al Foster, 1943–2025
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
Chick Corea is set to issue the double album Plays (Concord Jazz) on Aug. 28.
(Photo: Toshi Sakurai/Chick Corea Prod.)Hearing Chick Corea in any setting, it’s apparent that his interests and influences range beyond the music that listeners most associate with the pianist. And for Plays, a double album due out Aug. 28 through Concord Jazz, Corea investigates the work of composers who have left an indelible mark on his life—and music across genres.
Offerings veer from the classical world to bossa nova and jazz, and include some of the pianist’s own original pieces. Below, Corea’s interpretation of the Jerome Kern standard “Yesterdays” premieres.
There’s a sober quality to the live take, but Corea still summons the ability to swing the melody, his left hand playfully searching out the rhythm.
“The thing that I do is similar to what [Thelonious] Monk did, to what Bill Evans and Duke Ellington did, and moving back into another era of music, what Bach and Mozart and Beethoven did,” Corea said in a press release. “These were all pianists who were composers at heart.”
An unplanned analog to Plays are the streaming solo rehearsals Corea started during the pandemic, which have included material by some of the same composers he covers on the album. DB
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
“Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”
May 20, 2025 11:58 AM
Branford Marsalis was on the road again. Coffee cup in hand, the saxophonist — sporting a gray hoodie and a look of…
“What did I want more of when I was this age?” Sasha Berliner asks when she’s in her teaching mode.
May 13, 2025 12:39 PM
Part of the jazz vibraphone conversation since her late teens, Sasha Berliner has long come across as a fully formed…
Roscoe Mitchell will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Vision Festival.
May 27, 2025 6:21 PM
Arts for Art has announced the full lineup for the 2025 Vision Festival, which will run June 2–7 at Roulette…
Benny Benack III and his quartet took the Midwest Jazz Collective’s route for a test run this spring.
Jun 3, 2025 10:31 AM
The time and labor required to tour is, for many musicians, daunting at best and prohibitive at worst. It’s hardly…