The contributions of pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader Bill Evans to the language and appreciation of jazz continue to have a profound influence on musicians. Join master pianist Chick Corea as he leads original Evans alumni - bassist Eddie Gomez and the late drummer Paul Motian - on Further Explorations, a two-CD live set of 19 tracks. The spirit of Evans comes alive thanks to the vibrant simpatico shared by these three master musicians.

Produced by Corea, Further Explorations was recorded May 4-17, 2010, live at the Blue Note in New York City. (2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Evans' original Explorations LP with Motian and bassist Scott LaFaro on the Riverside label.) In preparation, Corea, Gomez and Motian examined the entire Bill Evans discography. Rather than approach the music as a tribute, his material provides more of a template. Each musician also contributes original material. The results are inspired, as this elevated piano trio plays with near-telepathic empathy and a remarkable blend of ingenuity and emotional depth.

Disc one kicks off with "Peri's Scope," from Evans' LP Portrait in Jazz, "Gloria's Step," a Scott LaFaro classic from Evans' LP Sunday at the Village Vanguard, and Irving Berlin's "They Say That Falling in Love Is Wonderful," from the Broadway show Annie Get Your Gun. Other highlights include Sammy Fain and Bob Hilliard's "Alice in Wonderland," from Evans' LP Waltz for Debby, Evans' hauntingly beautiful ballad "Laurie," from the LP We Will Meet Again, Corea's loving tribute "Bill Evans" and Thelonious Monk's "Little Rootie Tootie." As an added bonus, the first disc features an unrecorded piece by Evans called "Song No. 1." The tune was discovered by archivist Frank Fuchs and from this information came a tape of the song from Evans' son. "Chick transcribed the song, and confirmed with Eddie that this was something that Bill had been working on for years," writes associate producer Bob Belden in the liner notes. "On the first few nights, the song was so new that it was to be played as close to the written page as possible. Over the course of two weeks, it transformed into the fully-developed performance you hear on this set, which will make this version the definitive interpretation."

Disc two opens with "Hot House," a Tadd Dameron composition from 1940s, followed by Paul Motian's "Mode VI." There's something for nearly everyone here, from Evans chestnuts like "Turn Out The Stars" and the jazz waltz "Very Early" to Corea's own "Another Tango" and Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke's "But Beautiful." The session wraps up with an Eddie Gomez original, "Puccini's Walk"

Making music for a combination of orchestral musicians and jazz musicians has end-less possibilities. Appreciation for the abilities each has for the other makes for an atmosphere charged with high interest, creative communication and new ideas. This was the setting for the composing and recording of The Continents for me, a dream come true. The process of making the recording was magical. The morale of the mu-sicians plus the recording team was so high that we finished recording the six move-ments of the concerto a day and a half under schedule. After saying goodbyes to the orchestra musicians, the Quintet had an impromptu jam just for fun. Of course, the recorder was on. I then had the next evening to record some piano solo bits that I thought would fit the cadenza sections of the concerto. After recording those, I felt there was still something incomplete about The Continents recording. So I decided to try to get to what it was by improvising on the piano by myself I felt that the basic material was somehow lacking something was missing.
That last evening, while I was waiting for Bernie to set things up and turn on the re-corder, I played the piano, starting my exploration to find what was missing. As you will hear, after playing several little pieces, I asked Bernie if he was ready to record to which Bernie answered that he had been recording all the time but didn t want to interrupt me. So we continued recording from there until I felt I was finished. After listening to the Quintet s jam and the piano soliloquies, I now feel that the recording of The Continents is complete (at least for the moment). The music may have its technical flaws, as perfection was never the goal but I m pleased that the music was made in the Spirit Of Play, which was the initial intent of the composition after being invited to write a piano concerto in the spirit of Mozart by the Wiener Mozartjahr.
Chick Corea

Chick Corea and Stefano Bollani, both stars of their instruments for their generations, combine their considerable talents for this first recorded collaboration, a document of a most spirited gig in Orvieto's Teatro Mancinelli last December. Effervescent virtuosity abounds as the two piano genii romp through a program that includes Jobim and Buarque's "Portrait in Black and White", the swing ballad "Darn That Dream", Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz", Miles Davis's "Nardis", blues, improvisations and more. And this recording is Corea's first new ECM date in more than a quarter-century.

Parallel to the release of The Continents we are bringing out On Two Pianos, restoring to the catalogue Chick Corea s only other recording on the Yellow Label a great live concert given by the jazz giant with virtuoso pianist Nicolaus Economou at the Munich Summer Piano Festival in 1982. Like a conversation between two insightful, intelligent men, who never quarrel because they appreciate and like each other (Süddeutsche Zeitung). Corea, the chameleon of jazz , is, of course, renowned for his collaborations with musicians of all kinds (in the same year as this recording, 1983, he brought out two more albums, where he was partnered by Friedrich Gulda and Gary Burton, respectively). Nicolaus Economou, a precociously talented pianist from Cyprus, received a classical training in the rigours of the Moscow Conservatoire in the late 1960s, before establishing himself in Munich. There, in addition to his concertizing, he was active as composer, arranger, conductor and organizer of musical festivals, including the Munich Summer Piano Festival, from which these recordings are taken. Each artist improvises in his own style; their interaction creates a glorious musical fusion. In addition to an extended improvised Suite of character pieces, there are compositions by Corea (Homecoming and Duet) and selections from Bartók s two-piano pieces in his Mikrokosmos. It was a great concert. Yet, it was something more: it was enlightening. (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Almost thirty years on, Chick Corea celebrates his 70th birthday in 2011. Nicolaus Economou died tragically young, in a car crash in Cyprus in 1993. With the release of Corea s new double-album, The Continents, on Deutsche Grammophon, we are proud to bring back On Two Pianos to the catalogue. This is its first international release on the label.

Japanese, gold disc reissue of 1972 album packaged in a miniature LP sleeve, features four tracks. ECM. 2004.

No Description Available.
Genre: Jazz Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
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Release Date: 19-MAY-1986