Album Review: Chick Corea Trilogy

More than a decade ago – 2013, in fact, Chick Corea released a live album, Trilogy. Featuring him on acoustic piano with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade (plus some very special guests), the album was a tour de force, a sparkling collection of performances drawn from 2010-2012 concerts in Spain, the U.S., Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Turkey and Japan. Critical response was universally positive. That album was released as a 3CD set, and Concord Jazz also made the release available digitally in high-quality FLAC format.

At that point in his career, Corea had done most everything, variously working solo and in various group configurations. He had made music in an array of styles, from post-bop to Latin jazz to classical, pioneering work in fusion and beyond. Winner of nearly 30 Grammy Awards, he was both a critical and commercial success in the music world. But Trilogy showcased him working as part of an acoustic trio, creating music that was equal parts thrilling, sublime and enduring. He, McBride and Blades played with a perfect balance of passion, feeling and technical expertise.

So it was not altogether surprising when Trilogy 2 appeared five years later. Featuring the same trio but no overlaps in material, the set – two CDs this time – drew from some of the same concerts as its predecessor, adding recordings from another city on those tours (Bologna, Italy) and six live recordings from 2016, all from North American dates. Again, the collection seemed to take balance as its defining quality: all of the previously-cited virtues were again in place, as was a balance of improvisation and structure. The reaction was once again enthusiastic across the board.

In short, Trilogy and Trilogy 2 marked two very high points in a career filled with such things. If the two albums lacked anything at all, it was a vinyl release. Happily, Concord Jazz has now seen to that omission. But the label hasn’t simply pressed up eight LPs; they’ve packaged the whole set in a beautiful package that deserves display akin to that of a prized coffee-table book.

The new set – simply titled Trilogy, though its massive dimensions assure that it won’t be mistaken for its decade-old CD counterpart – houses those eight records in a hard case that also includes an oversize booklet. Said booklet features some nice duotone photos, but what makes it extra-special is the inclusion of new essays. A heartfelt as-told-to piece by Christian McBride, a brief piece by Blades, a piece by co-producer Bernie Kirsh and a top-notch essay from author and esteemed music journalist Bill Milkowski are all essential reading.

The booklet also provides set lists for all of the dates on the 2016 tour, underscoring the large repertoire – original compositions, jazz classics, standards – from which the trio was able to draw. One can assume that there are more recordings of at least some of those dates in the vault.

But one mustn’t be greedy. At nearly five and a half hours, this Trilogy box offers up enough musical treasures to engage the listener for quite a long time. And repeated listens only serve to reveal additional details, flourishes and the seamless and expressive give-and-take among the three world-class musical giants.

At the top I made passing reference to additional players of note. The second LP sources a December 2010 performance in Madrid. For that concert, the trio would be joined on two released tracks (Corea’s “Spain” and the jazz standard “My Foolish Heart”) by a pair of Spanish musicians. Flamenco guitarist Niño Josele and flautist Jorge Pardo shine brightly and fit seamlessly into the ensemble with their work. An entire album’s worth of music by the expanded trio would be a remarkable thing indeed. But again, one mustn’t be greedy.

A bounty of instrumental performances of the highest caliber, the Trilogy box does feature one vocal performance. Gayle Moran Corea – Chick’s spouse and a former member of John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, sings a lovely reading of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs classic “Someday My Prince will Come.”

Trilogy isn’t for the casual fan; at $250 retail, it’s not cheap. And it will take up a lot of space in the listener’s home. But for those who appreciate the mastery on display across the sixteen sides, Trilogy is sure to take its rightful place as a prized item.