chick corea in concert

[oldtimer]

This was posted in the entertainment section of the forum also.

I went to hear the Chick Corea Trio at the Berklee Performance Theater in Boston last Friday. The trio consists of Corea, Eddie Gomez, and Airto Moreira. They performed a single set lasting about an hour and a half to two hours. The concert was a mix of Return to Forever material revisited, mostly from the first two lps, and other material including a two song Bill Evans segment featuring Gomez, as well as a Richard Rogers homage. Airto also showcased some of his talent and of course all his toys (percussion exotica), almost stealing the show with his playful personality and grace on the stage. A two song encore included the T Monk tune Sweet and Lovely. Most of the concert was straight forward, although there was one cacophonous stretch which threatened to lose the audience until relief came with a segue into familiar ground. Overall the audience was mostly reserved and knowledgeable, and appreciative of their local boy (Corea grew up in Chelsea). The show was dedicated at the beginning to his family.

The acoustics from my balcony near the side wall seat were maybe B-plus good. My largest complaint would be that the bass was often difficult to hear clearly, while at other times sounded crystal clear. Corea at the beginning of the show gestured to someone off stage to crank up Gomez bass more than once, so he must have felt the same way. Some of the problem must have been the acoustics of the narrow bandbox, as well as Gomez rig which he was constantly tweaking. I kept thinking of the power that Stanley Clarke would generate from his acoustic bass, but that is not to put down the quality of Gomez performance.

All in all, I would recommend seeing this show if you can, and in as small a place as possible. That is almost always the case though isnt it? It was a very pleasant way to spend an evening, listening to giants in their field making it look easy. There were no intentionally wowing displays of virtuosity designed to blow an audience away by musicians with something to prove, just pure competence at a level most will never achieve. $40 well spent on music, combined with time well spent with great friends made for a beautiful weekend in Boston.