It might seem incongruous that Chick Corea would record with a banjo player, but that’s exactly what happened – three times. Corea, who played with Miles Davis on such as In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, was deep in the worlds of hard bop, experimental and jazz-fusion. Since his death from cancer in 2021 some of his last recorded work has surfaced, as on this album.
Produced by American banjoist Béla Fleck (named after Bartók), the new album was partly recorded live during their final tour together in 2019 and also remotely by exchanging sound files during the pandemic. It follows their studio album of 2007, The Enchantment, and then Two in 2015, which they recorded on tour. The latter provides live versions of all the songs from The Enchantment bar one plus four new ones.
Fleck is, of course, no mere banjo clanker – he’s a virtuoso on the instrument and has received several Grammy Awards. Four years ago, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, the highest honour the genre can bestow. I had the good fortune of seeing Fleck perform on the main stage at Newport Jazz Festival in 2017 when he and his longstanding band, The Flecktones, delivered a spellbinding mix of jazz, electric blues and bluegrass.
Remembrance features three previously unreleased compositions by the pianist – the title track Remembrance, the sprightly Enut Nital (Latin Tune spelled backwards) and Continuance. Alongside these are four of Corea’s original solo improvisations, which he called impromptus, to which Fleck has blended melodic banjo parts. The banjoist contributes a fifth impromptu which has in turn been augmented by Corea on piano. Fleck supplies four of his own compositions – The Otter Creek Incident (which has the feel of an old Western movie soundtrack), Lucky Bounce, Juno (named after his son) and the intricate Small Potatoes. Both he and Corea share the re-arrangement of a piece by Domenico Scarlatti which they’ve named Scarlatti Sonatas. The only other track which doesn’t originate from either of the pair is Monk’s Bemsha Swing, which they reinterpret in radical fashion.
Remembrance traverses a spectrum of different musical styles performed by the pair throughout the course of the album. Listening can often be a fast ride for the listener owing to the extraordinary speed and agility demonstrated by these maestros. The album comes with an eight-page booklet containing an interesting essay by Fleck describing the journey of his musical relationship with Corea.
Discography
The Otter Creek Incident; Impromptu III: March Hare; Enut Nital; Impromptu II: Mock Turtle; Bemsha Swing; Lucky Bounce; Impromptu I: Cheshire; Remembrance; Juno; Scarlatti Sonatas; Impromptu V: Jabberwocky; Small Potatoes; Continuance; Impromptu IV: Gentleman Fish (63.52)
Corea (p); Fleck (bj). USA, 2019.
Béla Fleck Productions (Thirty Tigers)
