Chick Corea Elektric Band at Blue Note October 21, 2016

After a month away from the Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village, I returned last night to see the Chick Corea Elektric Band. It was the first of two shows in two nights. Tonight, I’m going to see ventriloquist and comedian Jeff Dunham in the Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. Pictures aren’t allowed, so that recap will be all words. (10/22 UPDATE: The recap of that show is now up. I was allowed to take pictures before and after, but I was still quite descriptive. Jeff’s YouTube videos and social media posts are also included in the recap.)

After the seating issue when I went to see Lee Ritenour in August, I opted for a seat further from the stage last night. It was still cramped, but my table seat was against the wall, which meant I was free to get up to take pictures without getting in anyone’s way. It was quite a workout, in addition to the 7.6 miles I ran in the afternoon. I was seated across from Phil, an avid Chick Corea fan from Vancouver, and his wife Kim. They made the time before the show worthwhile.

Now, the backstory: Pianist, keyboardist, and composer Chick Corea turned 75 back in June. In honor of this milestone, Blue Note arranged a two-month celebration/residency, which began Wednesday night with the first of five nights of the Chick Corea Elektric Band. The residency ends with Return to Forever meets Mahavishnu (Orchestra, I assume) from December 8 through 11. That show will combine half of Return to Forever, Chick and drummer Lenny White, along with Mahavishnu John McLaughlin on guitar. Victor Wooten will round out that band on bass.

The Elektric Band featured its definitive lineup, first heard on Light Years, the band’s second album, in 1987.

Chick Corea played keyboards:

…piano:

…and, during the encore, keytar:

Eric Marienthal was on alto sax:

…and soprano sax:

Frank Gambale on guitar:

John Patitucci on bass:

…and Dave Weckl on drums:

The 8:00 set consisted of six songs with extended solos. The songs were:
1. Trance Dance
Originally heard on: Eye of the Beholder, 1988

2. C.T.A. (Miles Davis cover)
Originally heard on: Paint the World, 1993

3. Jocelyn – The Commander
Originally heard on: To the Stars, 2004

4. Beneath the Mask
Originally heard on: Beneath the Mask, 1991

5. Silver Temple
Originally heard on: The Chick Corea Elektric Band, 1986

6 (Encore). Got a Match?
Originally heard on: The Chick Corea Elektric Band, 1986

The encore started with an audience call and response intro. Chick would play:

…and the audience would echo:

Then, “Got a Match”:

The last note:

After the set, I briefly caught up with drummer Dave Weckl and we posed for a picture:

I had a longer conversation with saxophonist Eric Marienthal, whom I’ve seen perform many times: with the Rippingtons in 2005, David Benoit in 2006, at Smooth Jazz for Scholars in 2008, solo in 2011, and with the Jeff Lorber Fusion in 2014, my first time at the Blue Note.

Just as we were posing for a picture, bassist John Patitucci walked by and I asked if he could get in, too. He did:

I interviewed both Eric and John on The Mike Chimeri Show over a decade ago. All interviews can be heard here. (Out of self-consciousness, I haven’t listened since editing them for air.)

The Chick Corea Elektric Band put on a thrilling show last night. If you’d like to see them and get the same thrill I did, they play at 8:00 and 10:30 tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday night.

Here is the rest of Chick’s residency schedule:

• October 26-30: For Miles
• November 2-6: Three Quartets, the Leprechaun Band
• November 9-10: Experiments in Electronica
• November 11-13: Flamenco Heart
• November 16-17: Chick Corea Big Band
• November 18-20: The Piano Duets
• November 22-23: Chick Corea & Gary Burton
• November 25-27: Origin II
• November 30-December 4: The Music of Return to Forever – Acoustic
• December 7: Chick Corea with John McLaughlin
• December 8-11: Return to Forever meets Mahavishnu

10/30 UPDATE: Highlights from all five nights of the Elektric Band at Blue Note were posted to Chick’s Facebook page: