Chick Corea & Gary Burton
HOT HOUSE—Concord Jazz 33363. concordmusicgroup. com. Can’t We Be Friends; Eleanor Rigby; Chega de Saudade; Time Remembered; Hot House; Strange Meadow Lark; Light Blue; Once I Loved; My Ship; Mozart Goes Dancing
PERSONNEL: Chick Corea, acoustic piano; Gary Burton, vibes, liner notes; Bernie Kirsh, engineer, producer; Greg Calbi, mastering; Bob Cetti, studio assistant; Ilmar Gavilan, violin; Melissa White, violin; Juan Miguel Hernandez, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello
By Alex Henderson
No less than 40 years have passed since Chick Corea and Gary Burton joined forces for 1972’s Crystal Silence, which was their first musical encounter but not their last. Crystal Silence went down in history as an artistic triumph, and the two of them have reunited from time to time over the years. Hot House is a celebration of Crystal Silence’s 40th anniversary, which is not to say that it is a carbon copy of Crystal Silence.
There are parallels between Crystal Silence and Hot House, certainly. Both are albums of intimate post-bop acoustic piano/vibes duets, and both are examples of how strong a rapport Corea and Burton can enjoy when they join forces. But while Crystal Silence focused on songs by Corea, bassist Steve Swallow or pianist/organist Carla Bley, Hot House favors material by a wider variety of composers. The only Corea original on Hot House, in fact, is the classical-influenced “Mozart Goes Dancing,” which is also the only track on the album that isn’t strictly an acoustic piano/vibes duet. “Mozart Goes Dancing” unites Corea and Burton with the Harlem String Quartet, and that group enhances the performance’s classical appeal.
But everything else on Hot House is a piano/ vibes duet, and Corea and Burton’s rapport is as strong as ever on introspective performances of material ranging from the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” to Bill Evans’ “Time Remembered” to two Antonio Carlos Jobim standards (“Once I Loved” and “Chega de Saudade,” a.k.a. “No More Blues”). Given that both Corea and Burton were sidemen for the late tenor saxophonist Stan Getz in the 1960s (although not at the same time), it is highly appropriate for them to include two songs by Jobim (who, like Getz, was a crucial figure in Brazilian jazz and the bossa nova boom).
This CD has its share of standards; Ira Gershwin and Kurt Weill’s “My Ship,” Tadd Dameron’s “Hot House” and Kay Swift & Paul James’ “Can’t We Be Friends” all fit that description. But Corea and Burton also embrace some lesser-known material by well-known improvisers, including Thelonious Monk’s “Light Blue” and Dave Brubeck’s “Strange Meadow Lark.” Neither of those tunes is a standard by any means; “Light Blue” is hardly as famous as “Well, You Needn’t,” “Pannonica,” “Epistrophy” or “In Walked Bud,” and “Strange Meadow Lark” is hardly as famous as “In Your Own Sweet Way” or “Blue Rondo à la Turk.” Nonetheless, both are worthy of Corea and Burton’s attention, and both underscore the fact that a jazz composition doesn’t have to be a standard to be worthwhile.
It should be noted that many of the songs chosen for Hot House were written by pianists (who include Monk, Dameron, Brubeck and Jobim). But according to Burton’s liner notes, that is merely an interesting coincidence; when Corea and Burton were picking material, they didn’t think about the fact that pianists were receiving so much attention from them. These days, Corea and Burton both enjoy elder statesman status in jazz; Corea is 71, while Burton is 69. Neither of them has lost anything in the chops department along the way, and bothare in fine form on this engaging celebration of Crystal Silence’s 40th anniversary.
