Corea, Clarke & White - Forever {Deluxe Expanded Edition} (2011) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Allmusic.com review - for standard 2 discs CD set
This double-disc set documents Return to Forever's unplugged tour of 2009. Its 19 tracks consist mainly of rearranged RTF tunes and jazz standards for piano trio, though there are wonderful surprises on disc two. Disc one is taken directly from concert appearances across the globe. The standards work well – considering how busy Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White can be together as well as solo. "On Green Dolphin Street," "Waltz for Debby," and "Hackensack" all swing, though they do feature moments of RTF's requisite knotty counterpoint. Originals include Clarke's new tune, the beautiful "La Canción de Sophia," as well as "Bud Powell" and "Windows" from two Corea solo recordings, and "Señor Mouse" and "No Mystery," both RTF tunes, round it out. The small complaint is that these three play so stridently and "perfectly" that they sound more like a studio band instead of a quick-thinking live unit. Everything is exceptionally played and recorded. The gems are saved for disc two, which consists mainly of rehearsals for the tour recorded at Mad Hatter Studios in San Francisco, complete with off-mike banter. Corea dons his Rhodes and other keyboards for an excellent version of "Captain Marvel" and a fully fused-out “Señor Mouse,” “Space Circus,” and “After the Rain,” all with original RTF guitarist Bill Connors playing his ass off with his former and future bandmates (Frank Gambale will assume guitar duties on tour). Violinist Jean-Luc Ponty will also join the new band formally in 2012, and he begins in that role here, appearing on "Armando's Rhumba" (he played on the original off Corea's My Spanish Heart LP), his own "Renaissance," a fine rendition of "I Loves You, Porgy" (one of two tunes with Chaka Khan on vocals), "After the Cosmic Rain," and "Space Circus." The other two surprises on disc two are a very soulful duet between Corea (on acoustic piano) and White on John Coltrane's "Crescent" and a stellar acoustic trio version of RTF's standard "500 Miles High," which was recorded at the Monterey Jazz Festival and contains plenty of fire. With its looseness, this second disc offers the real dynamic potential for RTF in the future and reveals the depth of near symbiotic communication between the bandmembers.

Tracklist:

01 - Overjoyed
02 - I Loves You Porgy
03 - Stella by Starlight
04 - Windows
05 - Crystal Silence
06 - After the Cosmic Rain
07 - Matrix
08 - Villa
09 - Summer Night
10 - Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
11 - I Mean You
12 - Bud Powell
13 - La Canción de Sophia
14 - Hackensack
15 - Light As A Feather
16 - My One and Only Love
17 - Pledge for Peace
18 - When I Fall In Love (Featuring Gayle Moran Corea)
19 - No Mystery
20 - Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered (Featuring Gayle Moran Corea)
21 - Blue Monk-Matrix
22 - 500 Miles High (Featuring Gayle Moran Corea)
23 - Three Wrong Notes
24 - Sometime Ago
25 - Take the Coltrane
26 - L's Bop
27 - But Beautiful
28 - Blue Monk
29 - Waltz For Debby
30 - All Blues
31 - Footprints
32 - Nerfertiti
33 - Slow Blues
34 - La Fiesta

Musicians:
Chick Corea - piano, keyboards
Stanley Clarke - acoustic & electric bass
Lenny White - drums
Chaka Khan - vocals
Bill Connors - guitar
Jean-Luc Ponty - violin

Recording information:
Blue Note, Tokyo, Japan (08/28/2009-09/01/2009); Jazz Alley, Seattle, WA (08/28/2009-09/01/2009); Mad Hatter Studios (08/28/2009-09/01/2009); Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA (08/28/2009-09/01/2009); Yoshi's, Oakland, CA (08/28/2009-09/01/2009); Blue Note, Tokyo, Japan (09/16/2009); Jazz Alley, Seattle, WA (09/16/2009); Mad Hatter Studios (09/16/2009); Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA (09/16/2009); Yoshi's, Oakland, CA (09/16/2009); Blue Note, Tokyo, Japan (09/17/2009); Jazz Alley, Seattle, WA (09/17/2009); Mad Hatter Studios (09/17/2009); Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA (09/17/2009); Yoshi's, Oakland, CA (09/17/2009); Blue Note, Tokyo, Japan (09/30/2009); Jazz Alley, Seattle, WA (09/30/2009); Mad Hatter Studios (09/30/2009); Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA (09/30/2009); Yoshi's, Oakland, CA (09/30/2009); Blue Note, Tokyo, Japan (11/28/2009); Jazz Alley, Seattle, WA (11/28/2009); Mad Hatter Studios (11/28/2009); Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA (11/28/2009); Yoshi's, Oakland, CA (11/28/2009); Blue Note, Tokyo, Japan (12/12/2009); Jazz Alley, Seattle, WA (12/12/2009); Mad Hatter Studios (12/12/2009); Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA (12/12/2009); Yoshi's, Oakland, CA (12/12/2009).


Thanks to the Original customer!