Chick Corea in 2012:

 Here are two CD's you should look for, right away.

Chick Corea comes into 2012 with two of the best works of his lengthy career.

First up is The Continents, a double CD set. Corea has tried to fuse a jazz band with classical musicians in the past, unsuccessfully, as it always came across as forced - or lightweight - or just plain twee.

Yet The Continents is none of the above. It is simply a hugely engaging interplay between jazz quintet and chamber orchestra, not a "jazz combo" with orchestral accompaniment. The quintet and orchestra move as one, one moving within and out of the other, a truly ground breaking and organic fusion. The suite itself - a representation of the continents musically, I suppose (not a terribly original concept of itself), is a very fine composition, the best of Corea's long career. Touchpoints are obviously Bartok, but less obviously Honneger and Milhaud. The  second disc consists of 4 standards played by the band and a series of solo pieces - all very good as an addendum, but add nothing to the fabulous Continents.

So highly recommended words are inadequate. An instant classic, a benchmark, a must have. The Deutsche Gramophone sound is exemplary.

The trio record "Further Explorations" is a revisiting of the classic Bill Evans trio with Eddie Gomez and Paul Motian, Recorded live in 2011, this tribute to the Evans' "Explorations" era is not a cover record, it takes that classic as a starting point for a trio exploration that revisits the aura of the Evans trio after 50 years. Startlingly modern, yet fitting the spirit of Evans perfectly, this is a wonderful record that does not attemp to yupdate or re-interpret a classic as it does to take it as a template for further exploration. Highly recommended, and a good sound from Concord.