βWhatβll we start with?β
βLetβs start with one of the tunesβ¦β
The two musicians take it in turn to state the minor key riff of SeΓ±orita, before entwining together and leading us on the first of the eveningβs journeys. Chick Corea and BΓ©la Fleck are two of the foremost jazz players of our time and the pairing of Coreaβs piano and Fleckβs banjo is a display of masterful musicianship. The sensitivity and technical ability they each possess is remarkable and keeps us enthralled for the duration of their performance.
After SeΓ±orita, a Corea composition, we hear Fleckβs Waltse for Abby and then Coreaβs Childrenβs Song #6. Corea playfully throws in a nod to his best-known composition, Spain, as he begins the piece. Thereβs so much give and take throughout the evening as the duo trade solo lines, locking together occasionally in unison and worked-out passages that are thrilling against the backdrop of improvisation. A beautiful, shimmering chord closes the Childrenβs Song.
Fleck announces that next theyβre going to play ββ¦a top secret pieceβ. Corea coughs exaggeratedly and flicks out the back hem of his shirt, mimicking the gestures of a concert pianist. Two sonatas by Baroque composer Domenico Scarlatti follow. The pieces (originally written for harpsichord in the early 1700s) are constructed mainly in two-part writing, the left and right hands sharing the musical material evenly, joining together frequently in pleasing sequences and patterns. As such, they are the perfect vehicle of expression for this duo, and the sound of the two instruments combined is reminiscent of the harpsichordβs plucked, sparkling tone. They play with great finesse, adding in stylish trills and slowing together gracefully at the end of sections. Corea even throws in a jazzy little improvised part at one stage. It would be wonderful if Fleckβs comment about the pieces being βtop secretβ was a hint at a project involving this sort of materialβ¦
Introducing the next piece, Corea says heβs liking learning to play bluegrass piano. He steps to the side of the stage (looking very cool, it must be said, in his loose skinny scarf and purple and pink Nikes) and gives Fleck the spotlight. As he improvises a series of angular arpeggios, we are reminded that weβre far from traditional bluegrass here, but he homes in on familiar sounds and the opening riffing of Mountain begins with a rocking motif, spelling out a minor seventh chord. The pair take turns trading licks, going further and further βoutβ, before locking together in unison at the end and returning to the rocking motif. One final, shimmering chord signals the end β well, more than one, but the others are lost beneath the audienceβs delighted applause.
After the interval we hear Continuance, which Corea had put aside for years until Fleck heard it. βYou were just waiting for a banjo to come into your life!β The resulting composition has sounds, to my ear, of French composer Francis Poulenc, and so itβs interesting to hear them play a piece by another French composer, Henri Dutilleuxβs PrΓ©lude en berceuse. This melancholic, serious music is followed by Fleckβs recounting of the story behind his charming piece, Juno, written as he was delayed in an airport while rushing home to meet his new baby son. Someone calls out βHappy birthday, BΓ©la!β, and Corea strikes up two choruses of a latin-tinged singalong. It perhaps illustrates the difference in the two menβs personalities that Corea is loving this moment β offering a fraternal fistbump across the piano afterwards β and Fleck is less enthused. Junoβs main motif is a little descending two-note phrase preceded by a glissando that perfectly renders his sonβs name into music. Coreaβs soloing during this piece is extraordinary β streams of semiquavers at one point and some playful, intricate two-hand figurations.
A standing ovation and a selfie, they go off for a few moments, and then back on for an encore, Armandoβs Rhumba. Corea starts this by reaching inside the piano and dampening a few bass strings, coaxing some moody harmonics from the instrument. Fleck picks out a wry, minor-mode version of Happy Birthday briefly before weβre launched into the familiar tune (now forty years old!). Corea smiles as he improvises around the chord changes. Fleck throws in the air of The Irish Washerwoman, and we revel in one last display of musical symbiosis from this brilliant duo before they amble off stage.
setlist
SeΓ±orita
Waltse For Abby
Childrenβs Song #6
Sonatas in D minor K1/L366 & K9/L413 β Domenico Scarlatti
Mountain
Continuance
Jerusalem Ridge
Enchantment
PrΓ©lude en berceuse β Henri Dutilleux
(Happy Birthday)
Juno
Armandoβs Rhumba