Jazz legend Chick Corea and Band Touchstone Scheduled to Perform at Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall
September 15, 2005
Chick Corea
Grammy winner and jazz innovator Chick Corea will perform with his band Touchstone at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall on Friday, October 14 at 8pm. Pianist Chick Corea will be joined by Touchstone band members Jorge Pardo on saxophone, Tom Brechtlein on drums, Carles Benavent on bass, and Reuben Dantas on percussion.
This concert is the second in the Mellon Jazz Fridays series. The next concert in the series will be the Third Annual Philly All-Star Night with Odean Pope’s Saxophone Choir and the Christian McBride Quintet (note that previously announced artist Michael Brecker will not be appearing) on November 18, 2005.
Tickets for Chick Corea and Touchstone are $30, $46, $59, $64, and $71 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply).
Chick Corea is one of the most influential artists of modern jazz. Since his start as a piano accompanist for trumpeter Blue Mitchell in the early sixties, Corea began to come into his own, experimenting with the styles of his co-performers and the classic jazz and even classical inspirations that he grew up with. It was his electric piano accompaniment with Miles Davis’ band that pulled Corea into jazz’s spotlight. Chick Corea’s participation on Davis’ pioneering fusion jazz recording Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way greatly influenced his own compositional and improvisational tendencies.
Corea’s first big contribution to the jazz genre came in 1971, with the birth of the band Return to Forever. The group veered away from Corea’s first band, Circle, an improvisational jazz group. Return to Forever featured a softer, sweeter sound, with the rhythms and melodies of samba at the core of the music. From there, Corea turned to electronic fusion, and began the 70’s jazz fusion revolution with Grammy award winning albums No Mystery and Romantic Warrior.
Since RTF’s disbandment in the mid-70s, Corea has continued to forge ahead into the new possibilities of modern jazz. Eleven Grammy awards followed, including awards for his 80’s Elektric Band album Leprechaun and the 1997 release of the Native Sense-New Duets album collaboration with Gary Burton. Corea has even reached beyond the boundaries of jazz, thanks to his deep reverence of the music of Mozart. His 1984 Piano Concerto No. 1 brought Corea his eleventh Grammy, as well as performances and recordings with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Corea has formed over five innovative jazz groups, as well as his own record label—Stretch Records, “. . .a label committed to stretching musical boundaries. . .and focusing more on freshness and creativity than on musical style.” Corea’s record label attests to his own drive, distinction, and innovation as a performer, composer, and entrepreneur.
Today, Corea works with his latest band Touchstone, featuring members from flamenco guitar legend Paco de Lucia. Corea and Touchstone’s resulting sound is a mixture of the Latin, Afro-Cuban, bassa nova, and salsa influences that have inspired Corea from the beginning. Most of Touchstone’s band members, including Carles Benavent on bass, Reuben Dantas on percussion, and Jorge Pardo on saxophone, were pulled directly from de Lucia’s band. Drummer Tom Brechtlein has been featured in several other Corea projects. The band’s tight technique and unique sounds comes from the well-developed mixture of styles from each band member. Jorge Pardo describes the relationship between Corea and the band, and the resulting distinct sound. “This is a gift for all of us. . .a chance to learn, Chick also. It is praiseworthy of him to face this challenge at this point in his career. . .Chick wants from us what we call our ‘blood’, our attitude in facing the music.”
Tickets for Chick Corea and Touchstone on October 14 range from $30 to $71 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply). For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to evening performances and 11:30am for matinees.
Sponsors of the 2005/2006 Kimmel Center Presents season include Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Sovereign Bank, The American Express Company, and Verizon Foundation. Special Student Matinees at the Kimmel Center are generously supported by Merck & Co., Inc. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte and Southern Wine and Spirit.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Mellon Jazz Fridays
October 14, 2005, 8pm
Verizon Hall
Chick Corea and Touchstone
Chick Corea, piano
Jorge Pardo, saxophone
Tom Brechtlein, drums
Carles Benavent, bass
Reuben Dantas, percussion
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