Chick Corea is one of the leading jazz pianists and composers of the world, in fact with 22 grammy awards a living legend and an inspiration to countless musicians. Last Saturday he gave a solo concert at the lovely Cinema Teatro di Chiasso. The event turned out to be a most enjoyable, one of a kind and very interactive evening which was comprised of several distinct parts.

It started with Chick hybridizing different music styles, e.g. Chopin and Jobim or Scriabin and Bill Evans. This was connected with tributes to Monk, Paco di Lucia and Gershwin and during which he involved the audience with almost scat-like sing-along. But it got even more interactive. Chick invited a couple of volunteers from the audience to sit next to his grand piano so he could face them and play what he coined: musical portraiture. Taking it to the next level he invited anybody from the audience who wanted to join and jam with him on the piano. Three spontaneous, courageous and excellent pianists subsequently shared the piano stool and claviature with Chick to improvise very distinct tunes ranging from conversational to blazing fast show-down to almost lyrical pieces. It culminated in another part in which he devided the male and female audience to sing five different tones spontaneously arranged and conducted by Chick and in conversation with his piano play. Rarely has an audience sung more beautifully in such a flash audition. Not suprisingly, the totally smitten and ecstatic audience asked for more and Chick closed out a fascinating evening with a few of his children songs.

Thanks to a charismatic, explanatory and engaging Chick, this exciting and inspiring evening was not only a great concert but commensurate with the venue great theater as well. – Grazie mille, Chick!

The images below, some of which were taken before and during the sound check, aim to provide an impression of the event.

Let me start by introducing some of the sound people behind the scene which make sure that the audience gets the most audiophile experience possible. From left to right: Bernie Kirsh (from the back, Chick’s primary sound engineer for decades, 5 grammy awards), Rob Griffin (sound engineer, 2 grammy awards) and Corrado Faccioni (inventor of phiTon_resonaTors). The second image is a close up of Bernie.

Chick in conversation with Corrado during the sound check. On the second image with Prof. Armando Calvia in the middle, the Direttore del Cinema Teatro.   

Ciao e arrivederci