Ever since Chick Corea plugged in his Electrik Band in the mid-ΓÇÖ80s, his music has taken on a surreal, War Of The Worlds quality, no doubt inspired by Scientology guru L. Ron Hubbard, as well a weird interpretation of the music of his Spanish heritage. Is Change My Spanish Heart meets Time Warp? Not quite. But it is perhaps the best Corea offering since the first Electrik Band album.
Thanks to its all-acoustic format, and to new drummer Jeff Ballard, Change, while still as hairy as a mad porcupine at times, is largely free of cliche and full of effortless soloing and good grooves. Everything just feels right (which is saying a lot if you recall the Dave Weckl days).
Unlike CoreaΓÇÖs recent six-CD live boxed set, which documented every gymnastic moment of every set at the Blue Note in New York (often multiple versions), Change features songs that are no longer than eight minutes max. ΓÇ£WigwamΓÇ¥ focuses on CoreaΓÇÖs marimba, as the band skates some rambunctious Latin below him. Ballard is a marvel, dropping flamenco bombs and playful strikes all over the place while swinging his butt off. ΓÇ£ArmandoΓÇÖs TangoΓÇ¥ is supple noveau tango from a master pianist, but again Ballard steals the tune with his drumming, which is merely fingertips on snare drum, but itΓÇÖs pure charisma. Soprano sax player Steve Wilson is also well online here. ΓÇ£Little FlamencoΓÇ¥ is fired by an undulating wave of handclaps that blaze through the track like an army of fire ants. This high-flying flamenco groove features exceptional ensemble playing throughout. ΓÇ£Early Afternoon BluesΓÇ¥ caps off the first half of the album with swinging security. From there the footing is less sure, but still solid. ΓÇ£L.A. ScenesΓÇ¥ is a Humpty Dumpty exercise in swing architecture, and is too busy for its own good, while ΓÇ£The SpinnerΓÇ¥ veers from screwy neo-bebop to rapid bossa nova, never quite settling down.
Change shows the old codger can still pull some clever tricks and make some daring turns of phrase. HereΓÇÖs hoping that he hangs on to his latest drummer for more than one album, and that he might find some inspiration besides Dianetics for recordings to come.
