Trombonist Conrad Herwig says his Afro-Caribbean masters were Mario Bauza, Eddie Palmieri, and Tito Puente. Conrad spent time with all three, giving him more than enough creative pedigree, when later he would regale us with his "Latin Side Of" series, reimagining and playing forward works by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Horace Silver, Charles Mingus, and now, Chick Corea. Chick, who played early on with Mongo Santamaria, was consistently fond of the Afro-Caribbean sound, and you can hear it in a lot of his work. Still, with Conrad's salute to Chick, the music here gets a fresh coat of clave, in some places for an initial experience.
There's an all-star cast here to bring it home: pianist Bill O'Connell, Craig Handy on tenor & soprano sax and flute, Alex Norris on trumpet and flugelhorn, bassist Ruben Rodriguez, drummer Robby Ameen, and percussionist Mauricio Herrera. These top flighters visit Chick's first two recordings , Tones For Joan's Bones and Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, two turns from Return To Forever, some Crystal Silence, and, of course, an inspired take on Spain.
Hear a track from The Latin Side of Chick Corea each weekday morning @ 8:20AM, another feature made possible by the members of WBGO!
Mon-"Matrix"
Tues-"500 Miles High"
Wed-"Tones For Joan's Bones"
Thurs-"Crystal Silence"
Fri-"Spain"
