Trilogy 2 (Live)

Following up 2014’s Grammy-winning triple album Trilogy, Chick Corea returns with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade for another live collection of standards and staples of the modern jazz canon, including Corea’s own (“500 Miles High,” “La Fiesta,” the 1968 treasure “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs”). There’s an electricity between these three—you hear it on the Irving Berlin opener “How Deep Is the Ocean,” especially at the transition from the bass solo to the piano solo, when Blade tears into the swing feel like a hungry tiger.
Truth be told, the acoustic sound of Trilogy 2 is superior to that of Trilogy—warmer and subtler, highlighting the band at its best on Thelonious Monk’s “Work” and “Crepuscule with Nellie,” Joe Henderson’s dark modern swinger “Serenity,” Steve Swallow’s bright-tempo gem “Eiderdown,” and finally a furious rundown of Kenny Dorham’s “Lotus Blossom” (aka “Asiatic Raes”). The energetic takes on Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise” and Miles Davis’ “All Blues” (from Kind of Blue) are eye-opening as well. Corea’s piano chops are still dangerous in his late seventies, sparking trio interplay and invention at the highest of levels.