Gayle Moran Corea — you know her as the stellar vocalist of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever, and Chick’s lovely wife of 42 years — sung at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall last week, in the much-anticipated “New Genre! Part 2” concert led by marimba master Mika Stoltzman.
The evening began with impeccable readings of new arrangements on Steve Reich and John Zorn, performed by Stoltzman and the Harlem String Quartet. Eye on Dance — a blog covering performing arts in NYC — was there:
The surprise came in the second half, when the musicians were scheduled to play pieces by Corea, when suddenly Ms. Corea announced that her husband was going to take the stage. Evidently, this was a last minute decision, but it made for the evening’s most delectable moments. After all, jazz is about improvisation, making art out of the unexpected, which is precisely what they all did.
The night wound up with a gorgeous conclusion:
At the end the audience cheered, and as an encore, Chick played “My Funny Valentine” – a song that brought out the best in Ms. Corea and soared in the duet between Stoltzman and Chick—two consummate artists, who share a clarity of voice, astounding technique, musical breath and generosity of spirit.
