Solo Piano: Standards

1	Monk's Dream 4:01
2	But Beautiful 6:17
3	Blue Monk 4:29
4	Ask Me Now 5:18
5	Thinking of You 5:34
6	Yesterdays 7:42
7	Dusk in Sandi 5:44
8	It Could Happen to You 4:32
9	'Round Midnight 7:22
10	So in Love 8:20
11	How Deep Is the Ocean? 8:08
12	Obilivion 3:57
13	Brazil 3:03

Barnes & Noble

Though Anthony Armando "Chick" Corea is one of the icons of his generation as a piano improviser and a composer, he's done anything but rest on his laurels during an extraordinarily productive and creative sixth decade. Since turning 50 eight years ago, he's released a series of recordings on Stretch -- his signature label -- that embody the spirit of exploration and stretching out restirring compositional juices with the sextet Origin, digging deep into the compositions of Bud Powell, and engaging mallet master Gary Burton in a program of virtuoso duos. His most recent offering is a simultaneously released pair of solo recitals titled ORIGINALS and STANDARDS. Culled from ten concerts at venues ranging from clubs to concert halls during a November 1999 tour of Japan and Scandinavia, they present the pianist -- his conception tempered by maturity to peak vintage -- at the top of his form and rank among his essential recordings.

On STANDARDS, Corea revisits roots he's never left too far behind, tackling four classics by Thelonious Monk ("Monk's Dream," "Ask Me Now," "Blue Monk," and "Round Midnight") and two by Bud Powell ("Oblivion" and "Dusk in Sandi"), his jazz muses and progenitors of jazz modernism, as well as six gems from the American Songbook, including Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays," Van Heusen & Burke's "It Could Happen to You," Cole Porter's "So in Love" and Irving Berlin's "How Deep Is the Ocean." Taking full advantage of the piano's orchestral potential and the possibility for unrestricted freedom of expression that the solo format allows, Corea conjures renditions packed with fresh harmonic ideas, new perspectives, and rampant lyricism, transforming the familiar refrains into personal statements. The mood is reflective, technique unfailingly at the service of thought. A de facto meditation on jazz tradition refracted through a personality that unfailingly gazes at the stars, this program demands repeated listening. Ted Panken

All Music Guide

Part two of Corea's solo piano series features standard tunes. There is a preponderance of Thelonious Monk music: "Monk's Dream," "Blue Monk," "Ask Me Now," and "'Round Midnight." Bud Powell, another piano legend whose music Corea has recorded and studied closely over the years, is represented by "Dusk in Sandi" and "Oblivion." The more universally familiar selections are "But Beautiful," "Thinking of You," "Yesterdays," "It Could Happen to You," "So in Love," "How Deep Is the Ocean," and "Brazil." Corea knows this music intimately and is uniquely able to mine each selection for fresh insights and possibilities. There are few pianists alive who equal Corea in stature and influence, and this beautiful concert recording reminds us of his continuing importance as an interpreter of jazz tradition. David R. Adler