As founder and leader of Return to Forever alongside bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White (among others who participated in its various lineups), composer and keyboardist Chick Corea helped change how the public viewed and heard jazz, ultimately playing large stadiums—a feat only accomplished by major rock bands during that era.
But that early triumph has not quieted his genius, and he continues to break barriers with his music, which in later years has been inspired by the teachings of Scientology, the controversial church whose ranks also include actors John Travolta, Tom Cruise and January Jones (of the hit AMC show “Mad Men”).
Alongside him on his current project are equally inventive bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade, two musicians who are highly in demand on the national scene. McBride received high praise for his recent release “Kind of Brown,” in which he paid homage to the influence of Miles Davis in his work with original material influenced by fifties and sixties jazz, while Blade has split his time working with Wayne Shorter’s band while leading his own Fellowship Band. (Ernest Barteldes)
October 8 at Symphony Center, 220 South Michigan, 8pm, (312)294-3000. $25-$85.
Scenes From A Season: An Inside Look at a Year with Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Walking out onto the stage last September, Muti was receiving his first applause at Orchestra Hall in over nineteen months. The celebrated Italian-born music director of the CSO, who had turned eighty two months earlier, was clearly moved. What made the acclamation unusual was that the hall was empty. The orchestra itself was providing heartfelt and sustained applause, greeting Muti…
