Album Interview: Chick Corea/Stefano Bollani: Orvieto
Author: Selwyn Harris
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Musicians: |
Stefano Bollani (p, voc) |
Label: |
ECM |
Magazine Review Date: |
November/2011 |
Catalogue Number: |
277 9692 |
RecordDate: |
2010 |
The fusing of a pair of virtuosic live wires – the Milan-born Bollani with youth on his side and the 70-year-old Corea, with youth in his heart – could only ever lead to an effervescent, high class rococo affair. Recorded live at the Umbria Jazz Winter Festival in 2010, at times it sounds as if the pair might be playing at speed just to warm up with notes coming thick and fast unusually perhaps for a label renowned for its spaces and silences. But the musical depths explored by both pianists means Orvieto comes across equal parts vivacious, humorous and tender. Surprisingly this is Corea’s first ECM recording in 27 years; Bollani, as with Corea previously, has recently been making a name for himself, in Italy especially, as a classical concert pianist with his unorthodox interpretations of Gershwin and Ravel. Both are pianists that love challenges and breaking rules: from the slyly impressionistic, freely improvised opening title track, the Mediterranean folk dance-flavoured interpretation of Jobim’s ‘Retrato em branco e preto’ and ‘Doralice’, a track the Brazilian music-inspired Bollani has previously recorded on ECM with Enrico Rava, through to Corea’s flamenco-induced, ‘Armando’s Rhumba’ in which the pianists bite rhythmically at each other’s heels and standards all make for a diverse spread of material. Sometimes, its four-handed, tightly-packed avalanches of notes might lead the listener to distraction over the whole recording, but the sparkle of elegant wit and improvisational high-spirits mean you hardly notice.
Jazzwise talks to Stefano Bollani about the album
In what ways do you feel the relationship with Chick has developed during the couple of years you’ve been playing together?
We started talking about music a lot, even before meeting each other and then when we met we just started playing, and I have to tell you it’s all the same even after two years, just going on stage and just improvising all the time. It’s just using some songs to develop these totally different contexts and for me it’s all fully improvised.
Chick is one of your heroes, but has playing with him in such an intimate environment changed your original perception of him in any way?
I have to say as far as I heard him playing with me this year, he’s not playing “Chick Corea”. That’s the good news. He’s 70 years old and he’s still trying to play differently. That inspired me because usually when you become settled on your own instrument you just go on repeating what you are, and he’s always trying new things. So that’s what really surprised me actually. He’s very inspiring not only because he plays so well but because he’s listening to everything I’m doing. Sometimes I miss something and I listen back to the concerts or to a record and I discover that he was listening to me even in that moment.
Can you tell me about some of the characteristics you might share?
The most incredible thing I found in playing with him was the sense of humour, I think, is very close to mine. This was natural among musicians of the past but nowadays a lot of jazz musicians are very serious people, taking everything so seriously. Chick is really a nice guy, he’s happy so he’s funny.
You’re playing duo with Martial Solal at the London Jazz Festival.
Even before meeting Chick. I played with Martial for the first time in 2006 I think. He’s another guy with a great sense of humour, another master and he’s always playing what you’re not expecting him to. That means I’m obliged to listen all the time and that makes me be very careful and that’s good, because to be careful is to have tension and to have tension is to do good music.
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