It's fair to say that Keith Jarrett raised the solo piano concert to an art form in its own right as much by force of his personality as his widely acclaimed virtuosity. Audiences quickly learned to take a vow of silence when entering the concert hall and dared not cough, take a photograph or scratch their armpits lest they interrupt the pianist's concentration and suffer his withering ire. His concerts quickly assumed an aura that lifted them from a mere piano recital to an artistic/aesthetic/cultural event. On Plays, a double CD set comprising some 25 selections from recent solo concerts, Chick Corea has opted to present his virtuosity in a way that's the polar opposite of Jarrett, yet he has achieved the same ends. His studied informality, humour and ease with his audience makes for a totally absorbing listening experience that is part recital, part master class and part informal get together in his front room. He elides Mozart into Gershwin, Scarlatti into Kern, touches base with a couple of his favourite standards, explores Monk, doffs his cap to Stevie Wonder, gets two members of the audience to come forward and after a brief exchange creates a musical portrait around each, engages in spontaneous duets, first with Charles Heisser, next with Yaron Herman, and performs eight of his ‘Children's Songs’ in a way far more engaging than his 1984 album of the same name. Corea, whose default setting is ‘cheerful’, shines throughout.