Customer Reviews

The Enchantment

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a huge fan of Bela Fleck, and love Chick Corea as well. When I found out that the two were doing an acoustic duets tour and album, much like Bela and Edgar Meyer did a few years ago (which led to the incredible "Music For Two"), I was very excited. The partnering was natural - after all, some of the most memorable moments on "Live Art," the Flecktone's most highly regarded album (by most fans) are the jams featuring Chick sitting in with the band. And Bela has proven, time and again, that he is a master of various styles.

The music on this album is great. Chick clearly defers to Bela's style, and a lot of the music could easily fit on any of Bela's other albums. The soloing from both men is incredible, as are the unison runs, often delivered at such blistering speeds, in such total unison, that it boggles the mind.

The reasons I give this album 4 stars instead of 5 are two-fold. First of all, Bela is EVERYWHERE lately, and in most of those places, he's doing the same thing. Except for the Flecktones, who still allow him to stretch out, when you hear Bela with Edgar Meyer (two years ago), the Dave Matthews Band (this past summer and before), Keller Williams (on his recent album, Dream), Tony Trischa (on his Double Banjo Spectacular album), or any of the dozens of other guest spots he makes, you usually end up hearing the same style of playing that's on this album. It's not that I don't love it, it's just that I was expecting him to stretch out more and go in a different direction while working with someone as known for experimentation as Chick Corea is. The second reason it's getting four of five is because this album isn't very "full-sounding." I realize that it's only two musicians playing, but the songs sound like they would have benefitted from a rhythm section, and possibly even a horn. On "Music For Two," the music was full by itself, and I never found myself thinking, "Man, I wish there was something else going on." But on this album, I find myself thinking that repeatedly.

Overall, this is a great album. If I could give it 4.5 stars, I would. The music is amazing, Chick and Bela are in fine form, and overall it's just wonderful. My negativity above isn't meant to slam the album, merely to explain why it's not truly a 5-star album.

"The Enchantment" is the first-ever studio collaboration between jazz pianist Chick Corea and banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck, capturing the astonishing interplay between these two master musicians.

Immensely popular in their own musical spheres - combined, they have won an astounding 20 Grammy awards - they have forged a true collaboration with the release of this album.

I would not have guessed that a collection of songs this enjoyable could have been created with only piano and banjo, but these guys are so talented and innovative that it works.

A key aspect might be that ten of the eleven cuts were written by one or the other of the stars, and it's obvious that they know their own strengths -- and each other's.

Bela has been innovating almost as long as he's been playing the banjo. He's delved into the jazz world before, hiring jazz musicians to be in his band, and recording with jazz players at times. He's even recorded with Chick Corea before when Corea made guest appearances on two Flecktone recordings in the 1990's. But this new record is the first time the two players and composers have worked together to record a duet album.

As a duo, Fleck and Corea combine a variety of musical styles and flavors -- from blues to bluegrass, from classical to country.

The 11-track album released on Concord Records, features four compositions by Corea, including the title track, and six by Fleck. Also included is an unlikely and uniquely witty cover of the standard "Brazil".

The opener, Corea's "Seniorita" is a Latin-based tune, as are many of Corea's best-known compositions, but Fleck makes himself right at home, coaxing a classical sound from his banjo that is truly amazing. On "Mountain," which hews closer to the banjo's bluegrass roots, Corea has no problem finding his space and interjecting his own voice into the proceedings. Fleck's "A Strange Romance" bristles with gypsy influence, and again, Corea is right at home.

Though each performer is an amazing soloist and there are plenty of great solos here, it is often just as impressive to simply hear the way that these masterful musicians combine and interweave their instrumental voices to create something new.

An example of this is found on ballads like Fleck's sofly elegant "Folksy Waltse for Abby", Corea's "Children's Song #6" and "A Strange Romance", where regardless of which voice has the lead, the other twines its way in and around the lead voice.

And the title tune of the album, "The Enchantment", gives the listener a new listening experience, while at the same time retaining a comfort level not present in some examples of cutting-edge music.

I love it from start to finish.

Their version of "Brazil" keeps playing in my brain...and heart.

You will love it!

This CD is a gem. No wonder it broke into the top 40 on the very first day! Every single song is marvelous. Very lyrical. I can see several of these songs as being well played on jazz radio. There's not much more I can say except to say, both players are the best at their instruments, and their writing makes their playing shine.

First let me say that I enjoy the music very much. However, there is an imbalance of sorts between the two players. This is not altogether a bad thing: it is simply something I find interesting and apparent. To my ears, Chick Corea has over the years become a very fine player. He has always been a fine technician, but has matured into a fine musician as well. Again, to my ears--Bela, while also an adept technician, seems to be a less agile musical mind. His ideas sometimes seem more a result of technical prowess than musical "inspiration" for lack of a better word. I think working with Chick will probably be a huge and important step in Bela's musical development. It's a wonderful thing to see really good players turning into great players.

Chick Corea and Bela Fleck. Who in his right mind would have put these two together and said make a record? When you think of fusion, you don't think of Country Jazz.

This may be the most daring and satisfying recording these two men have made in years. Without any disrespect meant to either artist, they have both been in a bit of a rut lately. Their recent recordings have been good, skillful but ultimately more of the same. But put them together and you have magic.

Though you might think that there wouldn't be enough sonic color, differentiation and variety between the two instruments, the opposite is true. They make use of the full range of their instruments and full use of their imagination in ways we haven't heard in a while. Corea particularly sounds energized and full of purpose. He is not falling into familiar patterns here but is attacking the keys as if he were just seeing the potential of the piano for the first time. Fleck is very precise and at times almost technically overwhelming. It's a joy to hear two masters alternately pushing and supporting each other. You can feel the ebb and flow throughout each song.

Some of the songs like Spectacle and Joban Dna Nopia are intricate and emotional at the same time. They grab you from the first listening and don't let go. In fact, the songs, the melodies, on this album hold up to some of the best either man has produced to date. The playing is wonderful, the songcraft exceptional. I have no doubt that both artists must feel very satisfied with this recording.

These days I'm consumed by music file playlists of my own making in order to put together enough good songs from an artist for a lengthy joyful experience. CDs like this remind me that there are albums out there that are right just the way they are.

Purchased this album on my lunch break... my god! A fantastic active listening album that makes the toes curl

This is a beautiful album from start to finish. I bought it for my boyfriend, a big fan of both Bela Fleck and Chick Corea. We listen to it all of the time, and agree that you can hear both of these artists' distinct styles come through in their collaboration. I highly recommend it!

Bela and Chick are a perfect match! They are both at the pinnacle of their art and their playing defies description. Free flowing exchange of musical ideas and styles take the listener off into the ether of musical bliss. You will not be disappointed by this remarkable duo.

I'm waiting for Bela Fleck to put out a CD with a Kazoo master. He is such a fun and inventive artist. Chick Corea, as always, rocks.

I was fortunate to watch these 2 virtuosos perform live at the Keswick Theatre in suburban Philadelphia to a sold-out crowd. To invite the audience into their performance, they kept the house lights on, and performed in their newly established duo, sharing with the audience their immediate rapport via emailing tunes to one another.

A preeminent pianist who appeared with Miles Davis, Anthony Armando "Chick" Corea was born in Massachusetts in 1941 while Bela Fleck, named after Bartok, was born in 1958 in New York City. The haunting banjo strumming and fingerpicking enriched Chick's phenomenal acoustic keyboard virtuoso, which are revealed on the CD.

It's always good to see musicians who continue to evolve through the universal language of music.