The Ultimate Adventure [LIVE]

Chick Corea

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 7, 2006)
• Original Release Date: February 7, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Stretch Records
• ASIN: B000CQQHH2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,152 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Just as some books need to be edited for length, so do some albums inspired by works of literature. At least that's the case with The Ultimate Adventure, Chick Corea's second straight album project derived from a novel by his late Scientology mentor L. Ron Hubbard. Dubbed a tone poem by Corea, the nearly 75-minute work has some of his airiest, most cooly fluent music in some time. With its distinctive electric piano punctuation and contributions by flutist Hubert Laws and RTF percussionist Airto Moreira, the lyrical passages have echoes of his much-loved band of the seventies, Return to Forever. And the Spanish tinge for which he is known gravitates winningly south to Arabic North Africa. Ultimately, though, not all of the album's chapters are equally lively: the "Adventure" goes on a bit much for those who aren't using it as a soundtrack to the plot about a boy on a self-actualization quest, and even for some who are. But Corea has never negotiated the acoustic-electric (or, in his parlance, akoustic/elektric) divide as well as he does here and his ability to command a large cast including saxophonist Tim Garland and guitarist Frank Gambale is impressive. --Lloyd Sachs

Product Description

Inspiration
After the fulfilling experience of writing and recording my last CD, To the Stars, inspired by a classic science fiction novel from my favorite author, L. Ron Hubbard, I began looking for another one of his stories--one that I could portray using my love for Spanish and African music and the talents of the musicians in my new band, Touchstone. Browsing through my collection, I was drawn to the title The Ultimate Adventure. Remembering that this unique fantasy story had a backdrop of scenes and characters from the ancient tales, The Arabian Nights, it immediately had me conjuring emotions, sounds, rhythms and music. Technically, I decided that my palette would be lots of rhythm, flute and, of course, keyboards. I also took this project as an opportunity to make music with some of my old friends who were so important to my music-making in the '60s and '70s--namely, Steve Gadd, Airto Moreira and Hubert Laws. And together with my more recent musical partnerships with Vinnie Colaiuta, Hossam Ramzy, Frank Gambale and Tim Garland, and finally the members of my current band, Tom Brechtlein, Jorge Pardo, Rubem Dantas and Carles Benavent--I was definitely inspired by these great artists in the creation of this music.

Tone Poem
As defined in my computer's dictionary: a "tone poem" is "an extended piece of music that is based on a literary, artistic, or ideological theme, for example, a folk tale or landscape." This has become my favorite form of musical expression.

As were The Leprechaun, The Mad Hatter, My Spanish Heart, Musicmagic, Secret Agent, The Romantic Warrior, Time Warp, To the Stars, and many other albums I've made, The Ultimate Adventure is a tone poem based on the characters, places and events in the story.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful flamenco-tinged suite, February 21, 2006

By	Ian K. Hughes (San Mateo, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This beautiful, Spanish-tinged work by Chick Corea seems a throwback to the recordings the venerable jazz pianist/composer made in the 1970's. Given the overt influence of flamenco (several of the musicians are veterans of Paco de Lucia's group), one thinks immediately of "My Spanish Heart" (1976). But, with the modal vamps, odd time signatures and (tasteful) deployment of the Fender Rhodes and synthesizers, one can also discern links to similar "tone poems" (as Corea refers to them) such as "The Leprechaun" and "The Mad Hatter". The individual tunes may not have the immediate, infectious appeal of those on "My Spanish Heart" (a veritable classic), but the variety of expressive moods, richness of harmony (strains of Debussy and Berg), flowing improvisations and pulsating rhythmic grooves found in the passages of "The Ultimate Adventure" constitute a real listening pleasure. Audiophiles will be especially pleased with the immaculate production. A minor caveat: Frank Gambale's acoustic guitar playing (some of the last tracks) while competent enough, was somewhat lackluster. Too bad one of Chick's other guitar-playing friends (Al Di Meola or John McLaughlin) couldn't have taken a stab at the changes.

To this reviewer, it is of no aesthetic consequence that the material on "The Ultimate Adventure" was inspired by a story attributed to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. At the Berkeley stop of his current tour, Corea (long-time member of that organization) was laughed at and mocked by some cretinous audience members for merely mentioning the origins of his composition; is not a modicum of civilized tolerance due an artist with 40 years of creative endeavors under his belt? As an Orthodox Christian, I have absolutely no interest in Scientology, but I respect the fact that Chick Corea continues to find in it a form of inspiration. Finally, what might be seen as promotion of Hubbard's book (it is advertised in the album liner notes) may be more charitably viewed as nothing other than Corea sharing something that made a positive difference in his life. No one is under any compulsion to investigate further; a case in point being made in the fact that this reviewer paid no attention whatsoever to either the story background or the individual track titles, preferring to enjoy the music in serene (though not malevolent) indifference to its origins.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an older corea fan; like this cd, July 26, 2006

By	jjb (SF Bay Area) - See all my reviews

i'm an old corea fan from way back, very much into his return to forever days...later stuff i couldn't really get into. took a chance on this cd and was pleasantly surprised; i think if any of his fans liked his earlier material you won't be disappointed; i really enjoy it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL, February 3, 2007

By	Louise Marquis - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the Chick Corea we long-time fans know and love. But this time it's more about his brilliant compositions and expert performance with a great group than the freewheeling improv we have heard at times. It is richly textured jazz with liberal sprinklings of world music and some classical influences. I'm not familiar with the story this music is based on, but listening to it is an adventure I'm happy to experience in my own imagination.