Search - Chick Corea, Bela Fleck :: The Enchantment

A great CD, just not the greatest...

Jonathan E. Rossi | Harrisburg, PA | 05/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Exciting and...enchanting.

hal st soul | between London and Los Angeles | 06/05/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

""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!"

A Masterpiece

Howard M. Edwards | 05/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."