Chick Corea Solo Piano_ Portraits

When Chick Corea recorded "Piano Improvisations" in 1971, he opened the floodgates on a new era of solo piano music, one that continues to resonate today. "Portraits" continues Chick’s solo piano evolution in a tour de force: in a full live performance, he embraces jazz standards, classical renditions and sublime Corea Classics.

The latest addition to Chick Corea's remarkable discography is 'Plays', a captivating and intimate double album of solo performances. While he claims that, "Solo piano is lonely," Chick finds himself in good company throughout these stellar performances, engaging with several of his favorite composers.

After Chick Corea surprised Marian McPartland with an impromptu musical portrait of her during a taping of her Piano Jazz program in 1979, little did he know he would inspire her to do the same to her guests on a regular basis, starting with one of him! This CD collects 23 of her improvisations of a wide range of artists; some of the most interesting portraits come from shows with rather unlikely guests like Paul Shaffer (of David Letterman fame), NPR executive and Murray Horwitz, and Judy Collins. Of course, the shows from which "Fred Hersch," "Willie Ruff" and "Randy Weston" deserve to be released in their entirety; while the improvisations of "Dizzy," "Ray Charles" and "Mercer Ellington" have previously appeared on Jazz Alliance CDs of Piano Jazz. This strongly recommended CD is available only through NPR Classics at 202-414-2033 or possibly as a premium through your local NPR affiliate station.