Chick Corea and his new Elektric Band painted illusions and dreams for the audience at the Zephyr Thursday night. In the midst of their three-month U.S. tour, Salt Lake provided an excellent canvas for the artists to create their magic.
Since saxman Eric Marlenthal is the only original member of the first Electric Band, the other newcomers had to be introduced. Their first song, "CTA," gave each member a chance to prove himself worthy of the stage.Bassist Jimmy Earl, who filled in for former bassist John Patitucci on a few European gigs, gave the crowd a stunning performance. He put a whole lot of heart and soul in to his instrument that hyped up the audience.
Next up was Mike Miller on guitar, a.k.a. "the sideman." His solo gained the respect of his talents quickly by his thrilling trills.
Last, but certainly not least, on drums was Gary Novak, who replaced longtime Chick cohort Dave Weckl. Novak jammed his set much to the crowd's approval.
With the replacement of three new members, the band's newest release, "Paint the World," definitely had a distinctively different sound than the previous album, "Beneath the Mask."
The new sound is a more melodic combination but not quite the fluent rhythm that Chick has been known to produce.
After Chick introduced the band members, he performed his epilogue in "Tone Poem." On keyboards, Chick started off slow, soft and melodic. It was a great tribute to his expertise on the piano.
Accompanying him half-way through, Marlenthal's soulful soprano exploded as the two traded off the heavy bass groove.
In addition to the light acoustic melodic guitar from Miller, there seemed to be a slight touch of African rhythms in between the lines. Which goes to show the great diversity of the abilities of the band.
Chick dedicated the next song to longtime jazz legend Miles Davis, called "Ished." This spicy, staccato piece features sounds that go beyond this galaxy. A great treat the crowd enjoyed was the solo of Marlenthal's improvisional wailing abilities.
At this point, the band seemed warmed up, despite Utah's chilly weather. The band continued on with a 10-minute tune in which Chick put extreme emotion into his definition of their new melodic sound.
The band performed an hour and a half of modern jazz luxury during its first of two shows for the night. Other songs played were off the band's new album, in addition to a few tunes thrown in from favorite composers of the band.
"Paint the World" is a compository version of the Electric Band's yearly globe-trotting. Through its music comes an expression of the way the band views the world. Overall, the new Elektric Band sounds good for its first tour. It is trying new sounds, and the new members bring in new talent. It will be interesting to see what they come up with next.