Chick Corea and John McLaughlin’s 5 Piece Band

Chick Corea and John McLaughlin’s Five Piece Band performed at the House of Blues on Tuesday night. The event was booked on the same day as the Britney Spears who performed in the near-by American Airlines Center; traffic was a nightmare. It was difficult to decide which concert to go… well, not really. Through my eyes, Chick Corea and John McLaughlin gave an extraordinary performance filled with “color, dimension, and texture.” These two virtuoso jazz fusion legends presented new original works as well as previously performed pieces. Chick with his prepared piano and John with his extravagant guitar licks created walls of dissonant sounds that every so often merge and release tension. In a sense, they parallel life; they give displeasure for a great amount of time but you live for those few moments of concordance where everything makes sense.

Even though Chick Corea and John McLaughlin were the creative heads behind the music, the show was stolen by saxophonist Kenny Garrett and bassist Christian McBride. Their invigorating solos left you searching for your brain. There were times where the only thing I could think was ’s#%*, what the heck just happened.’ I would have liked to see a drum solo; drummer Vinnie Colaiuta stayed on top of the rhythm and he looked like a great virtuoso but was not showcased as extensively as the others.

Chick’s and McLaughlin’s music can be divisive and nowhere was it more apparent than in the audience. The person on my right was very much into it – wooing and clapping at the end every solo while the person on my left was falling asleep. I would say that listening to contemporary jazz is somewhat of an acquired taste; it certainly does not produce instant satisfaction. The sounds are complex and difficult to interpret but the true genius of Chick Corea and John McLaughlin lie behind this multi-layered wall of sound.

Although Chick’s music can be somewhat difficult to follow, the audience thoroughly enjoyed the concert and gave a lengthy standing ovation which was followed by encore performance.