Chick Corea Elektric Band - The Future Is Now (2023) Live [2CD]

Between 1986 and 1993, the Chick Corea Elektric Band put out six studio albums of layered and nuanced jazz fusion that never quite managed to fully avoid the general cheesiness of the era. But make no mistake: Corea was never a smooth jazz guy. By the time he died in 2021, he had a jazz CV longer than a CVS receipt. He recorded over 70 albums, with some of the genre’s most illustrious players — guys like Miles Davis, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Keith Jarrett and Gary Burton — and was one of the driving forces behind the development of jazz fusion as a genre. He was about as real as they come. With The Future is Now!, The Elektric Band’s new album on Candid Records, we get one more look at Corea’s vision.

The Future Is Now!, was recorded live between 2016 and 2018, with the band’s original lineup of Corea on keys, Frank Gambale (guitar), John Patitucci (bass), Eric Marienthal (saxophone) and Dave Weckl on the drums. Corea approved the tracks for inclusion on this record prior to his death, and he chose well. Overall, the arrangements are potent and mostly tight, especially considering the average track length (more about that later). “Charged Particles,” the album’s opener, quickly captures the energy of a live performance in a way so many live recordings fail to do. It’s followed by “Trance Dance,” which starts with some soft, Latin-infused electric piano work before beginning a slow, steady build toward the climax, where Marienthal and Gambale work in tandem to hammer home the piece’s powerful, dramatic theme.

On other tracks, the themes don’t stick the landing, and this is where the material feels the most dated. A few of them, in particular “CTA” and “Beneath the Mask,” even sound like they could be the intro music for a generic, second-rate ‘90s late-night talk show. You can just about hear some store-brand Don Pardo announcing tonight’s guests over the music: “Diane Keaton! Andrew Dice Clay! Courtney Thorne-Smith! With musical guest Natalie Merchant!”

That’s okay, though. We don’t listen to jazz for the themes, do we? They’re just scaffolding for what’s really important: the solos. And in this respect, The Future Is Now! really shines. Gambale’s work alone is worth the price of admission — he tears through his solos in a way that always sounds limber and confident, but never rushed. Corea’s keyboard solos are typically relaxed and playful, sometimes digressive, and occasionally disobedient. He makes tasteful use of pitch bends, as he always has, giving his runs a bit of elasticity at just the right moments. On “Trance Dance,” he gets a bit squeaky with the synths, seeming to drift away from the tonal center before darting back to ground his line. And Patitucci’s upper-register bass solo on “CTA” stands out, as do his percolating runs on “Alan Corday.”

But all that stellar musicianship can only carry this album so far. For one thing, it feels a bit self-indulgent in spots (“Jocelyn — The Commander”), but this is a jazz record, after all; self-indulgence comes with the territory. More noteworthy is the fact that, with just nine tracks spanning a playing time of nearly two hours, much of The Future Is Now! tends to blend together. Even after multiple listens, it’s a little too easy to just lose your place, like a bookmark falling out of a James Clavell novel. That’s okay, though. You don’t have to know where you are to enjoy the ride.