A GOOD BEBOP TUNE GONE BAD


We performed Hollyween weekend at Goodnite Gracie's here in Ann Arbor and a highlight of the evening for me was ripping through the number Dean refers to as "Chick Corea". I poked around on AllMusic.com and figured out the tune is Chick Corea's "Got a Match?" MP3, PDF. This recording is from 1986 or so and the electric bassist is John Patitucci.

There's actually a lot I don't like about this. It seems sort of gratuitously fast (which may be sour grapes because I can only play this at 180bpm or so and they are up around 300), Corea's synthesizer sound is kind of whiny, the bass sounds like it is sped up because it is so high, and the whole sound is really compressed and processed - synthetic you might say. I guess that is an "elektric" style like a smooth quiet maglev train. I always associate "electric" with hot tube amps, Wurlitzer electric pianos and Fenders.
There's a Blue Note twofer LP called "Chick Corea" that has a 1968 recording of this tune, but I don't know who's on it. It's probably more like real jazz.