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Chick Corea & Gary Burton: Crystal Silence

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: ECM Records
Released: 1972.11.20
Time:
 44:23
Category: Jazz
Producer(s): Manfred Eicher
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.chickcorea.com
Appears with: Gary Burton
Purchase date: 2015
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Señor Mouse (Chick Corea) - 6:20
[2] Arise, Her Eyes (Steve Swallow) - 5:08
[3] I'm Your Pal (Steve Swallow) - 4:02
[4] Desert Air (Chick Corea) - 6:26
[5] Crystal Silence (Chick Corea) - 9:05
[6] Falling Grace (Steve Swallow) - 2:42
[7] Feelings And Things (Mike Gibbs) - 4:46
[8] Children's Song (Chick Corea) - 2:11
[9] What Game Shall We Play Today (Chick Corea) - 3:46

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Chick Corea - Piano
Gary Burton - Vibraphone

Manfred Eicher - Producer
Jan Erik Kongshaug - Engineer
Hans Paysan - Photography
Barbara Wojirsch - Cover Design, Design

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Recorded in November 6, 1972 at Arne Bendiksen Studio, Oslo, Norway.

Crystal Silence is an album by Chick Corea and Gary Burton. It was recorded in November 1972 and produced by Manfred Eicher for ECM Records. Their collaboration went further in 1979 with the albums Duet and In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979, also on ECM Records. Nearly 30 years later they followed up again with The New Crystal Silence in 2008, this time on Concord Records.



For Crystal Silence, the first of several partnerships between Chick Corea and vibraphonist Gary Burton in the 1970s, the two musicians selected an interesting array of material. The compositions on this record are all modern ones, either by Steve Swallow, Mike Gibbs, or Corea himself. It is a mostly downtempo affair, which allows each player to stretch out and play highly melodic solos over the often difficult changes. In keeping with most ECM releases, there is a distinct presence of European elements to the improvisations. There are few overt blues or bebop phrases, Corea and Burton opting instead for modern melodies to fuel their improvisations. Burton has managed to internalize the Spanish and modal implications of Corea's tunes with little difficulty, and solos with joyful ease through such tracks as "Señor Mouse." Corea himself is absolutely burning. His solo contribution on the same track is both fiery and introspective, combining in one statement the poles for which he is best-known. The title track is also the centerpiece of the album, a nine-minute exploration of the Corea ballad that first appeared on his Return to Forever record in 1972. In keeping with the tradition of the great masters of the ballad form, time seems to disappear as Burton and Corea lovingly caress the song's simple melody and dance effortlessly around the chords, building intensity only to let it subside once more. Crystal Silence is a sublime indication of what two master improvisers can do given quality raw material, with the first side of this record being particularly flawless. Improvised music is rarely this coherent and melodic. Essential for fans of Corea, Burton, or jazz in general.

Daniel Gioffre - All Music Guide



From a repertoire perspective, Crystal Silence sets the direction for all of Chick Corea and Gary Burton’s ECM recordings. With the exception of Michael Gibbs’ dark-hued ballad, “Feelings and Things,” everything is either written by Corea or Burton’s (at that time) longtime musical partner, bassist Steve Swallow.

The opening “Señor Mouse” also sets high expectations for what was to follow: instant evidence of a duo whose chordal instruments not only don’t get in each other’s way, but which mesh into a mini-orchestra of sorts, covering three essential components—melody, harmony/accompaniment and rhythm—while seamlessly tossing them around like a kind of musical tag-team. Most athletic teams work with a fixed plan, however; Corea and Burton (despite unequivocally operating with structured and often highly detailed music) shift responsibilities amongst themselves, often with real-time spontaneity. The result is music that may be of a chamber jazz variety, and certainly goes to gentler places, but is equally capable of terrific energy and excitement.

Corea contributes two tunes that had already been heard on Return to Forever, an album that signaled a significant directional shift for the pianist away from more challenging music with Anthony Braxton, Dave Holland and Barry Altschul in the much-lauded group Circle. Despite the absence of bassist Stanley Clarke, saxophonist Joe Farrell, percussionist Airto and singer Flora Purim from Return to Forever, the duet’s version of Corea’s bright “What Game Shall We Play Today” closes Crystal Silence on an equally joyous note, with piano and vibraphone orbiting around each other, coming together in buoyant unison and veering off into individual solos that prove it’s possible to be both virtuosic and eminently accessible. The nine-minute title track is the definitive version: unencumbered by the constraints of a larger ensemble, Corea and Burton create a soundscape of remarkable beauty and depth, one filled with nuance, as the subtle interaction of two come together with the singular intent of one.

Corea and Burton also turn in definitive versions of Swallow’s “Arise, Her Eyes,” a song that manages to swing as much through implication as direct pulse, the balladic “I’m Your Pal,” where hints of gospel peak through its more sophisticated changes, and the livelier “Falling Grace” where, in under three minutes, the duo interweaves with the kind of effortless perfection that imbues Crystal Silence with such flawless elegance. Despite plenty of spots where Corea and Burton shine individually, it’s their empathic interaction throughout the entire album that raised the bar for all duet recordings to follow.

AllAboutJazz
 

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