Forever by Corea, Clarke & White

When I got “the CD, Forever” by Corea, Clarke & White in my hands my initial thought was…. This review will be short and sweet. All I have to do is name the musical Titans performing and everyone will know how excellent the music will be.

Chick Corea superbly performs on Piano and keys. This Cat is a 17-time GRAMMY winner with over four decades of amazing musical proliferation.

Stanley Clarke brings our beloved bass alive. If you don’t know who Stanley is you must have been in a cave since the seventies!

Lenny White is the world-class drummer on this team. Lenny has been drumming since the sixties and is considered one of the founding fathers of “Fusion”.

I think you get the picture when we talk about the caliber of the players here!

This is a 2-CD set where the first disk is solid Jazz Trio format. Stanley does his part on upright for the entire first disk. This CD sounds like a live performance because of the applause after songs. The recording is very well done and the sound is exceptionally clean and crisp feeling more like studio quality. This disk is where each of these powerhouses shows off their stuff. Hardcore Jazz fans will eat this up!

The second disk, The Bonus Disk, changes it all up. Special guests, Chaka Kahn, Jean-Luc Ponty and Bill Connors spice up the mix. Stanley breaks out the electric bass for many of the tracks on this disk. The “Bonus” music departs from the Jazz and explores some other genres where these guys excel.

As solid as the first disk is and loaded with exceptional music, the Bonus disk really caught my attention.

“Captain Marvel” kicks it off into high gear with an upbeat gusto that reminds me a little of “Spain”. The contrast from the first disk really made me sit up.

“Senor Mouse” is the rehearsal track of the same tune on the first disk. I am sure they included it there because they thought it was pretty cool; I sure agree with them!

“Armando’s Rhumba” has a Latin, syncopated groove that is highlighted by the violin. I get a very cool Gypsy feel from this one. It is all very tight!

“Space Circus” is where the Funk lives. Intricate keys, serious bass slap and pop and smoking drumming are enhanced with the violin and electric guitar.

Although all my favorites were on the Bonus disk, I want to go on record stating that both disks are impressively good. There is something here for everyone!

This set is slated for release in June 2011. I recommend that you get it as soon as you can, as this one is a real classic!

Forever by Corea, Clarke & White available at Amazon.com