These days it seems difficult for “Superbands” to get together, let along make anything memorable. One such tour took place, that of icons Steve Gadd with Chick Corea. They teamed up with Lionel Loueke/g, Steve Wilson/fl-ss-as, Luisito Quintero/perc and Carlitos Del Puerto for what sounds like an exciting evening of creative swashbuckling.
The two discs are divided between 3 long grooves of over 15 minutes and 5 mid range fusion gems. Some mystical voices get spacey along with Corea’s keyboards on the otherworldly “Returm to Forever,” while Loueke takes you to Western Africa with his chants as Wilson floats and Gadd digs in a rivulet on “Wake-Up Call.” The percussive team creates something akin to the “Anvil Chorus” from Il Trovatore in the relentless “Gadd-zooks” where the drummer gives a seminar on the hi-hat.
The team gets funky as Corea keys in with Wilson’s soprano on th soulful “Chick’s Chums” with CTI-flavored hipness joining in with Gadd’s cymbals riding the wagon train on “Like I Was Sayin.” The team creates a marathon runner’s pulse on the title track, with plenty of time for everyone to stretch out during this heated session. This band never came to LA-was it something we said?