CHICK COREA — The Leprechaun (review)

CHICK COREA — The Leprechaun album cover

Album · 1976 · Fusion

4.5/5 · 2011-04-24
ShW1

This is the first album from a serious of three albums by Chick Corea which holds a complicate concept creations, with large variety and reach instrumentation. Other albums on that serious are 'my Spanish heart' and 'the mad hatter'. The overall style is sometimes jazzy-improvised, sometimes classical, and sometimes prog-inspired. It is really hard to categorize this music in just one of the disciplines.

The concept in the entire album is not very clear but gives a flavor – the leprechaun, an Irish mythology creature that is quite mischief and naughty. The atmosphere is sweet, optimistic, but never too kitschy.

The creation is performed by large ensemble, including bass – drums, electric synth and devices, piano, female voice, jazz – acoustic instruments such as flute and saxophone, string quartet and some brass. All this richness does not exposed at once, but developed through the whole album. Some instruments come and go, some tracks are very short, consists of very few instruments, while others are larger orchestrated, and more widely developed. And the closer track, 'the Leprechaun's dream', is the climax: A very rich and wide track, that varied from a jazz-rock band, to string quartet, to some brass, and all together. The maneuvers between all these different sounds and styles are phenomenal, and present very well Corea's geniuity.

A bit of track – by – track description:

1 – 'Imp's welcome': a short track, performed by Chick's synths, and some percussion, in a sort of eastern tune.

2 – 'Lenore' – a longer track, which adds piano, drums, bass, and female voice, performed by Gayle Moran.

3 – 'Reverie' – a short prelude, performed by Chick's piano, and a bit of Gayle's voice.

4 – 'Looking at the world' – a song with words, but more complicate than an ordinary one. An impressive overture, coda and interludes. Here we are exposed to the string quartet for the first time with very brief lines at the start.

5 – 'Nite sprite' – some very bouncy jazzy tunes with fast lines and improvised interplays between soprano sax and synth.

6 – 'Soft and gentle' – another song with words. Toward the end, the brass section joins in together with the string quartet. Structurally this track is wider and more developed than the previous ones.

7 – 'Pixiland rag' – another short track, in rag style. Mainly for piano, bass synths, and some things sounds like vibraphone.

8 – ' Leprechaun's dream' – the complicate and richer track of all, which summarize the whole creation (not motivically BTW, all motives are new and not taken from previous tracks). All instruments are in, plus a flute and a piccolo. All methods are used: jazz – improvised sections along with classical written sections which lead to the climatic end.

For me this is one of Corea's best works. The composition, the execution, and the musicianship are all incredible, on the highest quality.

I did not mention players names on this review, because for now the details missing on this site, and also from my old Israeli-press vinyl. I guess Joe Farrell is here on the flute and saxophone, Stanley Clarke on bass, and Steve Gadd on drums, and these are just part of the instrumentation. Excellent musicianship from all as mentioned before.