The Trio is finishing the album 'Sin precedentes', which will be released before summer

S.C.O., January 2004
Photo: Daniel Muñoz

Chick Corea is sure which musicians he wants to play with on his next tour. The American pianist has called saxophonist Jorge Pardo, bass player Carles Benavent and percussionist Rubem Dantas to accompany him in the concerts he will hold in several European countries in May and June 2004. The trio believes that this experience - which occurs after the three musicians have left Paco de Lucía's group - is going to be to "get our fill of learning from each other, since as music lovers, we all have that same bad habit". An album will probably also come out of the tour, another future record to add to these musicians' discography. Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent and Tino di Geraldo are now finishing 'Sin precedentes', an album with new compositions scheduled to be released before summer.

In the words of Jorge Pardo, for Chick Corea to have the trio for a tour could be considered "a gift". He speaks for the three of them when he says that "we don't want popularity, far from it, but rather to learn". The saxophonist praises the veteran pianist's courage, since "he isn't doing it to sell records; he has little to gain from this, basically, the same as us: to learn. And it's praiseworthy for him to face this challenge at this point in his career. That's really nice".

The repertoire has yet to be decided, but it feels shared. Jorge Pardo comments that, "though Chick Corea usually has a very extensive live repertoire, he knows perfectly well what he wants from us and it's not precisely for us to learn it - for that there are hundreds of young academy musicians who'd die to play with him and they'd do it perfectly -, but rather, that which we could call blood, our attitude in facing music". The saxophonist says that the trio also assumes the reaction that this work with Chick Corea may cause in the jazz world, "since, to begin with, we're neither American nor black; so that makes us sort of suspicious". But, even so, they've accepted the challenge willingly. Bearing in mind "the degree of professionalism we're being treated with to begin with", the experience promises to be more than positive.

'Sin precedentes', a new album

The dates and countries of Chick Corea's tour with Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent and Rubem Dantas have yet to be determined, but it will be in May and June in several European countries. The experience is foreseen to go beyond the live performance and materialize into an album, but there is nothing definite. What is definite is the upcoming album by the trio formed by Jorge Pardo and Carles Benavent with Tino di Geraldo, whose title will be 'Sin precedentes' and which arrives nearly five years after 'El concierto de Sevilla' and so many performances on stages around the world. Currently, the three musicians are at Sonoland studios finishing off the record, which has been made, as Jorge Pardo explains, "starting from work which each of us has done at home". This album contains "new music by the trio, besides a tune by José Antonio Galicia, a ballad by Monk and a song by Led Zeppelin". The flamenco jazz group is now "tossing around different release and distribution options, aiming for the record to come out in the month of June". They do not rule out releasing it with their own label.

Jorge Pardo himself has just come out with a new record with D'3, the group he is in along with contrabass player Francis Pose and drummer José Vázquez, Roper. The album, entitled 'Quid pro quo' (something in return, in Latin), is now the second title of the group, which premiered with 'D'3 Directo', recorded at Chubby Cheek jazz club in Jaén in February 2001. Also recently having come out on the market is Jorge Pardo's live performance with pianist Iñaki Salvador, entitled '20 años de Altxerri', recorded at said club in San Sebastián in September 2002.

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