Chick Corea Memorium Poll #8: The Trios

I think the original Trio (who also played on Now He Sings...) with Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes is the most unique of the bunch, since they employ the most amount of free improvisation. And that's probably why I couldn't get into it as much at this time. Maybe that will change. That being said, these ones are the most "progressive" (in a sense) to my ears, so expect them to do well in the polls.

We get to hear a lot from Chick's influences on these, particularly Bud Powell, Monk, and Bill Evans. In fact, Chillin' in Chelan is dedicated to Monk, while Boston Three Party and Further Explorations are dedicated to Evans (which makes sense, as Eddie Gomez was a bassist for Evans). From Miles features, unsurprisingly, music by Miles Davis.

You'll notice many were released in 2007. These five are part of a series called Five Trios. Disclaimer: they are HARD to find, to stream or buy. I think they were issued individually in different regions, but the box set was Japan only. And the last one of the set was ONLY released in the box set... I was able to find three of them on YT, but only one track from From Miles, and two tracks from Brooklyn... Luckily, the latter contains a rare EBII track, Final Frontier, which I included below. So fusion fans rejoice.

Anyway, I know this poll will get very little traction, and Forever will probably win. Not only because it has RTF members and tracks, but also because the second disc is more electric and many tracks are expanded to a quartet or quintet with original RTF guitarist Bill Connors and Jean-Luc Ponty. And this poll has probably the most straight-up "jazz" content. I've always found Chick's playing unique because he often evokes a sound that I find similar to the avant-garde nature of some prog groups. But it is inarguable that you can really hear him channeling Bud or Monk or Bill in many of these tracks. 

I'll maybe only make one or two more of these. Perhaps I'll split my last idea in two so we get an even 10 polls. I will not be doing one on solo piano recordings. I doubt that many will want to listen, and I also realized that I am not too fond of them at this point in my life.

Full album playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lLf1Q8VUSPs5luixypBXVraMiiu0xVQXE

Full album playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mLQZKTCWrQFD8wF144bmvfZ7v8WDp_S68

Full album playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo2qlA7nifEkFqVWktU0aBCd1Z2PXmHjm

Full album playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mliXJOoYtONQvUiIQoTi7faM3F0EKRE1c

Full album playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lxxgYeLrgCLxAlNJEf2qu03l-CNar81Zk

On the flipside: