Chick Corea has attained iconic status in music. The keyboardist, composer and bandleader is a DownBeat Hall of Famer and NEA Jazz Master, with an astounding 65 Grammy nominations – and 23 wins, in addition to a number of Latin Grammys. From straight-ahead to avant-garde, bebop to jazz-rock fusion, children’s songs to chamber and symphonic works, Chick has touched an astonishing number of musical bases in his career since playing with the genre-shattering bands of Miles Davis in the late ’60s and early ’70s.
Yet Chick has never been more productive than in the 21st century, whether playing acoustic piano or electric keyboards, leading multiple bands, performing solo or collaborating with a who’s who of music. He has been named Artist of the Year five times in the last 10 years in the DownBeat Readers Poll. Born in 1941 in Massachusetts, Chick remains a tireless creative spirit, continually reinventing himself through his art. As The New York Times has said, he is “a luminary, ebullient and eternally youthful.”
Chick’s classic albums as a leader or co-leader include Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, Return to Forever, Crystal Silence, and My Spanish Heart. His new Spanish Heart Band revisits that legendary album, celebrating his lifelong love of Latin music with a dynamite eight-piece ensemble featuring musicians from the great Paco de Lucia’s band. The band’s new studio album Antidote was released to universal acclaim on Concord Records in 2019.
His latest album, Trilogy 2, reconvenes his trio with McBride and Blade for a thrilling set of Corea classics, brilliant standards, and new takes on tunes from Joe Henderson, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Stevie Wonder. Jazziz Magazine calls this “one of the best groups of Corea’s unparalleled career.”
Carlitos Del Puerto Born and raised in Cuba, Carlitos is the son of the world famous bass player, Carlos Del Puerto. Carlos Del Puerto is a founder and original member of the group Irakere and a distinguished professor and author of the book The True Cuban Bass, adopted by Berklee College of Music. Though mentored by his father, Carlitos also continued his musical studies in Cello Performance at Alejandro Garcia Caturla Conservatory. Additionally, he attended the world-famous National School of Music & Arts in Cuba, where he earned the title of Professor of Contrabass and Ensemble Performance. At 17 years old, Carlitos was recognized as Best New Jazz Artist at the International Jazz Festival in Havana, Cuba.
Since arriving in the United States, Carlitos’ work ethic is clearly reflected in such credits as Chick Corea, Bruce Springsteen, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock, to name just a few. He has fearlessly toured the world, sustaining a high level of quality on his instrument and relentlessly inspiring audiences and musicians alike. Carlitos is always striving for excellence in his craft, whether he is performing in the studio, or on world-class stages. Regardless of what type of music he is playing, or in what venue, Carlitos’ goal is to create a unique experience, to be creative, and for both his fellow musicians and audience to feel joy in music.
Marcus Gilmore (born 1986) was inspired by the music of his grandfather, legendary jazz drummer Roy Haynes, who gave him his first set of drums at age 10. He is currently in his senior year at the LaGuardia High School of Music, Art and Performing Arts in New York City. Marcus received the Wynton Kelly Foundation Award, The Wyoming Seminary PAI Best Instrumentalist Award, the Essentially Ellington Best Drum Solo Award, Vail Jazz Festival Ella Fitzgerald Scholarship and the Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony. He performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Monterey High School Jazz Band Japan Tour and the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY High School Jazz Ensembles. In 2003, Marcus performed in Bern, Switzerland as part of Clark Terry’s “Young Titans of Jazz.” The same band gave its New York debut at Birdland last fall. Marcus also loves Afro-Cuban Jazz and plays timbales and Latin percussion. He has performed with Chick Corea, Steve Coleman, Ravi Coltrane, Vijay Iyer, John Clayton, Taylore McFerrin and many others, and has sat in with Ray Barretto, Branford Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Wycliffe Gordon, and Roy Hargrove.
