The festival season continues in earnest this Saturday when the legendary pianist Chick Corea and the ground-breaking banjo player Bela Fleck perform at the newly renovated Orpheum Theater in support of their live double album, Two.
The two musicians are unlikely collaborators on the surface, but since recording their first album together, The Enchantment in 2007, the pianist who rose to fame as a member of the premier jazz fusion band Return to Forever, and the banjo player who has redefined the role of the traditional bluegrass instrument, have found an intuitive rapport.
About their playing together, Fleck said, “Every night will have its own personality and follow the energy of the room, the space, and the audience that’s there, and how we’re feeling. We’ll build on what we did the night before. That’s the fun part of it.”
Given both musician’s affinity for New Orleans, Corea has played here numerous times over his diverse and lengthy career and Fleck appeared to adoring crowds at last year’s Jazz Fest in a duo with his wife, the singer Abby Washburn, this show is bound to be epic.
The set up for their performances on this tour, which began last fall, is simple. Corea settles in behind a grand piano. Fleck sets up a mere few feet away with his banjo on his lap. But the music they make is anything but simple.
Ranging across a wide swath of musical styles, listeners can expect originals from each of their canons; rearrangements of classical pieces and pop cover songs. Each piece is approached like a jazz tune, with the musicians trading lead and rhythm parts and improvising as the music pulses with their individual talents.
Prior to the concert, a select group of college students will get to experience a behind-the-scenes tour of the historic New Orleans Orpheum Theater, meet the theater’s production manager, check out the stage and backstage, followed by a post-show meet-and-greet with the musicians as part of GRAMMY U’s SoundChecks.
This unique program, hosted by the Recording Academy’s Memphis Chapter, provides young people with a glimpse into the realities of music careers by inviting them to attend concerts and learn from major recording artists. The program is not open to the public.
Show time is 8 PM.
