A Bird In Flight

More seventies jazz from the original line up of Return To Forever on this album of the same name buy Chick Corea. Light years away from the heavier rock incarnation of later versions of the band, this album has a light latin feel, due in no small part to the Brazilian couple Flora Purim on vocals and Airto Moreira on percussion, not to mention the soprano sax and flute of Joe Farrell and the bass of Stanley Clarke. There's a very live feel to the recording, complete with a few fluffs, that is again very different from the current house sound at ECM. Some of the material has served Chick Corea well in subsequent years, the ballad Crystal Silence played on solo electric piano becoming something of a standard and some of the themes of the extended piece Sometime Ago - La Fiesta cropping up later in the guise of the number Spain. That song has a very strong Spanish influence, he Brazilian flavour coming through on the remaining two tracks, What Game Shall We Play Today a gentle bossa nova style song and the title track with wordless singing from Purim. Joe Farrell sounds happier on flute than soprano but all his contributions are enjoyable and the bass playing of Stanley Clarke on both electric and double bass is of virtuoso standard and this album still represents some of his best ever work. It is also a high point in Chick Corea's long career and manages to subsume any hints of Scientology.