Chick Corea’s Stretch Records label teamed with Concord Records to release “Rendezvous In New York”, a 2 disc SACD set (Stretch Records SCD2-9041-2) on Tuesday. The album is the first SACD to be issued by Stretch Records and Concord Records and is a single inventory, SACD only release.
It is also the kickoff SACD for Concord’s plans to release 30 Hybrid Multichannel SACDs during this year to celebrate their 30th Anniversary. After this SACD release, the next set of Multichannel SACDs from Concord Records are scheduled to appear on May 20th – a one month delay from their original April 22nd street date.
Rendezvous in New York is also being released in Europe and Japan on Stretch Records through a distribution deal with Universal Music International. The Japanese version of the album (Stretch/Universal Japan UCGU-7008) was released on April 9th. The album was released in Europe this week to match the U.S. release date (Stretch/Universal 038023).
The album is a Hybrid Layer Multichannel SACD. It is designed to play in SACD and CD players as well as SACD compatible DVD Video players.
An Album of Firsts
Rendezvous in New York is a unique album in several ways. It was recorded in December 2001 at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York to celebrate Chick Corea’s 60th birthday. The material from the album was selected from over three weeks and almost 60 hours of sessions at the club where Corea celebrated with some of the best known jazz musicians in the business.
(While this is a 2 disc set, there is talk about putting material from the entire 9 show series on a set of discs in the future. There’s a postcard inside the album in case you want to get on a mailing list for information on buying future albums in the planned “Rendezvous in New York” collection.)
The album is also noteworthy in that it is said to be the first full DSD 16 track live “direct-to-disc” jazz recording to be made. To achieve this milestone, album audio producer Herbert Waltl worked with Philips and Merging Technologies to assemble an impressive recording set up. Two of Merging Technologies’ 8 Channel Pyramix DSD recording/editing stations were synchronized for the sessions. DSD converters were obtained from dCS and Ed Meitner’s EMM Labs for the live recordings.
According to the engineers on the session
“All signal path up to the A/D converters is maintained with utmost care in the Analog domain to preserve all the detail and quality of the very intimate, warm and relaxing atmosphere of this unique Jazz mecca which prevails at the Blue Note.”
Finally, the event was video recorded in the 24P high definition video format to allow for later use in producing DVD Video and HDTV editions of the sessions.
Rendezvous in New York is divided into sections that cover different musical styles and eras that have made up Chick Corea’s illustrious jazz career. The album comes in a paperboard foldout design that includes holders for both of the SACDs as well as room for photos of the sessions. The package also includes a 48 page booklet with liner notes, credits and more information on this event. As a direct to DSD recording, SACD jazz fans will want to give this album a listen.
Guest Musicians
- Jeff Ballard – Drums
- Terence Blanchard – Trumpet
- Michael Brecker – Tenor Sax
- Gary Burton – Vibraphone
- Avishai Cohen – Bass
- Steve Davis – Trombone
- Steve Gadd – Drums
- Tim Garland – Bass Clarinet
- Eddie Gomez – Bass
- Roy Haynes – Drums
- Christian McBride – Bass
- Bobby McFerren – Vocals
- John Patitucci – Bass
- Joshua Redman – Tenor Sax
- Gonzalo Rubalcaba – Piano
- Miroslav Vitous – Bass
- Dave Weckl – Drums
- Steve Wilson – Clarinet
Album Selections
Disc One
- Duets (Chick Corea & Bobby McFerrin)
Armando’s Rhumba
Blue Monk
Concierto De Aranjuez / Spain – Chick Corea & Bobby McFerrin Duet - Now He Sings Trio (Chick Corea, Roy Haynes & Miroslav Vituous)
Matrix - Remembering Bud Powell Band (Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, Christian McBride, Joshua Redman and Terence Blanchard)
Glass Enclosure / Tempus Fugit - Duet (Chick Corea & Gary Burton)
Crystal Silence - Akoustic Band (Chick Corea, John Patitucci & Dave Weckl)
Bessie’s Blues
Disc Two
- Akoustic Band (Chick Corea, John Patitucci & Dave Weckl)
Autumn Leaves - Origin (Chick Corea, Avishai Cohen, Jeff Ballard, Steve Wilson, Steve Davis & Tim Garland)
Armando’s Tango - Duet (Chick Corea & Gonzalo Rubalcaba)
Concerto De Aranjuez - New Trio (Chick Corea, Avishai Cohen & Jeff Ballard)
Lifeline - Three Quartets Band (Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, Steve Gadd & Eddie Gomez)
Quartet No. 2, Part 1
Availability
Rendezvous In New York by Chick Corea is now available for purchase at record outlets including Tower Records and Barnes and Noble stores. It is also available on the web through Elusive Disc in the U.S. as well as the HMV Japan web store.
