It was the late 1970s and the height of disco. Serious musicians and great music persisted, but it barely registered in the zeitgeist. It was into this world of Boogie Oogie Oogie that composer and vibraphonist Gary Burton and composer and keyboardist Chick Corea’s Duet was launched.
Recorded at the Delphian Foundation in Sheridan, Oregon in October 1978, released in 1979, and produced by Burton and Corea for the ECM label, Duet was the second studio album by the duo after 1972’s Crystal Silence. Most of the numbers on Duet were written by the late-Corea, who earned a stunning 25 Grammy Awards throughout his career.
Side One opens with the lengthy “Duet Suite,” which demonstrates immediately what critics meant when they said Burton plays the vibes pianistically. At times, the music almost sounds like dueling pianos. It’s a sonorous piece with alternating tempo and timbre as each musician takes leads and then drops back in varied melodic expressions. You can get a lot done in 15:28 - jazz, movie score, and classical takes are all reflected in this tune.
Corea’s four-movement lullaby, “Children’s Song” is pretty but doesn’t do much for this listener. These brief, exceedingly mellow pieces seem lost on the album
“Radio” written by Steve Swallow” closes Side One. It has some terrific energy and almost feels like a David Grusin 1970s’ movie score, beautifully capturing that gestalt. Swallow is a composer, fusion bassist, and frequent Burton collaborator. He was one of the first double bassists to transition full-time to electric bass guitar in the early 1970s.
Side Two opens with “Song for Gayle” and showcases Corea’s keyboard virtuosity with Burton delivering some sweet punctuation throughout.
Corea’s “La Fiesta” demonstrates his dexterity on the keys. It’s ambitious and fast-moving as well as a bit angular and even avant-garde at times. Oh, but then it curves right into the brighter Latin jazz that its title promises. With several flourishes, it almost felt like the boys were about to launch into Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez.”
The Chelsea, MA-born Corea left us one year ago. He was nothing short of genius. Burton, age 79, has long been considered an innovator. He utilized a four-mallet approach to playing the vibes when two mallets were the norm. He is considered a founder of jazz-fusion, too. A graduate of Boston’s Berklee College of Music, he taught there for nearly 35 years.
Takayuki Naitoh shot the album cover. He toured the world for decades photographing jazz musicians at work as well as numerous album covers. His abstract image of dual, overlapping butterflies against a muted blue background accurately captures the mood of the Duet album.
Image courtesy of Discogs.