Chick Corea at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, NZ

[KiwiCoromandel]

In its purest form, music refers to nothing outside of itself: it may evoke moods or images and conjure up sensations, but they will be within the individual listener.

And it's a fair bet that during this solo concert by the legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea, each audience member was taken to some place personal as Corea improvised melodies from the bare bones of source material.

To an appreciably smaller and noticeably younger audience than that for Herbie Hancock recently, the casually-dressed Corea adopted an informal attitude, chatted easily, and set a mood of inclusiveness.

His improvised opener was a showcase: initially a light ballad, but then embellished by ripples, cascading runs down the keyboard and fancy filigrees before his left hand found darker tones to explore.

If there was a criticism of the concert it was that Corea was sometimes too rich: his treatment of Gershwin's Someone To Watch Over Me and Thelonious Monk's Round Midnight (the latter possessing little of its composer's fractured, percussive style) were washed in melodic flourishes.

The second half provided the highlights: his romantic treatment of two preludes by the classical composer Scriabin; and a bracket of originals - under the banner of children's songs - which began with an elegantly minimal song, moved through playful and increasingly elaborate pieces, and ended with two skittishly energetic songs which brought many in the audience to their feet.

At this point the concert ended and the affable Corea thanked the crowd - but said he'd return after a break for those who cared to stay. Most did and were treated to his interpretations of Sweet and Low, Bill Evans' Waltz For Debbie and a muscular, sometimes barely recognisable account of his most famous piece Spain.

If there was no one moment in this exceptional concert which made you think genius it was because Corea provided it with such consistency you were often too in awe - or in your own reverie - to consider it.

source:NZPA/Graham Reid

image:Reuters: Chick Corea