The fact that this album by the American jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea is released on the prestigious classic label Deutsche Grammophon says a lot about the product. In 2006 Corea was invited to Vienna to compose and perform a concert 'in the spirit of Mozart'. In the summer of 2011 he decided to record this work with his quintet and a composite orchestra conducted by Steven Mercurio. A good
… idea, as the result shows. The Continents is a musical journey across the six continents. Solid jazz and improvisation flow organically into lyrical and swinging classical passages. The fact that the two disciplines do not interfere with each other, but complement each other is a credit to Corea, who also finds space to showcase his virtuoso piano playing. The extra CD contains a number of quintet and solo pieces, played when the orchestra had already returned home. (MR)more
