Chick, Gary and the Sydney Symphony

Last night I was witness to the premiere of 5 new orchestral works, arrangements of duets by Gary Burton and Chick Corea. The last time I saw Chick and Gary was in Singapore a few weeks ago. They sounded like they'd been practising since then, and they were impressive enough to start with. Michelle told me in Singapore that the sound wouldn't be as good in the Opera House, and she was right - the acoustics are remarkable in Esplanade, and seeing the same act in both locations drove that home.

What really made the evening this time round, though, was the orchestra they threw in on top. The first piece it sounded like Chick and Gary were taking it in turns with the orchestra, but for the rest of the show it just added a richness and colour to the performance that, well, only a hundred extra musicians can. There was one piece in both concerts where Chick Corea started plucking the strings inside the piano, and this part had so much continuity added to it by sitting on a bed of strings. When the strings all came in pizzicato the second time through, it was almost comical, but it exaggerated a point in the music which was meant to be tongue in cheek, so comical was what they were aiming for.

It's not the gig of my life - I've decided that this sort of intellectual lift-music jazz isn't the music I'm looking for - but it was a great experience to see two masters of their art joined by a hundred masters of theirs.