The piece is "very Chick Corea," whose sound is unique and immediate identifiable. Lots of Spanish and jazz influences. There are some "very Corea-like" licks that lie awkwardly on the trombone and are therefore difficult. And then there was a section that sounded less Corea-like and the licks laid much better on the horn, and I wondered of Joe's input altered the notes on the page, or whether he took his own path in that section.
Joe played the piece well. It wasn't flawless, but it was darned good. It's a big blow, and ended with two high Fs, which Joe struggled a bit to get, but he was a hero and nailed them both. Though as any trombonist who has had to nail high notes at the end of a piece can tell you, he was really working for them and it was pretty precarious. But he went for it, and hung on, and that thrilled me. It was a little drama right at the end.
I really enjoyed the piece itself. I loved the uniqueness that was the Chick Corea sound. My impression was that the most stereotypical "Chick licks" are awkward as hell on the trombone, and it has a pretty big range (pedal G to high F), but that any professional trombone player should be able to play the stuffing out of this concerto. There was nothing that screamed "only Joe Alessi can play this!" It wasn't a jaw-dropping technical tour de force, though you have to be a good player to master it. It's a wonderful piece with some acrobatics that are sometimes a little more work than the musical payoff you get from them, and I walked away thinking that this piece has enough going for it that it is eventually going to become a frequently played part of the trombone literature.
For me, the best part of it was being so close that the performance felt very personal, and I was able to hear every attack, breath, and impurity. I was occasionally surprised how loud Joe played when he didn't have to, how bright and piercing his tone became, and how aggressively percussive his double-tonguing was in the fast section. I got the same kind of closeness and detail you get when a student is sitting right next to you playing an etude. It was fascinating and revealing.
I left excited, and thinking, "I wanna play that, too!"
