Chick Corer: Electric Workshop

This follow-up session to Chick Corea: Keyboard Workshop, is another music instruction winner from DCI. Although the program gets off to a rather slow start, with Chick mentioning some of his influences (Paco de Lucia, John Coltrane, and Bud Powell), and playing samples of their work with little or no commentary, the program shifts into high gear quickly when Chick enters the "workshop." Step-by-step, he recreates the composition of "Hopscotch", a new jazz piece, for electronic keyboards, bass, and drums. Beginning with the "hook", Chick tries various synthesizer sounds until he finds the right tone, builds melodious runs, fashions a bridge, writes in spaces for bass and drum solos, and puts together an intricate ending. In other words, viewers are taken through the entire process of composition: from initial inspiration to performance of the finished composition. Highly recommended. (Available from: DCI, 541 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10011.)