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Collaborations
Savion Glover, tap and dance
Two of the most creative and spontaneous forces in the performing arts joined forces to create an exciting and explosive show that is full of surprises. Bobby and Savion's duo concerts premiered in Seattle in March 2004, and followed in cities including Minneapolis, Detroit, and Newark NJ.
"A one-of-a-kind evening, one of those occasions when 1+1=3" --Minneapolis Star Tribune
"The two artists gave a breathtaking performance so closely and intuitively in sync with each other that it was almost impossible to tell who was leading at any one moment." --The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Chick Corea, piano
Chick Corea is one of Bobby's favorite collaborators - in addition to the two albums they recorded for Blue Note and Sony Records ("Play" and "The Mozart Sessions)", they appear together whenever their schedules allow. Look for their duo concerts in the US and Europe in Summer 2005.
Bobby talks about Chick:
Chick is wonderful. I feel like I can go anywhere, I can do anything I want and Chick is right there. His ears are just astounding. I mean, if we would be playing a tune that we know. A tune that just got 12 bars in it and I had decided at the end of the 9th bar that I want to go back to the first bar, Chick will go right back there with me. Or I can decide whatever it is that I want to, I fell that I have the flexibility to go anywhere I want, to do anything I want, to sing anyway I want. He’s so sensitive; he’s an astounding great accompanist for me. And he’s just full of levity. I like that. He’s just very light, uplifting, and full of levity. He can play anything and we have a ball playing. He plays piano, he lets me sit next to him on his piano stool and play, you know? What can I say? It’s like we’ve known each other a long, long time. Like good friends who know when to speak and when not and don’t have to say anything. It’s like that.
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
I told Yo-Yo that he could improvise because I could tell it by the way he plays. I knew it and its just a matter of learning how to do it and freeing yourself up so you can do it. You’ve got to be free to do it and I said "Yo-Yo, I listen to you play, I watch you play, and you can improvise. I know you can do it, there’s no doubt in my mind". So we had these long discussions about improvisations. We played tunes, some tunes that he knows real well, for 2 cellos and stuff like that and then we played some stuff that I would write. I think, I might have scared him a little bit, but I was also intimidated by singing these Cello pieces that he had for me to sing because I had to find a way to sing them. There were just some things I couldn’t sing and I said "Yo-Yo, I can’t sing this; I have to find another way of doing that because I can’t do that". We know we both have our limitations and we knew what they were and we had to find a way to work it.
Jack DeJohnette, drums and percussionh
Bobby and Jack have been friends for decades, and together share a thirst for musical exploration outside narrowly defined genres. Bobby participated on Jack's 1994 Blue Note/Capitol recording "Extra Special Edition" and they’ve been meaning to collaborate ever since. Jack was chosen to curate/host four concerts at the 2003 Montreal Jazz Festival, and he invited Bobby to perform with him in an unprecedented voice/percussion duo. Although the two each have busy schedules (Jack tours with Keith Jarrett), they always look for the opportunity to play more together.
Thomas Hampson, baritone
We met at Tanglewood and we were each in Europe a couple of years ago and thought it would be nice to work together. He didn’t do any improvising. He was singing the tune. However, he did improvise, because first of all you have to get past the notes in an improvisation because you have to make something up on the spot. When you are making it on the spot and h was singing these songs that he had sung before, very relaxed in them and he could really let them go. IN fact in the end of the first half I said “Man, you’re like a jazz singer because you lean way back on the beat”. Boy, he leaned way back there. It was a challenge to get the orchestra to stay in sort of that sense of time yet give him space to lean back on the beat. It was really challenging and wonderful because he’s got a wonderful voice. He can improvise, in a sense, that he can take the test and just play with it.
Robin Williams, actor/comedian
Robin chose Bobby (then both San Franciscans) as an opening act on Robin's US tour in the early 1980s, and the two have been good friends ever since. Several years later in 1986, Robin performed as a special surprise guest in a LA concert that was recorded and released as an album and video: "Spontaneous Inventions". The song they sang, 'Beverly Hills Blues', was improvised entirely on the spot. Robin also appeared with Bobby (and Bill Irwin) in the 1988 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' video. Most recently, the two collaborated on Beatles producer Sir George Martin's 1998 CD, 'In My Life' - singing the Beatles hit "Come Together".
Wynton Marsalis, trumpet
Wynton and Bobby performed first together on the 1982 Elektra album, "The Young Lions" (on the track 'B 'n W'), and while the two don't perform together frequently, they have great respect for each other. Most recently, the two performed Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss" together at the 2001 Jazz Center at Lincoln Center gala. The two can be heard together again on Wynton's upcoming Blue Note album "Magic Hour" (2004), on their co-composition, 'Baby, I Love You'.
Joe Zawinul, keyboards
Bobby has long admired Joe Zawinul's music, and in particular, Joe's work with the revolutionary Weather Report. In 1984, he was thrilled to participate on Weather Report's 1984 album, "Sportin' Life". Given their busy schedules, the two rarely perform together, but in August 2004 they have joined together for several European dates including Jazz at Marciac.Chick Corea
Chick Corea is one of Bobby's favorite collaborators - in addition to the two albums they recorded for Blue Note and Sony Records ("Play" and "The Mozart Sessions)", they appear together whenever their schedules allow. Look for their duo concerts in the US and Europe in Summer 2005.
Bobby talks about Chick:
Chick is wonderful. I feel like I can go anywhere, I can do anything I want and Chick is right there. His ears are just astounding. I mean, if we would be playing a tune that we know. A tune that just got 12 bars in it and I had decided at the end of the 9th bar that I want to go back to the first bar, Chick will go right back there with me. Or I can decide whatever it is that I want to, I fell that I have the flexibility to go anywhere I want, to do anything I want, to sing anyway I want. He’s so sensitive; he’s an astounding great accompanist for me. And he’s just full of levity. I like that. He’s just very light, uplifting, and full of levity. He can play anything and we have a ball playing. He plays piano, he lets me sit next to him on his piano stool and play, you know? What can I say? It’s like we’ve known each other a long, long time. Like good friends who know when to speak and when not and don’t have to say anything. It’s like that.
You
From the very beginning, Bobby's solo concerts have always included audience participation. He sees these concerts not as 'singalongs' but as genuine collaborative processes, and they are an integral part of each performance. They are also Bobby's favorite part of the performance. He might create an impromptu choir for a Circlesong; he might ask for a volunteer dancer to create an improvisational duet; he might ask for a pianist to accompany him on a blues; or he might jump into the audience for some one-on-one duets. Whatever it is, you can be sure that Bobby will find a way draw you into his musical universe.
Yo Yo Ma
I told Yo-Yo that he could improvise because I could tell it by the way he plays. I knew it and its just a matter of learning how to do it and freeing yourself up so you can do it. You’ve got to be free to do it and I said "Yo-Yo, I listen to you play, I watch you play, and you can improvise. I know you can do it, there’s no doubt in my mind". So we had these long discussions about improvisations. We played tunes, some tunes that he knows real well, for 2 cellos and stuff like that and then we played some stuff that I would write. I think, I might have scared him a little bit, but I was also intimidated by singing these Cello pieces that he had for me to sing because I had to find a way to sing them. There were just some things I couldn’t sing and I said "Yo-Yo, I can’t sing this; I have to find another way of doing that because I can’t do that". We know we both have our limitations and we knew what they were and we had to find a way to work it.