Chick Corea is one of jazz's true legends. A brilliant composer, multiple Grammy winner and constant innovator, Corea was present at many of the genre's seminal moments, including Miles Davis' move to fusion. He's also a part-time Tampa Bay resident along with his wife, vocalist Gayle Moran. This explains his rare tour stop a few years ago at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday with his Elektric Band and occasional visits to jazz maven Bob Seymour's public radio show. In a real coup, the University of South Florida honors his work and hosts him as part of its Jazz Masterworks Series. USF resident ensemble, Jazz Surge, provides the 17-piece big band backing for specially-written arrangements of Corea's finest tunes. USF's Chuck Owens wrote some; Pat Metheny's pianist Lyle Mays, producer Michael Abene and Norwegian arranger-composer Erlend Skomsvoll pitch in with the rest of the charts. You've got two chances to see a once-in-a-lifetime show. 7:30 p.m., Sat., April 22, Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg, 727-822-3590; 8 p.m., Mon., April 24, USF Visual and Performing Arts Theatre 1, Tampa, 813-974-2323; $20 general/$16 seniors/$10 USF students, dma.arts.usf.edu.
This article appears in Apr 19-25, 2006.