My Spanish Heart is a studio album by Chick Corea, recorded and released in 1976. Prominent guest musicians include Corea’s Return to Forever bandmate Stanley Clarke on basses, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, drummers Steve Gadd and Narada Michael Walden and Corea’s wife Gayle Moran on vocals.
My Spanish Heart | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1976 | |||
Recorded | October 1976 | |||
Studio | Kendun Recorders Burbank, California | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 73:03 (original album) / 77:36 (2000 expanded and remastered edition) | |||
Label | Polydor Verve (reissue) | |||
Producer | Chick Corea | |||
Chick Corea chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Village Voice | B+[4] |
DownBeat | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The album combines jazz fusion pieces and more traditional Latin music pieces. The album includes use of full brass and string sections on some tracks. "El Bozo" suite relies heavily on the use of synthesizers while "Spanish Fantasy" suite is mostly acoustic. The first four tracks form a suite as well. “Armando’s Rhumba” is now widely considered a jazz standard.
Critical reception
editMy Spanish Heart received a five-star review from DownBeat magazine.[6]
Track listing
editAll tracks composed by Chick Corea (except "The Hilltop" w/ Stanley Clarke)
Side one
edit- "Love Castle" – 4:45
- "The Gardens" – 3:12
- "Day Danse" – 4:27
- "My Spanish Heart" – 1:37
- "Night Streets" – 6:08
Side two
edit- "The Hilltop" – 6:16
- "The Sky (Children Song No. 8 / Portrait of Children Song No. 8)" – 4:57
- "Wind Danse" – 5:00
Side three
edit- "Armando's Rhumba" – 5:19
- El Bozo – 11:32
- "Prelude to El Bozo" – 1:34
- "El Bozo, Part 1 – 2:52
- "El Bozo, Part 2" – 2:03
- "El Bozo, Part 3" – 5:03
Side four
edit- Spanish Fantasy – 19:42
- "Spanish Fantasy, Part 1" – 6:06
- "Spanish Fantasy, Part 2" – 5:14
- "Spanish Fantasy, Part 3" – 3:06
- "Spanish Fantasy, Part 4" – 5:16
Bonus track
edit- "The Clouds" – 4:33
Note: "The Sky" was omitted from CD editions released during the 1980s and '90s, as the entire double-LP-length album wouldn't fit onto a single disk at that time. This track has been included in more recent CD editions (the absolute length of audio CDs has increased over the years due to more efficient designing systems), along with the previously unreleased track "The Clouds". Due to consolidation in the record industry over the later part of the 20th century, recent issues of the album are now on the jazz label Verve Records.
Personnel
edit- Chick Corea – acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Yamaha electric organ, synthesizers (ARP Odyssey, Minimoog, Polymoog, Moog Model 15 modular synthesizer), percussion, vocals, production, arrangement, composer
- Stanley Clarke – double bass, bass guitar
- Steve Gadd – drums
- Narada Michael Walden – drums, handclaps
- Don Alias – percussion
- Jean-Luc Ponty – violin
- Gayle Moran – vocals
- String quartet:
- Brass section:
Charts
editChart (1977) | Peak position |
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Billboard Top Jazz Albums | 2 [7] |
Billboard Top Pop Albums | 55 [7] |
References
edit- ^ Jurek, Thom (2011). "Chick Corea - My Spanish Heart (1976) album review | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 305. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 50. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (June 27, 1977). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
- ^ Herzig, Monika (2017). Experiencing Chick Corea: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 47.
- ^ Herzig, Monika (2017). Experiencing Chick Corea: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 47.
- ^ a b "Chick Corea - My Spanish Heart (1976) | Awards | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 27 October 2013.