Spain (instrumental)

Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea at New Orleans Jazz Fest 2008

"Spain" is an instrumental jazz fusion composition by jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea. It is likely Corea's most recognized piece, and is considered a jazz standard.[1][2][3][4]

"Spain" was composed in 1971 and appeared in its original (and best-known) rendition on the album Light as a Feather,[5] with performances by Corea (Rhodes electric piano), Airto Moreira (drums), Flora Purim (vocals and percussion), Stanley Clarke (bass), and Joe Farrell (flute).[6] It has been recorded in several versions, by Corea himself as well as by other artists, including a flamenco version by Paco de Lucía, Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin in the 1980s, and a progressive bluegrass version by Béla Fleck in 1979. A version with lyrics by Al Jarreau, "Spain (I Can Recall)", appeared on the 1980 album This Time. More recently, Corea had performed his composition as a duo with Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara. A version of "Spain" was performed by Stevie Wonder at his 2008 Concert in London. The introduction used in the song is from Concierto de Aranjuez, a guitar concerto by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo.

The Light as a Feather version of "Spain" received two Grammy nominations, for Best Instrumental Arrangement and for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance by a Group. In 2001, Corea was awarded the Best Instrumental Arrangement Grammy for "Spain for Sextet and Orchestra".

Composition

Corea opens the Light as a Feather version of "Spain" with the adagio from Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez.

Corea took inspiration from Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia for this piece.[7]

After the intro, the song switches to a fast, steady samba-like rhythm, in which the main theme and an improvisation part are repeated.

The chord progression used during the improvisation part is based on harmonic progressions in Rodrigo's concerto. It runs as follows: 

 | Gmaj7 | F#7 | Em7 A7 | Dmaj7 (Gmaj7) | C#7 F#7 | Bm B7 |


Appearances

By Chick Corea

Covers

References

  1. ^ "Chick Corea". Blue Note. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  2. ^ Nastos, Michael G., ""Return to Forever Light as a Feather (1973) album review | AllMusic"", allmusic.com, retrieved 2024-04-28, Perhaps Corea's definitive song of all time, and covered ad infinitum by professional and school bands, "Spain" retains the quirky melody, handclapped interlude, up-and-down dynamics, exciting jam section, and variation in time, tempo, and colorations that always command interest despite a running time of near ten minutes.
  3. ^ Collar, Matt. "Chick Corea Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-04-28. [...] penning such beloved jazz standards as "Spain," [...] Light as a Feather. Another Top Ten jazz album, it earned Corea his first two Grammy nominations, including Best Instrumental Arrangement for "Spain," largely considered his best-known song.
  4. ^ Swenson, John, ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone jazz record guide. A Random House/Rolling Stone Press Book (1st ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-394-72643-4. Several modern jazz classics reside within, including "You're Everything", "500 Miles High" and "Spain."
  5. ^ Hoyt, Alex (2011-11-25). "How Chick Corea Wrote 'Spain'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  6. ^ Herzig, Monika (2017). "Return to Forever— The Acoustic Years". Experiencing Chick Corea: a listener's companion. The Listener's Companion. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-4469-6.
  7. ^ Bălan, Florin (30 December 2022). "Fundamental Analysis of Chick Corea's Improvisation in Spain (1972)". Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai - Musica. 67 (2): 99–110. doi:10.24193/subbmusica.2022.spiss2.07.