Chick Corea: Steps - What Was

After early recordings with trumpeter Blue Mitchell and a tour with Stan Getz, Corea recorded his first trio session in early 1968, complete with Latin-influenced original compositions and collective improvisations. Steps-What Was, the near 14-minute tour-de-force opening of the record, has garnered the reputation as the pinnacle of rhythmic interaction in the jazz trio setting. Coreas cerebral approach is complemented by Haynes constant spreading of the rhythm and pioneering use of the flat-ride cymbal. The theme presented in the second half (What Was) looks forward to a later Corea classic, his much admired Spain. Three masters at their best.