Behind the Scenes of Jazz and the Philharmonic: Writing for Chick Corea, Terence Blanchard, and Eric Owens

In 2013, I received one of the most important opportunities of my years at the University of Miami. I was invited to write one of the central arrangements for Jazz and the Philharmonic, a concert that would bring together artists such as Chick Corea, Terence Blanchard, Bobby McFerrin, Dave Grusin, Eric Owens, Mark O’Connor, and other guest performers in a production conceived by Larry Rosen. At the time, I was serving as a Composer Fellow at the Henry Mancini Institute, a program affiliated with the Frost School of Music, and it was through that position that the invitation came.

Until then, many of those musicians had been central figures in the musical world I admired. I had listened to their recordings and followed their work for years. Now, I would be writing a piece that some of them would perform. Among the many projects I was involved with during that period, Jazz and the Philharmonic remains one of the most memorable.

Left: with Chick Corea during a rehearsal break for Jazz and the Philharmonic at the Adrienne Arsht Center. Right: with Terence Blanchard backstage shortly after making a few final adjustments to his parts before rehearsal.

What Was Jazz and the Philharmonic?

Conceived by producer Larry Rosen, Jazz and the Philharmonic brought together artists from the worlds of jazz and concert music within a single production. The concert took place in January 2013 at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, one of South Florida’s leading performing arts venues. The cast included Chick Corea, Terence Blanchard, Bobby McFerrin, Dave Grusin, Mark O’Connor, Eric Owens, Desmond Richardson, Shelly Berg, and other guest artists.

The performance was filmed, later released on CD and DVD, and eventually broadcast nationwide as a PBS television special. More than simply a concert, Jazz and the Philharmonic served as a meeting point for different musical traditions. Jazz, concert music, improvisation, orchestral composition, and performance coexisted within the same project, creating exactly the kind of artistic dialogue that the Henry Mancini Institute sought to encourage.

Cover of the Jazz and the Philharmonic album, later released on CD, DVD, and as a nationwide PBS television special.

Beyond the scale of the opportunity, the project also presented a particularly compelling artistic challenge: creating a work capable of bringing together some of the musical traditions that interested me most within a production of that magnitude.

A Project That Closely Aligned with My Research

There was another reason why this project was especially meaningful to me. At the time, my doctoral research focused precisely on the points of intersection between jazz and concert music. Much of my academic work was dedicated to understanding how these traditions converge, the challenges that emerge from that encounter, and the musical possibilities that arise when composers, arrangers, and performers move between those different worlds.

Jazz and the Philharmonic was built upon exactly that premise. The program brought together musicians from these different traditions and created situations in which they needed to coexist within the same artistic project. What I had been studying, analyzing, and discussing academically was now unfolding before me on a much larger scale, involving some of the leading artists of that generation.

Following the rehearsal with the full score of Spanish Suite, reviewing the arrangement and making notes during the concert preparations.

Writing the Suite

The work I was commissioned to write took Spain, one of Chick Corea’s best-known compositions, as its starting point. In his performances, Chick often used Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez as an introduction to the piece. Building on that existing relationship between the two works, I began developing a broader musical structure.

The result was a suite of approximately sixteen minutes. Concierto de Aranjuez became a central element of the musical narrative, taking on a new dimension through Eric Owens’s participation. From there, the music transitioned into a new section inspired by Sketches of Spain and the writing of Gil Evans. Only then did Spain itself emerge.

In the final section, I introduced elements drawn from samba and Brazilian music, along with a passage created specifically for choreographer and dancer Desmond Richardson. The suite concluded with a series of cadenzas and musical dialogues between Chick Corea, Terence Blanchard, and the orchestra.

Complete orchestral score and printed parts for Spanish Suite, based on Chick Corea’s Spain and Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, prepared for the rehearsals and recording of Jazz and the Philharmonic.

Writing for Musicians Who Were Also Creators

One of my main goals while writing Spanish Suite was to create a work that could bring those artists together on the same stage while also making the most of what was most distinctive about each of them as musicians.

From my earliest conversations with Larry Rosen and the Henry Mancini Institute team, it became clear that improvisation should play a central role. Even before the suite itself began, we left a completely open space for Chick Corea to create a freely improvised piano introduction. Rather than defining every detail of the opening, the work itself began by inviting one of jazz’s greatest improvisers to do what he did best.

Throughout the suite, I sought to shape a musical narrative in which each of the three featured soloists played a different role. In the section based on Concierto de Aranjuez, Eric Owens became the central voice in a passage rooted more closely in the concert music tradition. As the music moved toward the world of Sketches of Spain, Terence Blanchard took over the narrative, presenting the theme and developing his improvisation. Only afterward did Spain emerge, with Chick Corea naturally becoming the central figure of the performance.

This structure also avoided a common approach in jazz, in which several musicians improvise one after another over the same harmonic progression. Instead, each improvisation became part of the work’s ongoing musical development. Every soloist received a distinct musical setting designed to highlight both their artistic identity and their role within the broader narrative.

In the final section of the suite, these musical characters came together once again through a series of cadenzas and dialogues between the soloists and the orchestra before the piece came to its conclusion.

There was another aspect that made this assignment especially challenging. Spain was already one of Chick Corea’s most celebrated compositions, and Chick himself would be the pianist performing the premiere. In several places, I deliberately departed from the original version, reshaping the structure of the work and creating new connections between Concierto de Aranjuez, Sketches of Spain, and elements of Brazilian music. It was a bold approach to such a well-known composition, particularly knowing that its own composer would be on stage as one of the featured soloists.

One of the most memorable parts of the process was seeing how openly Chick Corea embraced those ideas. Rather than expecting a faithful reproduction of the original piece, he welcomed the arrangement and helped bring it to life through his own interpretation. That said a great deal about the way he approached music.

During soundcheck at the Adrienne Arsht Center, following the rehearsal with the full score while Chick Corea rehearses at the piano on stage.

Larry Rosen, the Producer

Before a single note was performed, there was an extensive process of artistic development and direction. I met with Larry Rosen to discuss possible directions for the arrangement and for the overall musical narrative of the project. Following those conversations, I created a mockup - a digital simulation of the piece - which was submitted for review.

Larry Rosen approved the arrangement. Chick Corea did as well. From that moment on, the arrangement was no longer just an idea on paper. It officially became part of the concert.

Over time, I came to understand more clearly the scope of Larry Rosen’s role in that process. He conceived the project as a whole, bringing together artists, institutions, partners, repertoire, and resources around a shared artistic vision.

Watching that process expanded my understanding of everything that takes place before a concert reaches the stage. Beyond the music itself, there were production decisions, institutional partnerships, collaborative planning, and curatorial work that supported the realization of a project on that scale.

The First Rehearsal

Among my strongest memories of the project is the first rehearsal. I remember the musicians arriving, Chick Corea walking into the room, Terence Blanchard arriving for rehearsal, and the anticipation leading up to the first read-through. For any arranger, the first rehearsal is always a special moment. It is when the music stops existing only on the page and begins to come to life through the musicians.

Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra rehearsal at the Frost School of Music. The photograph includes Terence Blanchard, Larry Rosen, Scott Flavin, Dave Grusin, and me during preparations for Spanish Suite.

Now I could watch up close as those musicians read a new work, interacted with the orchestra, and transformed the written score into music.

It was a rare opportunity, and I was fully aware of it. During one of the rehearsals, I remember telling myself to stop worrying so much about the work and simply take in the experience.

Backstage at the Adrienne Arsht Center during the final preparations before the concert, alongside Shelly Berg while Chick Corea rehearses on stage.

The Concert

The concert took place in the Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center. In addition to the musicians and artistic team, the production involved an extensive recording and filming operation.

Sound, lighting, and video control during soundcheck as the orchestra makes its final preparations before the concert recording.

During the performance, I worked alongside the audio team, using the full score as a reference to help inform decisions related to recording and the overall balance of the performance. It also gave me the opportunity to observe how musical and technical considerations came together within a production of that scale.

Reviewing the score on the piano during the final preparations for the concert. The photograph shows Shelly Berg, Chick Corea, Scott Flavin, and me discussing details of the arrangement.

After the Concert

The project continued long after the final note. One of the most significant outcomes of that experience was the professional relationship I developed with Larry Rosen.

In the months that followed, I became directly involved in the album’s post-production process. In addition to attending the mixing sessions, I actively contributed comments and decisions regarding the orchestral sound, the balance between instruments, and the final presentation of the recording. My work as an arranger, my experience in recording, and my background in Studio Jazz Writing allowed me to contribute not only to the composition itself but also to shaping its final sonic result.

Those sessions gave me the rare opportunity to observe firsthand how a producer of Larry Rosen’s caliber approached creative and technical decision-making.

In the years that followed, we continued to meet through other Jazz Roots projects. On one occasion, during an event dedicated to Brazilian music, I was invited to dinner at Larry’s home. As he introduced me to the other guests, he described me as the arranger who had written the arrangement for Chick Corea in Jazz and the Philharmonic.

More than a decade later, I still associate Jazz and the Philharmonic with the experience of following a project of that scale from its earliest conversations through the album’s post-production.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWDGDa4OErQ

Spanish Suite, the arrangement I wrote for Jazz and the Philharmonic, performed by Chick Corea, Terence Blanchard, Eric Owens, the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, and guest artists during the concert later released as an album, DVD, and nationwide PBS television special.

Project Overview

Year: 2013

Project: Jazz and the Philharmonic

Conceived by: Larry Rosen

Institutions involved: Henry Mancini Institute, Frost School of Music, Jazz Roots, YoungArts Foundation, Adrienne Arsht Center

Location: Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami

Guest artists: Chick Corea, Terence Blanchard, Bobby McFerrin, Dave Grusin, Mark O’Connor, Eric Owens, Desmond Richardson, Shelly Berg, and others

Rafael Piccolotto de Lima’s role: Composer Fellow at the Henry Mancini Institute and arranger

Work: Spanish Suite - a suite based on Spain and Concierto de Aranjuez

Later releases: Album, DVD, and nationwide PBS television special

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About the Author

Rafael Piccolotto de Lima is a composer, arranger, music director, and educator. A Latin Grammy-nominated composer and recipient of multiple international awards, including 13 DownBeat Awards and honors from ASCAP, he develops artistic projects that connect Brazilian music, jazz, orchestral writing, improvisation, recording production, research, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

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