It was steaming hot on July 11, 1998 when Nachito Herrera and ¡Cubanismo! were playing their set at the North Sea Jazz Festival, and Nachito motioned to the backstage crew that he needed water. One person was transfixed at the edge of the piano watching the keyboard, and he immediately rushed to grab a bottle of water. At the end of the piece, Nachito looked up and realized that the person who responded was Chick Corea.
Several years later, when Chick was getting ready to play at the Dakota, he was told Nachito was in the audience. He immediately asked that he be brought backstage, turning to Stanley Clarke and Lenny White and saying “this guy’s an amazing pianist!” That mutual respect carried over from the decade when they’d first met.
In this special show, Ignacio “Nachito” Herrera—acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest Cuban pianists—honors the memory of Chick Corea, the legendary keyboardist who broadened the scope of jazz during a career spanning more than five decades.