For The Elektric Band’s sophomore outing, Chick Corea - the venerated 27-time Grammy winner and National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master - entered the studio with Dave Wekl on drums, John Patitucci on bass, and two new players who would solidify the band’s classic line up, guitarist Frank Gambale and saxophonist Eric Marienthal. More heavily produced than it’s predecessor, Light Years contains several sequence-driven tracks, Corea’s attempt at reaching out to a wider audience with a brand of music that was tighter, funkier and eminently more communicative than he had recorded on 1986’s The Chick Corea Elektric Band. The crisp, irrepressibly catchy title track is a prime example of Corea’s more commercial aspirations for the album, with Patitucci laying down a fat, funky groove with some hearty slap bass lines (a distinct flavor of the time), and Marienthal’s pungent alto sax strutting over the top. Not only did this groove-oriented track catch on with listeners, it also won a Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental Performance at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards. Originally released on GRP Records in 1987, the album also contains the dreamy contemporary jazz offerings of “Second Sight” and “The Dragon,” the sequence-driven “Time Track”, “Flamingo,” featuring Carlos Rios on guitar and, the electrifying, techno tour de force, highly complex closer, “Kaleidoscope.” Produced by Corea, with longtime engineering partner Bernie Kirsch, the album features detailed liner notes by jazz writer Bill Milkowski, giving context and explicit technical notes to the listening experience.
