***1/2 Chick Corea & Friends

REMEMBERING BUD POWELL

(Stretch)

As a pianist, Bud Powell was a gifted, inquisitive bebop innovator with a flair for the romantic. His compositions are grist for Corea's friends, the cream of young giants (Christian McBride, Joshua Redman, Wallace Roney, and, on three tracks, Kenny Garrett) and a Powell contemporary, drumming great Roy Haynes.

Ensembles -- bright, disciplined and well-knit -- show Corea intertwining (intros, partial theme statements) and the horns sparkling. Trumpeter Roney is into Miles extensions; he's hot and probing. Alto Garrett is push/pull -- lying back, then exploding in Dolphian dance. Tenor Redman shows more of his gruff Hawkins stuff. Pacing is pyramidal: the lone sextet piece, "Willow Grove," is followed by the exotic trio ballad, "Dusk in Sand," with the Ravel pastels for which pianist and composer share affinity, and a luscious bowed solo by McBride. Then the picaresque "Oblivion," with a flashing piano/drum exchange that recalls Corea's '80s trio with Haynes and Miroslav Vitous. Corea's own classic tribute to Powell makes a leisurely change of pace. The final "Celia," a Powell favorite, gets an introspective solo valediction by Corea.

-- Fred Bouchard

(Chick Corea & Friends, with Garrett, Roney, McBride, and Haynes, will perform at the Berklee Performance Center tonight, March 27. Call 266-7455.)