A.R.C. (album)

A.R.C. is an album by American jazz pianist Chick Corea, British jazz bassist Dave Holland and American jazz drummer Barry Altschul, recorded over January 11–13, 1971 and released on ECM later that year.

A.R.C.
Studio album by Chick Corea / Dave Holland / Barry Altschul
Released	1971 (1971)
Recorded	January 11–13, 1971 (1971-01-11 – 1971-01-13)
Studio	Tonstudio Bauer Ludwigsburg, W. Germany
Genre	Jazz
Length	40:29
Label	ECM ECM 1009 ST
Producer	Manfred Eicher
Chick Corea chronology
The Song of Singing (1970) A.R.C. (1971) Piano Improvisations Vol. 1 (1971)
David Holland chronology
Where Fortune Smiles (1971) A.R.C. (1971) Music from Two Basses (1971)

Background

The trio had recently recorded Corea's The Song of Singing together, which also features a version of Wayne Shorter’s “Nefertiti”.

This is the first project in Holland’s long association with ECM.

Title

The album title stands for "affinity, reality, communication", a phrase used in Scientology, with which Corea had recently become involved.^[1]

Reception

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states, "This LP features pianist Chick Corea, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Barry Altschul during the brief period that, along with Anthony Braxton, they were members of the fine avant-garde quartet Circle. The music heard on this set is not quite as free as Circle's but often very explorative ... a very viable set of adventurous jazz, recorded just a few months before Corea changed direction."^[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[4]

Track listing

Side I

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Nefertiti"	Wayne Shorter	9:40
2.	"Ballad for Tillie"	Altschul Corea Holland	5:25
3.	"A.R.C."		5:39
Total length:			20:44

All tracks are written by Chick Corea, except as noted..

Side II

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Vadana"	Holland	7:35
2.	"Thanatos"		4:30
3.	"Games"		7:40
Total length:			19:45 40:29

Personnel

Musicians

• Chick Corea – acoustic piano
• David Holland – bass
• Barry Altschul – drums, percussions

Technical personnel

• Manfred Eicher – producer
• Kurt Rapp – engineer
• B & B Wojirsch – cover design

See also

• Circle – A group featuring Corea, Holland and Altschul.