A.R.C. is Chick Corea's first album as a leader for ECM, a piano trio date recorded in January 1971 with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Barry Altschul. It belongs to a short period when the three were pushing improvisation as far as it would go, just before Corea turned towards the melodic, Latin-tinged music of Return to Forever. It was also the start of Holland's long association with the label.
Corea and Holland had worked together in the Miles Davis band, and both wanted to open up the possibilities of improvisation. Corea later recalled that "the atmosphere seemed charged with desire for new sounds and new ways." Altschul's detailed, dynamic drumming had been shaped in the trio of Paul Bley. With saxophonist Anthony Braxton the three also formed the quartet Circle, heard on ECM in the double album Paris-Concert. The trio recorded A.R.C. on 11, 12 and 13 January 1971 at Tonstudio Bauer in Ludwigsburg. Manfred Eicher produced and Kurt Rapp was the engineer. According to Bob Gluck's study of the period, the title stands for "affinity, reality, communication", a phrase from Scientology, which Corea had recently joined.
The programme mixes Corea originals, a theme by Holland, a collective piece and one jazz standard. It opens with nearly ten minutes on Nefertiti, the Wayne Shorter tune that gave its name to a 1967 Davis session. It is the only piece on the album not written by one of the three players. Holland's Vadana is the most lyrical piece, and Corea develops its theme patiently from the inside. Thanatos starts with a slow fade-in, and Ballad for Tillie is credited to all three players.
In Jazz Journal in 1971, Barry McRae called it "another excellent trio album", praising Corea's sense of development on Vadana and Holland's attentive listening. He added that Altschul was "as much as anyone, responsible for whipping up the tension and excitement." Writing for AllMusic, Scott Yanow found the music less free than Circle's but often very explorative.
This CD edition carries the original catalogue number ECM 1009 and the six tracks of the album, first released in April 1971.
