Twice before, pianist Chick Corea met up with the esteemed rhythm section of bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade and released live albums, simply titled Trilogy (2013) and Trilogy 2 (2018). The third and presumably final entry in the series—yes, Trilogy 3—takes on some added significance as it is being released four years after Corea died at age 79. The personnel remains the same throughout the eight tracks, which were recorded during Corea’s final tour in 2020—a sadly truncated outing cut short by the onset of the pandemic. That the recordings are uniformly excellent should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with these musicians’ work in general or the previous Trilogy releases. McBride and Blade are two of the most prolific and imaginative players in jazz, both exhibiting a remarkable adaptability, elevating everything in which they take part, and Corea, of course, was a master who drew the most satisfaction from moving into new situations. In a trio setting—as early as his late ‘60s work with bassist Miroslav Vitouš and drummer Roy Haynes, or his Akoustic Band with John Patitucci on bass and Dave Weckl on drums—Corea delighted in the opportunities the small-group setup afforded him, and that was still obvious even on this late career session. Playful on Monk’s “Trinkle Tinkle,” freewheeling on his own “Spanish Song,” swinging close to the edge as he navigates Cole Porter’s “You’d Be So Easy to Love,” Corea, till the end, was ever the investigator, taking unexpected leaps into uncharted lands. Blade, as creative and enterprising a drummer as any on today’s scene, and the ever masterful McBride are with him at every step—and never fail to suggest other roads down which to travel. A trio of trio albums, each a gem in its own right, the Trilogy recordings together bookend a career that, as much as any other, kept jazz moving ahead over the past several decades.