SOUNDS : Jazz Artist Chick Corea’s New Band Hits Different Notes : Versatile bandleader and keyboardist is touring with Elektric Band II. The ensemble digs deeper into jazz-funk-Latin music.

In the ranks of prominent jazz keyboardists, veteran Chick Corea has been getting plugged and unplugged--to use the popular parlance--more than most of his contemporaries over the past quarter of a century.

The versatile bandleader has jumped from acoustic piano to chamber music contexts to using synthesizers and electric piano, a plugging tendency that first came to a head in the proto-fusion band Return to Forever of the mid-70s.

Since 1985, Corea has been synonymous with the word “Elektric” (his personalized spelling), forming the Elektric Band, which launched the careers of bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl.

A year ago, that original incarnation disbanded and now, with barely a breather from the closure of the old band, comes the new model, making its Southern California debut at the Ventura Theatre on Wednesday.

In Elektric Band II, only Corea and saxist Eric Marienthal are held over from the previous group. The newcomers are drummer Gary Novak, bassist Jimmy Earl and guitarist Mike Miller, long a dark horse figure on the L. A. studio-jazz scene.

What we hear on the EBII’s debut album, “Paint the World,” is a leaner, meaner ensemble, digging in deeper to simpler jazz-funk-Latin material without the ornate contours of the previous repertoire.

For his part, Corea has pared down his electronic setup, favoring the time-honored, more percussive sounds of acoustic piano and the classic Rhodes electric piano.

When not going Elektric, Corea still pursues more mainstream jazz group work, solo piano concerts, and is an acting partner in the Stretch record label. Typically and purposefully, Corea is as busy as ever. He spoke on the phone last week from a tour stop in Minneapolis.

Q. Do you have a lot of different projects that you’re juggling at the moment?

A. Not really. I’ve got a lot of plans for projects that stretch out into the future, but this is Elektric Band prime time. We’re covering thS. in 70 concerts. In March, we’re going to complete the South American, Mexican and European parts of the world tour.

Q. There really wasn’t much downtime between Elektric Band I and II. How did you get it rolling so quickly?

A. During the last world tour with the old band, I had written three or four new pieces that the old band was already playing but hadn’t got into the recording studio. I used those as the jump-off point for the repertoire for the new band. That’s how the new record could come together so quickly.

The first record is pretty good, I think, but it was kind of a throw-off. The idea was ‘let’s do a new record now, to let everyone know we’re around.’

Q. In that transition period, did you reflect on what you might want from a new band?

A. Well, I’ve found that things like reflection are a luxury, considering life in general. I’ve never found it easy to just sit down and reflect. I think what happens is that in the process of doing something--like while I’m on the road with my band--I’m always reflecting.

I made a mechanical change that helped me groove more toward my new direction, which was the fact that I eliminated a lot of synthesizers from my keyboard setup, and put a lot more emphasis on just playing the piano and Rhodes.

Q. Does that change reflect a new philosophy that you have regarding electronics, a desire to simplify and get back to basics?

A. Well, for me, I’ve always tried as much as I could to keep my tools balanced, to use them and not let them use me.

Art is a marvelous game. On the one hand, you could spend years and years, half of a lifetime, developing one production, or one movie with all of its technical thrills. On the other hand, you could just make art that flows off the end of your pencil and is improvised and spontaneous. It’s a choice that every artist has to continually make.

I enjoy doing both, actually, at different times.

Q. Do you find that when you carve out a chunk of time to write music that it becomes easier the more you do it, that it’s like getting a muscle in shape?

A. You know, I’ve never been able to nail down the process to any predictable signs or indicators one way or the other. Sometimes, I’ll carve out a month or two for myself and say ‘OK, now I’m really going to write music.’ The month goes by and I find that I’m not writing music, I’m just relaxing or taking a trip. Other times, I’ll be on the road with the most incredible schedule, wasted after the gig with my head buzzing, and sit down with a pencil and manuscript paper and write.

Q. So you’re subject to the whims of the muse?

A. A little bit, yeah. I can poke at him and get him dancing. But if there’s a choice, sometimes I’d rather just go to a movie.

Q. It seems like you’re always wearing a number of hats, maybe not simultaneously. Are you wearing the right amount now?

A. (Laughter) That’s a very good question. Am I wearing the right amount? Actually, the right amount can never be found.

Q. I’m going to counter that with another question. Are you aware of every hat that you’re wearing? Are you dropping some that you really should be wearing? It takes a little bit of inspection to answer that.

A. One that I felt that I was dropping, which I’m now trying to pick up again, is composing. I’m going to find myself some time to write the music that I’ve been dying to write over these past few years, that hasn’t been naturally coming out in the course of my schedule.

Composer and performer--those are my two favorite hats.

Josef Woodard is an avowed cultural omnivore who covers art and music.

Details

* WHAT: Chick Corea Elektric Band.

* WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday

* WHERE: Ventura Theatre, 26 S. Chestnut St.

* ETC: Mark McAttee and Friends opens; tickets are $18.50.