Bobby McFerrin's vocal virtuosity pyrotechnical prowess and eclectic musical forays have won him pop-icon status for his silly-yet-infectious Number One hit "Don't Worry Be Happy" and accolades in the jazz world for, among other recordings, his sublime, flute-sound-alike version of Monk's "Round Midnight." The fact that he's one of the masters of solo vocal improvisation – in any genre – is old news. But McFerrin is an equally accomplished conceptual and collaborative artist – and both of his new duet albums bear eloquent witness to this fact.

Play, his album of jazz standards with pianist Chick Corea, of Return to Forever fame, opens with an expansive ten-minute version of Corea's own "Spain," on which McFerrin "oohs" a haunting introduction before jumping into several arpeggiated scat choruses that span three octaves. The tune gets downright orgasmic, however, when McFerrin anchors Corea's polyrhythmic solo by "playing" the register-jumping Latin bass line with his voice. On Kenny Dorham's "Blue Bossa," he scats at an even more breakneck tempo, this time in his superhuman upper register. The album's sole sore point is McFerrin's hyperbolic introduction to the ballad "Autumn Leaves."

Hush, McFerrin's duet album with classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma, is a more structured effort than Play – the exception being McFerrin's East Indian-inspired tune "Grace" and his country & western-style "Hoedown!," in which both musicians spontaneously romp and improvise. As McFerrin and Corea do, McFerrin and Ma trade the roles of soloist and accompanist – on Bach's "Ave Maria," Ma plays the melody and McFerrin miraculously vocalizes all of the song's bass and counterpoint parts (with the help of his flawless circular breathing, not multitracking). On Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee," however, both maestros "play" the frenetic melody in airtight unison.

McFerrin's mischievous note-for-note sparring with Corea and Ma makes his two new albums both a pleasure and a challenge. Hush and Play document Bobby McFerrin's magic at its very best. (RS 625)

GORDON CHAMBERS