Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (born June 12, 1941) is a multiple
Grammy AwardThe Grammy Awards —or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry...
winning American
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
pianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
,
keyboardistA keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
,
drummerA drummer is a person who plays drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays classical or Latin percussion. Most bands for Rock, Pop, Jazz, R&B etc...
, and composer.
He is known for his work during the 1970s in the genre of
jazz fusionFusion or, more specifically, jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a musical genre that developed in the late 1960s from a mixture of elements of jazz such as its focus on improvisation with the rhythms and grooves of funk and R&B and the beats and heavily amplified electric instruments and electronic...
. He participated in the birth of the electric fusion movement as a member of
Miles DavisMiles Davis III was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer.Widely considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music including cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz...
' band in the 1960s, and in the 1970s formed
Return to ForeverReturn to Forever was a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
.
He continued to pursue other collaborations and explore various musical styles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He is also known for promoting
ScientologyScientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics. Hubbard characterized Scientology as a religion, and in 1953 incorporated the Church of Scientology in New Jersey.Scientology teaches that...
.
Youth
Corea was born in
Chelsea, MassachusettsChelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. It is the smallest city in Massachusetts in land area, and the 26th most densely populated incorporated place in the country.-History:...
. He is of
ItalianThe Italian people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common Italian culture, descent, and speaking the Italian language as a mother tongue...
and
SpanishA Spanish American is a citizen or resident of the United States with ethnic origins in the southwestern European nation of Spain.Spanish Americans are the earliest European American group, with a continuous presence since 1565....
descent. Armando, his father, a jazz
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
player who had led a
DixielandDixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s...
band in the
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
area in the 1930s and 1940s, introduced him to the piano at the age of four. Growing up surrounded by jazz music, he was influenced at an early age by
bebopBebop or bop is a style of jazz characterized by fast tempo, instrumental virtuosity and improvisation based on the combination of harmonic structure and melody. It was developed in the early and mid-1940s...
stars such as
Dizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer.Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
,
Charlie ParkerCharles Parker, Jr. was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.Parker, with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, is often considered one of the most influential of jazz musicians...
,
Bud PowellEarl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
,
Horace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer. His father, who was known as John Tavares Silva, was from the island of Maio in Cape Verde. His mother was born in New Canaan, Connecticut and was of Irish-African descent...
and
Lester YoungLester Willis Young nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He was also known to play the trumpet, violin, and drums....
. At eight Corea also took up
drumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of music instruments, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of...
s, which would later influence his use of the piano as a percussion instrument.
Corea developed his piano skills by exploring music on his own. A notable influence was concert pianist Salvatore Sullo from whom Corea started taking lectures at age eight, who introduced him to
classical musicClassical music is the mainstream music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times...
, helping spark his interest in
musical compositionMusical composition is:* an original piece of music* the structure of a musical piece* the process of creating a new piece of music- Musical compositions :...
. He also spent several years as a performer and soloist for The Knights of St. Rose, a Drum & Bugle Corp based in Chelsea.
Given a black tuxedo by his father, he started doing gigs when in high school. He enjoyed listening to
Herb PomeroyIrving Herbert "Herb" Pomeroy, III was an influential swing and bebop jazz trumpeter and educator...
's band at the time, and had a trio which would play
Horace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer. His father, who was known as John Tavares Silva, was from the island of Maio in Cape Verde. His mother was born in New Canaan, Connecticut and was of Irish-African descent...
's music at a local jazz club. He collaborated with Portuguese bandleader and trumpet player Phil Barboza, and with
congaThe conga is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent....
drummer Bill Fitch who introduced him to Latin music:
I liked the "extroversion" of Latin music, especially the dance and salsa style music - bands like Tito PuenteTito Puente, Sr., , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, Jr., was a Latin Jazz and Mambo musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey" of the timbales and "The King of Latin Music"...
's band and MachitoMachito , born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo in Havana, Cuba, was an influential Latin jazz musician. Machito played a huge role in the history of Latin jazz. His bands of the 1940s, especially the band named the Afro-Cubans, were among the first to fuse Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz improvisation...
's band. The CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
n dance music was a great kind of antidote to some of the more serious, heady jazz that I was into. I liked the "outgoingness" and exuberance of the music. I just stayed interested in all kinds of Latin music. Then I discovered Spanish Latin music, which is flamencoFlamenco is a Spanish musical genre with origins in Andalusia. It can be both a musical form, known for its intricate rapid passages, and a dance characterized by audible footwork. The origins of the term are unclear...
.
He eventually decided to move to New York where he took up musical education for one month at
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
and six months at The Juilliard School (among his Juilliard teachers was
Peter SchickeleJohann Peter Schickele is an American composer, musical educator and parodist, best known for his comedy music albums featuring music he wrote as P. D. Q. Bach.-Biography:...
, who described Chick as "the most awake student I ever taught"). He quit after finding both disappointing, but liked the atmosphere of New York where the musical scene became the starting point for his professional career.
Early career
Corea started his professional career in the 1960s playing with
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
er
Blue MitchellRichard Allen Mitchell was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, known for many albums recorded as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note and then Mainstream Records.-Biography:...
and
LatinLatin American music is the music of all countries in Latin America and comes in many varieties. Latin America is home to musical styles such as the simple, rural conjunto music of northern Mexico, the sophisticated habanera of Cuba, the rhythmic sounds of the Puerto Rican plena, the symphonies of...
greats such as
Herbie MannHerbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flautist and important early practitioner of world music...
,
Willie BoboWillie Bobo was the stage name of William Correa , an American jazz percussionist.William Correa grew up in Spanish Harlem, New York City. He made his name in Latin Jazz, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz, in the 1960s and '70s, with the timbales becoming his favoured instrument...
and
Mongo SantamariaRamón "Mongo" Santamaría was an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. He is most famous for being the composer of the jazz standard "Afro Blue," recorded by John Coltrane among others. In 1950 he moved to New York where he played with Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, Fania All Stars, etc...
. One of the earliest recordings of his playing is with Blue Mitchell's quintet on
The Thing To Do. This album features his composition "Chick's Tune", a clever retooling of "You Stepped Out of a Dream" that demonstrates the angular melodies and Latin-and-swing rhythms that characterize, in part, Corea's personal style. (Incidentally, the same tune features a drum solo by a very young
Al FosterAl Foster is an American jazz drummer. Foster played with Miles Davis's large funk fusion group in the 70s, was one of the few people to have contact with Miles during his retirement, and was also part of his in the 80s...
.)
His first album as a leader was
Tones for Joan's BonesTones for Joan's Bones is Chick Corea's first album as a leader. The album features four long tracks.The album is rare in its original form, and is more commonly found in compilation with Miroslav Vitouš' album Mountain In The Clouds...
in 1966, two years before the release of his album
Now He Sings, Now He SobsNow He Sings, Now He Sobs is a highly influential jazz piano trio album by Chick Corea, released March 14, 1968.The musicians on this album are Corea , Miroslav Vitouš , and Roy Haynes...
, with
Roy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is one of the most recorded drummers in jazz and in his over 60-year career has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
on
drumsA drum set is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person . The term "drum kit" first became used in the 1700s in Britain...
, and
Miroslav VitoušMiroslav Ladislav Vitouš , is a Czech jazz bassist who was born in Prague. He began the violin at age six, and started playing the piano at age ten, and bass at fourteen. As a young man in Europe, Vitouš was a competitive swimmer. One of his early music groups was the Junior Trio with his brother...
on
bassThe double bass, also called the upright bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. The name, "double bass," derives from the early use of the instrument to double—an octave lower where possible—the bass part written...
.
He made another sideman appearance with
Stan GetzStanley Gayetzky or Stanley Gayetsky , usually known by his stage name Stan Getz, was an American jazz saxophone player...
on 1967's
Sweet Rain (
Verve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The...
).
Avant garde period
From 1968 to 1971 Chick Corea had associations with avant garde players; and his solo style revealed a dissonant, avant garde orientation. His avant garde playing can be heard on his solo works of the period, his solos in live recordings under the leadership of
Miles DavisMiles Davis III was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer.Widely considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music including cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz...
, his recordings with
CircleCircle was an avant garde jazz ensemble active in 1970 and 1971. Its core members were Chick Corea, piano; Dave Holland, bass; Barry Altschul, drums and percussion. For some of its existence it also included Anthony Braxton in a leading role on several reed instruments...
, and his playing on
Joe FarrellJoseph Carl Firrantello , known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name on the CTI record label and for playing in the initial incarnation of Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:Farrell was born in Chicago...
's
Song of the Wind album on
CTI RecordsCTI Records was a jazz record label founded in 1967 by Creed Taylor, initially as a subsidiary of A&M Records....
.
In September 1968, Corea replaced
Herbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American jazz pianist and composer. He is regarded as one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century. His music embraces elements of funk and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz...
in the piano chair in Davis' band and appeared on landmark albums such as
Filles de KilimanjaroFilles de Kilimanjaro is a jazz album by Miles Davis. It was recorded in June and September 1968, and Columbia Records released the album in 1969. The June sessions featured Wayne Shorter on saxophone, Herbie Hancock on the electric Rhodes piano, Ron Carter on electric bass, and Tony Williams on...
,
In a Silent WayIn a Silent Way is a 1969 album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. Although previous Davis records and live performances had already begun the shift to jazz fusion, In a Silent Way featured a full-blown electric approach. For this and other reasons, it is usually regarded as the first of his fusion...
and
Bitches BrewBitches Brew is a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in April 1970 on Columbia Records. The album continued Davis' experimentation of electric instruments previously featured on his critically acclaimed In a Silent Way album...
. In concert, Davis'
rhythm sectionA rhythm section is the musicians in a popular music band or ensemble who establish the rhythmic pulse of a song or musical piece, and who lay down the chordal structure. The term "rhythm section" may also refer to the instruments in this group...
of Corea,
Dave HollandDave Holland is a British jazz bassist and composer who is a significant representative of avant-garde jazz.-Biography:...
and
Jack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. DeJohnette was born in Chicago, Illinois. Besides the drums, he studied the piano, which he plays on several recordings. He first became known as a member of Charles Lloyd's band, a group that pianist Keith Jarrett also was a part...
combined elements of
free jazzFree jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s.Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
improvisation and
rock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
. With the Davis band, Corea experimented using electric instruments, mainly the Fender Rhodes electric piano.
In live performance he often used
ring modulationRing modulation is a signal-processing effect in electronics, related to amplitude modulation or frequency mixing, performed by multiplying two signals, where one is typically a sine-wave or another simple waveform. It is referred to as "ring" modulation because the analog circuit of diodes...
of the electric piano, producing overtones reminiscent of
Karlheinz StockhausenKarlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries...
. Using this style, he appeared on multiple Davis albums, including
Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore WestBlack Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West is a live album recorded by Miles Davis at the Fillmore West, San Francisco on April 10 1970 and first released in 1977 in Japan and released in 1997 in the United States in a double-CD format.-Disc one:...
and
Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore EastAt Fillmore, nowadays, for disambiguation purposes, also known as Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East is a 1970 live album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and band, recorded at the Fillmore East, New York City on four consecutive days, June 17 through June 20 1970, originally released...
. His live performances with the Miles Davis band continued into 1970, with a great touring band of
Steven GrossmanSteven D Grossman was a singer-songwriter from the early 1970s whose debut album Caravan Tonight is distinguished as being the first album dealing with openly gay themes and subject matter to be released on a major label...
, tenor sax,
Keith JarrettKeith Jarrett is an American pianist, composer, and jazz icon.His career started with Art Blakey, soon moving on to play with Charles Lloyd then Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in both classical music and jazz, as a group leader and a solo performer...
, additional electric piano and organ,
Jack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. DeJohnette was born in Chicago, Illinois. Besides the drums, he studied the piano, which he plays on several recordings. He first became known as a member of Charles Lloyd's band, a group that pianist Keith Jarrett also was a part...
, drums,
Dave HollandDave Holland is a British jazz bassist and composer who is a significant representative of avant-garde jazz.-Biography:...
, bass, Airto, percussion, and
MilesMiles is the plural of mile.Miles may also refer to:-People:* Miles ** Miles Browning, WWII admiral** Miles Davis, jazz trumpet player* Miles Fictional* Miles Edgeworth, a prosecutor in the Phoenix Wright series...
on
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
..
Holland and Corea left to form their own group,
CircleCircle was an avant garde jazz ensemble active in 1970 and 1971. Its core members were Chick Corea, piano; Dave Holland, bass; Barry Altschul, drums and percussion. For some of its existence it also included Anthony Braxton in a leading role on several reed instruments...
, active between 1970-1971. This
free jazzFree jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s.Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
group featured multi-reed player
Anthony BraxtonAnthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
and drummer
Barry AltschulBarry Altschul is a drummer who gained fame in the late 1960s with the pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea, playing in the "outside" style of jazz that had been evolving steadily since the innovations of Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane. His first major gig in the late 1960s was with...
. This band was documented on
Blue NoteIn jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
and
ECMECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. ECM is best known for jazz music, but has released a wide variety of recordings, the artists associated with it often refusing to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
. Aside from soloing in an atonal style, Corea sometimes reached in the body of the piano and plucked the strings. In 1971 or 1972, Corea struck out on his own.
"The concept of communication with an audience became a big thing for me at the time. The reason I was using that concept so much at that point in my life –in 1968, 1969 or so- was because it was a discovery for me. I grew up kind of only thinking how much fun it was to tinkle on the piano and not noticing that what I did had an effect on others. I did not even think about a relationship to an audience, really, until way later."
Jazz fusion
In the early 1970s, Corea took a profound stylistic turn from avant garde playing to a crossover
jazz fusionFusion or, more specifically, jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a musical genre that developed in the late 1960s from a mixture of elements of jazz such as its focus on improvisation with the rhythms and grooves of funk and R&B and the beats and heavily amplified electric instruments and electronic...
style that incorporated Latin jazz elements. In 1971, he founded
Return to ForeverReturn to Forever was a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
. This band had a fusion sound, that while relying on electronic instrumentation, drew more on
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
ian and Spanish-American musical styles than on rock music. On its first two records, Return to Forever featured
Flora PurimFlora Purim is a Brazilian jazz singer known mainly for her work in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her part in Chick Corea's landmark album Return to Forever...
's vocals, the Fender Rhodes electric piano, and
Joe FarrellJoseph Carl Firrantello , known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name on the CTI record label and for playing in the initial incarnation of Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:Farrell was born in Chicago...
's
fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
and
soprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone was invented in 1840 and is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument. The soprano is the third in size of the saxophone family which consists, as generally accepted, of the sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, and contrabass...
.
Airto MoreiraAirto Moreira is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. Airto is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. He currently resides in Los Angeles.-Biography:...
played drums. Corea's compositions for this group often had a Brazilian tinge. In 1972, Corea played many of the early Return to Forever songs in a group he put together for Stan Getz; this group, with
Stanley ClarkeStanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores. He is best known for his work with the fusion band Return to Forever.- Early life and education :Clarke was...
on bass and
Tony WilliamsAnthony Tillmon "Tony" Williams was an American jazz drummer.Widely regarded as one of the most important and influential jazz drummers to come to prominence in the 1960s, Williams first gained fame in the band of trumpeter Miles Davis, and was a pioneer of jazz fusion...
on drums, recorded the
Columbia labelColumbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers,...
album
Captain MarvelCaptain Marvel is a jazz album by Stan Getz released in 1975 on the Verve label. The album features performances by Getz with Chick Corea, who composed most of the material, Stanley Clarke, Airto Moreira and Tony Williams...
under Getz's name.
In the next year, the band moved more in the direction of rock music influenced by the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Only Clarke remained from the group's first lineup;
Bill ConnorsBill Connors is a jazz musician notable for being a legato technique master, adept at both the acoustic and electric guitar, and successfully played jazz-rock, free and fusion material in the '70s and '80s. His best early solos were in the jazz-rock genre, where his use of distortion and...
played electric guitar and
Lenny WhiteLeonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz funk drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever and being one of the forerunners of jazz-rock/funk.-Biography:...
played drums. No one replaced vocalist Purim. (Briefly, in 1977, Corea's wife,
Gayle MoranGayle Moran is a vocalist, keyboard player , and songwriter. She was a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the middle 70s, appearing on Apocalypse and Visions of the Emerald Beyond . She later appeared on recordings by Return to Forever, e.g. Musicmagic , and Chick Corea, e.g...
, served as vocalist in the band.) In 1974
Al Di MeolaAl Di Meola is an Italian American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist.Di Meola grew up in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and attended Bergenfield High School. He is now a resident of Bergen County, New Jersey.-Career:In 1971, he enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts...
joined the band, replacing Connors. In this second version of Return to Forever, Corea extended the use of
synthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument that is capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequencies...
s, particularly
MoogMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for analog and digital music synthesizers....
s. The group released its final studio record in 1977. Thereafter, Corea focused on solo projects.
Corea's composition "
SpainSpain is an instrumental jazz fusion composition by jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea. It is probably Corea's most prominent piece, and some would consider it a modern jazz standard....
" first appeared on the 1972 Return to Forever album
Light as a FeatherLight as a Feather is the second studio album of fusion band Return to Forever, led by keyboardist Chick Corea.The second and last album by the first line-up of Return to Forever was recorded in the same year eight months later. The style of the music remains mostly the same though vocal tracks...
. This is probably his most popular piece, and it has been recorded by a variety of artists (notably
Al JarreauAlwyn Lopez "Al" Jarreau is an American singer. A seven-time Grammy Award winner, he is the only vocalist in history to win in three separate categories: jazz, pop, and R&B...
). There are also a variety of subsequent recordings by Corea himself in various contexts, including an arrangement for piano and symphony orchestra that appeared in 1999, and a collaborative piano and voice-as-instrument arrangement on the 1992 album
Bobby McFerrin And Chick Corea Play. Corea usually performs "Spain" with a prelude based on
Joaquin Rodrigo'sJoaquín Rodrigo Vidre, Marqués de los Jardines de Aranjuez, , a composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being blind from an early age, he achieved great success...
Concierto de AranjuezThe Concierto de Aranjuez is a composition for classical guitar and orchestra by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in 1939, it is probably Rodrigo's best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the most significant Spanish composers of the twentieth century. ...
(1940), which earlier received a jazz orchestration on Miles Davis' and
Gil EvansGil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader, active in the United States...
' "
Sketches of SpainSketches of Spain is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960.The album pairs Davis with arranger and composer Gil Evans, with whom he had collaborated on several other projects, on a program of compositions largely derived from the Spanish folk tradition...
".
In 1976 he issued
My Spanish HeartMy Spanish Heart is an album recorded by Chick Corea and released in 1976.The album combines jazz fusion pieces and more traditional Latin music pieces. The album includes use of full brass and string sections on some tracks. "El Bozo" suite relies heavily on the use of synthesizers while "Spanish...
, influenced by
Latin American musicLatin American music is the music of all countries in Latin America and comes in many varieties. Latin America is home to musical styles such as the simple, rural conjunto music of northern Mexico, the sophisticated habanera of Cuba, the rhythmic sounds of the Puerto Rican plena, the symphonies of...
and featuring vocalist Moran and electric violinist
Jean-Luc PontyJean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early Years:Ponty was born in a family of classical musicians on September 29, 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano...
.
The late Ana Mazzotti, a Brazilian jazz pianist and vocalist, dedicated what is perhaps her last ever recorded track, "Grand Chick", to Chick Corea. The song may be found on her "Ao Vivo
GuarujaGuarujá is a municipality in the São Paulo state of Brazil. The population in 2006 was 305.171, the population density is 1,969.47/km² and the area is 143 km². This place name comes from the Tupi language. The population is highly urbanized....
1982" album. As Ana Mazzotti worked with Brazilian jazz fusion masters
AzymuthAzymuth is a three-piece electric funk jazz group from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Formed in 1972, the members are Jose Roberto Bertrami , Alex Malheiros , and Ivan Conti .-History:...
in her first album, it was further testament to Chick Corea's influence in the genre.
Duet projects
In the 1970s, Corea started working occasionally with
vibraphonistThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion family....
Gary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
, with whom he recorded several duet albums on ECM, including 1972's
Crystal SilenceCrystal Silence is an album by Chick Corea and Gary Burton. It was recorded in November 1972 and produced by Manfred Eicher for ECM Records.-Track listing:#"Senor Mouse" - 6:20#"Arise, Her Eyes" - 5:08...
. They reunited in 2006 for a concert tour. A new record called
The New Crystal Silence (which has received 3 nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards) was issued shortly into 2008. The package includes a disc of duets and another disc featuring the Sydney Symphony.
Later, toward the end of the 1970's, Corea embarked on a series of concerts and two albums with Herbie Hancock. These concerts were presented in elegant settings with both pianists formally dressed, and performing on
YamahaYamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
concert grand pianos. The two jazz greats traded playing each other's compositions, as well as pieces by other composers such as
Bela BartokBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist, considered to be one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, and regarded, along with Liszt, as his country's greatest composer...
.
In December 2007, Corea recorded a duet album,
The Enchantment, with
banjoThe banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments.The name banjo is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza...
ist Bela Fleck . Fleck and Corea toured extensively behind the album in 2007. Fleck was nominated in the Best Instrumental Composition category at the 49th Grammy Awards for the track "Spectacle."
In 2008, Corea collaborated with Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara on the live album
Duet (Chick Corea and Hiromi). The duo played a concert at Tokyo's Budokan arena on April 30.
Later work
His other bands include the
Elektric BandChick Corea Elektric Band is a jazz fusion band, led by pianist Chick Corea. Following the demise of Return to Forever, Corea established the musical ensemble in 1986. Following a long hiatus, the band reunited to produce "To the Stars" in 2004....
, the Akoustic Band, and Origin.
The Akoustic Band released a self-titled album in 1989, and featured
John PatitucciJohn Patitucci is an American Grammy winning jazz double bass and electric bass player, specializing in post-bop, jazz fusion and Brazilian jazz.-Early years:...
on bass and
Dave WecklDave Weckl is a highly acclaimed Jazz fusion drummer. Weckl attended Francis Howell High School in St. Charles, MO and graduated in 1978. He majored in jazz studies at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut...
on drums. It marked a turn back toward traditional jazz in Corea's career, and the bulk of his subsequent recordings have been acoustic ones. The Akoustic Band also provided the music for the 1986 Pixar short
Luxo Jr.Luxo, Jr. is the first film produced in 1986 by Pixar Animation Studios, following its establishment as an independent film studio. It is a computer-animated short film , demonstrating the kind of things the newly-established company was capable of producing.It is the source of the small hopping...
with their song
The Game Maker.
In 1992, he started his own record label,
Stretch RecordsStretch Records was established in 1997 by pianist/composer/producer Chick Corea and music industry veteran Ron Moss.The label claims to promote "music with no boundaries" though it has mostly released jazz music....
.
In 2001, the
Chick Corea New TrioIn 2001, celebrated musician Chick Corea opened a new trio. It was called The Chick Corea New Trio, with Avishai Cohen and Jeff Ballard on bass and drums respectively, and released the album Past, Present & Futures. Notably, the 11-song album includes only one standard composition...
, with
Avishai CohenAvishai Cohen is an Israeli jazz bassist, composer, singer and arranger.- Early life :Avishai grew up in a musical family in a small town near Jerusalem, Israel. He began playing the piano at 9 years old, but changed to the bass guitar at the age of 14, inspired by legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius...
and
Jeff BallardJeff Ballard is an American jazz drummer. He played with Pat Metheny, Chick Corea in many groups such as Origin and The Chick Corea New Trio. He also played with many New York based Jazz musicians such as Brad Mehldau and Kurt Rosenwinkel. He is also a member of the collectively-led trio Fly.-...
on bass and drums respectively, released the album
Past, Present & Futures. Notably, the 11-song album includes only one standard composition (
Fats Waller'sFats Waller born Thomas Wright Waller was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer and comedic entertainer...
"Jitterbug Waltz"). The rest of the tunes are Corea originals.
He also participated in 1998's
Like MindsLike Minds is a 1998 jazz album by vibraphonist Gary Burton with Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, and Dave Holland. The album won a Grammy Award in 1999 for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group.-Track listing:...
, which features
Gary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
on vibes,
Pat MethenyPatrick Bruce Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer....
on guitar,
Dave HollandDave Holland is a British jazz bassist and composer who is a significant representative of avant-garde jazz.-Biography:...
on bass and
Roy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is one of the most recorded drummers in jazz and in his over 60-year career has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
on drums.
Recent years have also seen Corea's rising interest in
contemporary classical musicContemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.- Categorization :...
. He composed his first
piano concertoA piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
— and an adaptation of his
signature pieceA signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
,
Spain for a full symphony orchestra — and performed it in 1999 with the
London Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
. Five years later he composed his first work not to feature any keyboards: His
String QuartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments — usually two violins, a viola and cello — or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
No. 1, specifically written for and performed by the highly acclaimed
Orion String QuartetThe Orion String Quartet is a string quartet formed in 1987. It is the quartet-in-residence of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and New York's Mannes College of Music. The members are Todd and Daniel Phillips, brothers who alternate on first and second violin, violist Steven Tenenbom...
on 2004's
SummerfestSummerfest is a yearly music festival held at the 75-acre Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The festival lasts for 11 days, is made up of 11 stages with performances from over 700 bands, and since the mid-1970s has run from late June through early July, always...
.
Corea has continued releasing jazz fusion
concept albumIn popular music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical". Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs...
s such as
To the Stars (2004) and
Ultimate Adventure (2006). The latter album won the
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or GroupThe Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group has been presented since 1959. Before 1962 and from 1972 to 1978 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
.
In 2008, the second version of
Return to ForeverReturn to Forever was a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
(Corea, keyboards;
Stanley ClarkeStanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores. He is best known for his work with the fusion band Return to Forever.- Early life and education :Clarke was...
, bass;
Lenny WhiteLeonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz funk drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever and being one of the forerunners of jazz-rock/funk.-Biography:...
, drums;
Al Di MeolaAl Di Meola is an Italian American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist.Di Meola grew up in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and attended Bergenfield High School. He is now a resident of Bergen County, New Jersey.-Career:In 1971, he enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts...
, guitar) reunited for a worldwide tour. The reunion received positive reviews from most jazz and mainstream publications. Most of the group's studio recordings were re-released on the compilation
Return to Forever: The Anthology to coincide with the tour. A concert DVD recorded during their performance at the
Montreux Jazz FestivalThe Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva.- History :...
was released in May 2009. He is recently working on a collaboration CD with the Grammy Award winning jazz vocal group The Manhattan Transfer, due to be released in August 2009.
A new group, the 5 Peace Band, which features Corea and guitarist
John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English jazz fusion guitarist and composer...
began a world tour in October 2008. Corea previously worked with McLaughlin in
Miles Davis'Miles Davis III was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer.Widely considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music including cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz...
late-1960s bands, including the group that recorded Davis' album
Bitches BrewBitches Brew is a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in April 1970 on Columbia Records. The album continued Davis' experimentation of electric instruments previously featured on his critically acclaimed In a Silent Way album...
. Joining Corea and McLaughlin in the 5 Peace Band are
saxophonistThe saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
Kenny GarrettNot to be confused with Kenny GKenny Garrett is an American post bop jazz saxophonist and flautist.-Biography:He was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 9, 1960. His father was a carpenter who played tenor saxophone as a hobby. Garrett's career took off when he joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra...
, and
bassistThe double bass, also called the upright bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. The name, "double bass," derives from the early use of the instrument to double—an octave lower where possible—the bass part written...
Christian McBrideChristian McBride is an American jazz bassist. His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride's early mentors...
.
DrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of music instruments, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of...
mer
Vinnie ColaiutaVincent Colaiuta is an American drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Republic, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at the age of 14...
played with the band in Europe and on select North American dates;
Brian BladeBrian Blade in Shreveport, Louisiana is an American jazz drummer, composer, singer/songwriter and session musician.-Biography:...
played all dates in Asia and Australia, and most dates in North America.
Scientology
Under the "special thanks" notes, found in all of his later albums, Corea mentions that
L. Ron HubbardLafayette Ronald Hubbard was an American science fiction author who developed a self-help system called Dianetics, which was first published in 1950. Over the next three decades, Hubbard developed his self-help ideas into a wide-ranging set of doctrines and rituals as part of a new religion he...
, founder of
ScientologyScientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics. Hubbard characterized Scientology as a religion, and in 1953 incorporated the Church of Scientology in New Jersey.Scientology teaches that...
, has been a continual source of inspiration. In 1968 Corea discovered
DianeticsDianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that were developed by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, and practiced by followers of Scientology...
, Hubbard's principal work, and in the early 1970s developed an interest in Hubbard's
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
novels. The two exchanged letters until Hubbard's death in 1986, and Corea even had three guest appearances on Hubbard's 1982 album
Space Jazz: The Soundtrack of the Book Battlefield Earth, noting, "[Hubbard] was a great composer and keyboard player as well. He did many, many things. He was a true
Renaissance ManRenaissance Man is a 1994 comedy/drama film, directed by Penny Marshall, starring Danny DeVito, Gregory Hines, James Remar, and Ed Begley, Jr.-Plot:...
."
Corea claimed that Scientology became a profound influence on his musical direction in the early 1970s:
- I no longer wanted to satisfy myself. I really want to connect with the world and make my music mean something to people. (Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
, October 21, 1976, p.47)
Corea created some of his Return to Forever compositions in collaboration with Neville Potter, a friend whom he had met through Scientology. Some of the other members of Return to Forever also took Scientology courses, and the name Return to Forever itself was, in Corea's words, "definitely influenced by the Hubbard's philosophy of the spirit. [...] It sort of nailed the spiritual intent of the music, be pure."
Many of his songs contain explicit references to Scientology and various works by Hubbard. For example, "What Game Shall We Play Today?" refers to the philosophical concept in Scientology that life consists of "
gamesIn the Church of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard's concept of "game" is defined in the Official Scientology and Dianetics glossary as:game: a contest of person against person or team against team. A game consists of freedoms, barriers and purposes, and there is a necessity in a game to have an opponent...
" in which the objective is to extract joy and satisfaction. His 2004 album
To the StarsTo the Stars is an album by American jazz fusion group the Chick Corea Elektric Band, released on August 24, 2004 by Stretch Records. Jazz musician Chick Corea, a longtime member of the Church of Scientology, was inspired by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's science fiction 2004 novel To the Stars...
is a tone poem based on Hubbard's science fiction novel of the same name. His album
The Ultimate Adventure, is also based on a Hubbard novel.
In 1998 Chick Corea and fellow entertainers
Anne ArcherAnne Archer is an American actress. Archer is noted for her role as the betrayed housewife in the 1987 film Fatal Attraction for which she received an Academy Award nomination. As a member of the ensemble cast in the film Short Cuts, Archer was awarded a special Golden Globe...
,
Isaac HayesIsaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American singer-songwriter, actor and musician. Hayes was one of the main creative forces behind southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served as both an in-house songwriter and producer with partner David Porter during the mid-1960s...
, and
Haywood NelsonHaywood Nelson is an actor best known for playing Dwayne Nelson on the television series What's Happening!!....
attended the 30th anniversary of
Freedom MagazineFreedom Magazine is a magazine published by the Church of Scientology since 1968. The magazine describes its focus as "Investigative Reporting in the Public Interest." A frequent topic is psychiatry .-Content:...
, the
Church of ScientologyThe Church of Scientology is the largest organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination...
's
investigative newsInvestigative journalism is a type of reporting in which reporters deeply investigate a topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or some other scandal....
journal, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, to honor 11
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
activists.
Not all musicians he has collaborated with have been content with his views. Reportedly,
Joe FarrellJoseph Carl Firrantello , known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name on the CTI record label and for playing in the initial incarnation of Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:Farrell was born in Chicago...
once told him not to "lay that Scientology shit" on him.
In addition, former member Al Di Meola speculates that Corea's decision to disband Return to Forever was due to Stanley Clarke's departure from Scientology.
Corea also appears in the Scientology film
OrientationOrientation: A Scientology Information Film is a 1996 short film shown by the Church of Scientology to people before they attend their first Scientology service. In some places, a confidentiality agreement must be signed before watching it....
, giving a testimonial on how Scientology has helped him, and on the Scientology CD "The Joy of Creating".
Awards
Over the years, he has been nominated for 51
Grammy AwardThe Grammy Awards —or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry...
s out of which he has won 15:
| Year |
Award |
Album/song |
| 1976 The 18th Grammy Awards were held February 28, 1976, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1975.- Award winners :*Record of the Year...
|
Best jazz instrumental performance, group The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group has been presented since 1959. Before 1962 and from 1972 to 1978 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
|
No Mystery No Mystery is the fifth studio album by influential jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever.Return to Forever's fifth album is their most varied. While the production is similar to the album's predecessor, Where Have I Known You Before, the sheer variety of compositions gives this record a...
(with Return to ForeverReturn to Forever was a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
) |
| 1977 The 19th Grammy Awards were held on February 19, 1977, and were broadcast live on American television . They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1976.- Award winners :*Record of the Year...
|
Best arrangement of an instrumental recording The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement has been awarded since 1963. The award is presented to the arranger of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
|
"Leprechaun's Dream", The Leprechaun The Leprechaun is an album by Chick Corea recorded and released in 1976.The album was recorded during Corea's time with his jazz fusion group Return to Forever...
|
| 1977 The 19th Grammy Awards were held on February 19, 1977, and were broadcast live on American television . They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1976.- Award winners :*Record of the Year...
|
Best jazz instrumental performance, group The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group has been presented since 1959. Before 1962 and from 1972 to 1978 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
|
The Leprechaun The Leprechaun is an album by Chick Corea recorded and released in 1976.The album was recorded during Corea's time with his jazz fusion group Return to Forever...
|
| 1979 The 21st Grammy Awards were held in 1979, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1978.- Award winners :*Record of the Year**Phil Ramone & Billy Joel for "Just the Way You Are"...
|
Best jazz instrumental performance, group The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group has been presented since 1959. Before 1962 and from 1972 to 1978 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
|
Friends Friends is an album recorded and released by Chick Corea in 1978.The album does away with the string and horn sections of previous albums, instead focusing on a quartet with straight-ahead jazz in mind...
|
| 1980 The 22nd Grammy Awards were held February 27, 1980, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1979.- Award winners :*Record of the Year...
|
Best jazz instrumental performance, group The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group has been presented since 1959. Before 1962 and from 1972 to 1978 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
|
Duet (with Gary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
) |
| 1982 The 24th Grammy Awards were held February 24, 1982, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1981...
|
Best jazz instrumental performance, group The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group has been presented since 1959. Before 1962 and from 1972 to 1978 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
|
In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979 In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979 is a Jazz album by Chick Corea and Gary Burton . It features live versions of tracks that the duo had also played on earlier studio albums .-Technical details:...
(with Gary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
) |
| 1989 The 31st Grammy Awards were held in 1989. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.- Award winners :*Record of the Year**Linda Goldstein & Bobby McFerrin for "Don't Worry, Be Happy"*Album of the Year...
|
Best R&B instrumental performance The Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance was awarded from 1970 to 1990 and in 1993. The award had several minor name changes:*From 1970 to 1985 the award was known as Best R&B Instrumental Performance...
|
"Light Years", GRP Super Live In Concert (with Elektric Band Chick Corea Elektric Band is a jazz fusion band, led by pianist Chick Corea. Following the demise of Return to Forever, Corea established the musical ensemble in 1986. Following a long hiatus, the band reunited to produce "To the Stars" in 2004....
) |
| 1990 The 32nd Grammy Awards were held in 1990. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.- Award winners :*Record of the Year**Arif Mardin & Bette Midler for "Wind Beneath My Wings"*Album of the Year...
|
Best jazz instrumental performance, group The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group has been presented since 1959. Before 1962 and from 1972 to 1978 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
|
Akoustic Band (with Akoustic Band) |
2000The 42nd Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2000. During the show, Santana won 8 Grammys, tying Michael Jackson's record for most awards won in a single night...
|
Best instrumental solo The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo has been awarded since 1959. Before 1979 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
|
"Rhumbata", Native Sense (with Gary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
) |
| 2001 The 43rd Grammy Awards were held on February 21, 2001. Steely Dan was the biggest winner winning three awards including Album of the Year for Two Against Nature...
|
Best jazz instrumental performance The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group has been presented since 1959. Before 1962 and from 1972 to 1978 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
|
Like Minds Like Minds is a 1998 jazz album by vibraphonist Gary Burton with Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, and Dave Holland. The album won a Grammy Award in 1999 for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group.-Track listing:...
(with Gary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
, Pat MethenyPatrick Bruce Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer....
, Roy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is one of the most recorded drummers in jazz and in his over 60-year career has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
and Dave HollandDave Holland is a British jazz bassist and composer who is a significant representative of avant-garde jazz.-Biography:...
) |
| 2002 The 44th Grammy Awards were held on February 27, 2002. The biggest was Alicia Keys, winning 5 Grammys, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'"...
|
Best instrumental arrangement The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement has been awarded since 1963. The award is presented to the arranger of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
|
"Spain for Sextet & Orchestra", Corea.Concerto |
2004The 46th Grammy Awards were held on the February 8, 2004. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Beyoncé Knowles was the night's biggest winner by taking home 5 Grammys.-General:*Record of the Year...
|
Best jazz instrumental solo The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo has been awarded since 1959. Before 1979 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
|
"Matrix" |
2007The 49th Annual Grammy Awards is a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning September 15, 2005 and ending September 14, 2006 in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday February 11, 2007 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dixie Chicks...
|
Best jazz instrumental performance, group The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group has been presented since 1959. Before 1962 and from 1972 to 1978 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
|
"The Ultimate Adventure" |
| 2008 |
Best jazz instrumental album The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group has been presented since 1959. Before 1962 and from 1972 to 1978 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
|
The New Crystal Silence (with Gary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
) |
His 1968 album
Now He Sings, Now He SobsNow He Sings, Now He Sobs is a highly influential jazz piano trio album by Chick Corea, released March 14, 1968.The musicians on this album are Corea , Miroslav Vitouš , and Roy Haynes...
was inducted in the
Grammy Hall of FameThe Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"...
in 1999.
See also
- Jazz fusion
Fusion or, more specifically, jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a musical genre that developed in the late 1960s from a mixture of elements of jazz such as its focus on improvisation with the rhythms and grooves of funk and R&B and the beats and heavily amplified electric instruments and electronic...
- Miles Davis
Miles Davis III was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer.Widely considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music including cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz...
- Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew is a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in April 1970 on Columbia Records. The album continued Davis' experimentation of electric instruments previously featured on his critically acclaimed In a Silent Way album...
- Analog synthesizer
An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of valve and electro-mechanical technologies...
- Chelsea, Massachusetts
Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. It is the smallest city in Massachusetts in land area, and the 26th most densely populated incorporated place in the country.-History:...
External links
- Official site
- Jazzreview.com biography
- Verve Records biography and discography
- Interview with Chick Corea by Michael J Stewart
- Herzig, Monika (October 1999). Chick Corea - A Style Analysis
- Polydor Promo 1/73 (from The Boston Music Encyclopedia Project)
- All Music Guide to Jazz - 4th Edition, Backbeat Books, November 1, 2002, ISBN 0-87930-717-X
- DeBarros, Paul (1998). "Reissuing Light as a Feather", Light as a Feather CD booklet
- Nicholson, Stuart (1999). "Reissuing My Spanish Heart", My Spanish Heart CD booklet
- Zwerin, Mike (February 2, 2000). Chick Corea: The Chameleon
- Murph, John (December 2, 2004). Chick Corea Reaching for the Stars. BET Jazz.
- Digital Interviews: Chick Corea (1999)
- Talking to Les Tomkins in 1972. Jazz Professional.
- http://www.berklee.edu/commencement/past/corea.htmlChick Corea's 1997 Commencement Address to the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, founded in 1945, is a private, degree-granting four year college in Boston, Massachusetts. It has a 2009 fall enrollment of approximately 4,100 students and a 2009 faculty of approximately 500...
]
- An Interview with Chick Corea by Bob Rosenbaum, July 1974 (PDF file) 'You put these notes together and you come out with that sound, and isn’t it beautiful. So what? What does it do to another person? What does it do to your neighborhood?'
- New England Jazz History Database
- "In Conversation with Chick Corea" by Patrick Spurling, (Jazz.com)
- "Return to Forever: Twelve Historic Tracks" by Walter Kolosky,