Larry Coryell (born April 2 1943) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
guitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as acoustic guitars, electric guitars, classical guitars and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :...
.
Coryell was born in
Galveston, TexasGalveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a total population of 57,466 within an area of...
on April 2, 1943. After graduating from Richland High School in eastern
WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
, he moved to Seattle to attend the
University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington, founded in 1861, is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. UW is the largest university in the northwestern United States and one of the oldest public universities on the west coast. The university has three campuses, with its flagship campus...
. In 1965, Coryell moved to
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
where he became part of
Chico HamiltonChico Hamilton is a jazz drummer and band leader.-Early life through 1960s:...
's quintet, replacing
Gabor SzaboGábor Szabó was a Hungarian jazz guitarist, famous for mixing jazz, pop-rock and his native Hungarian music.-Biography:...
. In 1967 and 1968, he recorded 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...
and
Jim PepperJim Pepper was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and singer of Native American ancestry.-Early career:...
. His music during the late-1960s and early-1970s combined the influences of
rockRock 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....
, jazz and eastern music.
Larry Coryell (born April 2 1943) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
guitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as acoustic guitars, electric guitars, classical guitars and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :...
.
Biography
Coryell was born in
Galveston, TexasGalveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a total population of 57,466 within an area of...
on April 2, 1943. After graduating from Richland High School in eastern
WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
, he moved to Seattle to attend the
University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington, founded in 1861, is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. UW is the largest university in the northwestern United States and one of the oldest public universities on the west coast. The university has three campuses, with its flagship campus...
. In 1965, Coryell moved to
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
where he became part of
Chico HamiltonChico Hamilton is a jazz drummer and band leader.-Early life through 1960s:...
's quintet, replacing
Gabor SzaboGábor Szabó was a Hungarian jazz guitarist, famous for mixing jazz, pop-rock and his native Hungarian music.-Biography:...
. In 1967 and 1968, he recorded 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...
and
Jim PepperJim Pepper was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and singer of Native American ancestry.-Early career:...
. His music during the late-1960s and early-1970s combined the influences of
rockRock 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....
, jazz and eastern music. He formed his own group,
The Eleventh HouseThe Eleventh House was an important jazz fusion group of the 1970s led by guitarist Larry Coryell. The band was formed in 1973 and disbanded in 1976...
, in 1973. Following the break-up of this band, Coryell played mainly
acoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only acoustic methods to project the sound produced by its strings. The term is a retronym, coined after the advent of electric guitars, which depend on electronic amplification to make their sound audible....
, but returned to electric guitar later in the 1980s. In 1979, Coryell formed "The Guitar Trio" with
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...
guitarist
John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English jazz fusion guitarist and composer...
and
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...
guitarist
Paco de LuciaPaco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez , is a Spanish composer and guitarist. Recognized as a virtuoso flamenco guitarist all over the world, he is a leading proponent of the Modern Flamenco style, and is one of the very few flamenco guitarists who have also successfully crossed over into...
. The group toured Europe briefly, eventually releasing a video recorded at
Royal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
entitled "Meeting of Spirits". In early-1980, Coryell was replaced by
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...
, due to drug addiction.
In 2007, an autobiography was released under the title
Improvising: My Life in Music. Larry's two sons, Julian Coryell and
Murali CoryellMurali Coryell is an American blues guitarist and singer. Best known for performing live in small venues in New York State, Coryell has also opened for George Thorogood, Gregg Allman, B. B. King and Wilson Pickett...
are also actively involved in the music business.
As leader
- Lady Coryell
Lady Coryell is Larry Coryell's first album as a leader. The album was recorded in 1968 when Larry Coryell had the age of 25. It was produced by Coryell himself and Danny Weiss and engineered by Randy Rand, with assistance of Peter Atchley...
(1969)
- Coryell (1969)
- Spaces (1970) with John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Miroslav Vitous, Chick Corea
- Barefoot Boy
Barefoot Boy is Larry Coryell's first and only album for the Flying Dutchman label, a company created by Impulse! Records founder Bob Thiele. The album was produced by Thiele, with production assistance from Lillian Seyfert and engineered by Eddie Kramer...
(1971)
- Larry Coryell at the Village Gate (1971)
- Offering (1972)
- The Real Great Escape (1973)
- Introducing Eleventh House with Larry Coryell (1974) with The Eleventh House
- Larry Coryell and the Eleventh House at Montreux (1974) with The Eleventh House
- Level One (1974) with the Eleventh House
- The Restful Mind (1975) with Ralph Towner
Ralph Towner is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion and trumpet....
, Glen MooreGlen Moore is a jazz bassist who occasionally performs on piano, flute and violin.His performing career began at age 14 with the Young Oregonians in Portland, Oregon where he met and played with Native American saxophonist, Jim Pepper. He graduated with a degree in History and Literature from the...
, Collin WalcottCollin Walcott was a North American musician. He was a student of Ravi Shankar and Vasant Rai. Collin expanded the role of the sitar in western music. Walcott studied music and ethnomusicology at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and at The University of California at Los Angeles...
- Planet End (1975)
- Aspects
-Personnel:* Gerry Brown: Drums* Larry Coryell: * Terumasa Hino: * John Lee: * Mike Mandel...
(1976) with The Eleventh House
- Larry Coryell/Philip Catherine
Philip Catherine is a Belgian jazz guitarist.-Biography:He was born in London from an English mother and Belgian father....
- Twin House (1976)
- Two For The Road (1977) with Steve Khan
Steve Khan is an American jazz guitarist.Born in Los Angeles, California, Khan is known for his work with artists such as Steely Dan, Billy Joel, Michael Franks, Hubert Laws, Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, James Brown, Maynard Ferguson, and Weather Report...
- Difference (1978)
- Splendid (1978) with Philip Catherine
- Young Django (1979) with Stephane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first of all-string jazz bands....
- The Enormous Radio (1984) with Simon Bard Group, Paul Wertico
Paul Wertico is internationally known as "one of the most versatile and musical drummers in music today". Paul gained world recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 until 2001, leaving the group to spend more time with his family and to pursue other musical interests...
- Together (1985) with Emily Remler
- Sketches of Coryell (1996)
- Spaces Revisited (1997)
- Cause and Effect (1998) with Steve Smith
Steve Smith is an American drummer who has worked with hundreds of artists in his career, but is mostly known for being the drummer of the rock band Journey during their peak years of success. Modern Drummer Magazine readers voted him the #1 All-Around Drummer five years in a row...
, Tom CosterTom Coster is an American keyboardist and composer. Detroit-born and San Francisco-raised, Coster played piano and accordion as a youth, continuing his studies through college and a productive five-year stint as a musician in the U.S...
, Victor WootenVictor Lemonte Wooten is an American bass player, composer and author.Wooten has won the "Bass Player of the Year" award from Bass Player magazine three times in a row, and was the first person to win the award more than once...
- Private Concert (Live) (1999)
- Gypsy Blood and Voodoo Crossing (2002) - Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter...
tributes with Paul Santa Maria
- Count´s Jam Band Reunion (2002) with Steve Marcus
- Three Guitars (2003) with Badi Assad
Badi Assad is a Brazilian singer, songwriter and guitarist in the jazz and worldbeat genres.She was born in the state of São Paulo, but grew up in Rio de Janeiro until she was twelve...
, John AbercrombieJohn Abercrombie is an American jazz guitarist. Aside from his solo work he is known for his work with Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker. Abercrombie has recorded principally with the ECM label of Manfred Eicher...
- Tricycles (2004)
- Electric (2005) with Lenny White
Leonard 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:...
, Victor BaileyVictor Bailey is an American bass guitar player.Bailey attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston after being disqualified from naval service due to asthma.-As musician:...
- Traffic (2006) with Lenny White, Victor Bailey
As sideman
- The Free Spirits - Out of Sight and Sound (1967)
- Bob Moses
Rakalam Bob Moses is an American jazz drummer born in New York City.Moses played with Roland Kirk in 1964-65 while he was still a teenager. In 1966 he and Larry Coryell formed Free Spirits, a jazz fusion ensemble, and from 1967 to 1969 he played in Gary Burton's quartet...
- Love Animal (1967-68)
- Gary Burton
Gary 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...
- Duster (1967)
- Gary Burton - Lofty Fake Anagram (1967)
- Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flautist and important early practitioner of world music...
- Memphis UndergroundMemphis Underground is a 1969 album by jazz flautist Herbie Mann, that attempts to fuse the genres of Jazz and Rhythm & Blues . While Mann and the other principal soloists were leading jazz musicians, the album was recorded in Chips Moman's American Studios in Memphis, a studio used by many...
(1968) with Sonny SharrockWarren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock was an American jazz guitarist. He was once married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he sometimes recorded and performed....
- Count´s Rock Band (1968) with Steve Marcus
- The Lord´s Prayer (1968) with Steve Marcus
- Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus, Jr. was an American jazz bassist, composer, bandleader, and pianist. He was also known for his activism against racial injustice....
- Three or Four Shades of BluesThree or Four Shades of Blues is an album by Charles Mingus recorded for the Atlantic label in 1977. It features two new versions of Mingus' "standards" and three new compostions performed by large ensembles featuring Jack Walrath, Ricky Ford, George Coleman, Sonny Fortune, Jimmy Rowles, Philip...
(1977)
Filmography
- Meeting of the Spirits (1980) - live performance in London with Coryell, John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English jazz fusion guitarist and composer...
, and Paco de LuciaPaco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez , is a Spanish composer and guitarist. Recognized as a virtuoso flamenco guitarist all over the world, he is a leading proponent of the Modern Flamenco style, and is one of the very few flamenco guitarists who have also successfully crossed over into...
.
- L. Subramaniam: Violin From the Heart (1999) - directed by Jean Henri Meunier. (Includes a scene of Coryell performing with L. Subramaniam
Dr. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam is an acclaimed Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music, and renowned for his virtuoso playing techniques and compositions in orchestral fusion.-Early years:Subramaniam was born to V...
.)
- Three Guitars: Paris Concert (2004) - live performance featuring Coryell, Badi Assad
Badi Assad is a Brazilian singer, songwriter and guitarist in the jazz and worldbeat genres.She was born in the state of São Paulo, but grew up in Rio de Janeiro until she was twelve...
, and John AbercrombieJohn Abercrombie is an American jazz guitarist. Aside from his solo work he is known for his work with Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker. Abercrombie has recorded principally with the ECM label of Manfred Eicher...
.
- Super Guitar Trio and Friends in Concert (2005) - live performance featuring Coryell, Al Di Meola
Al 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...
, and Biréli LagrèneBiréli Lagrène is a French guitarist and bassist. He came to prominence in the 1980s for his Django Rheinhardt influenced style. He often performs within the swing, jazz fusion and post bop mediums.- Biography :...
.
External links