Chick Corea
Encyclopedia
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (born June 12, 1941) is an American jazz
pianist, keyboardist, and composer.
Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis
' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever
. Along with Herbie Hancock
, McCoy Tyner
and Keith Jarrett
, he has been described as one of the major jazz piano voices to emerge in the post-John Coltrane
era.
His career has been driven by his will to operate as a free agent and compulsively explore different avenues of music making. This hunger has positioned him as an important catalyst in the world of serious, mainstream acoustic jazz, and he is one of the most influential and widely studied figures in the last 40 years.
Corea continued to pursue other collaborations and to explore various musical styles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He is also known for promoting and fundraising for a number of social issues, such as eradicating social illiteracy, and is a Scientologist.
. He is of Sicilian
and Spanish
descent. His father, a jazz trumpet player who had led a Dixieland
band in the Boston
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 bebop
and stars such as Dizzy Gillespie
, Charlie Parker
, Bud Powell
, Horace Silver
, and Lester Young
. At eight Corea also took up drums, 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 lessons at age eight and who introduced him to classical music, helping spark his interest in musical composition
. He also spent several years as a performer and soloist for the Knights of St. Rose, a drum and bugle corps
based in Chelsea.
Given a black tuxedo by his father, he started doing gigs when in high school. He enjoyed listening to Herb Pomeroy
's band at the time, and had a trio which would play Horace Silver
's music at a local jazz club.
He eventually decided to move to New York where he studied musical education for one month at Columbia University
and six months at The Juilliard School. 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.
and Latin
greats such as Herbie Mann
, Willie Bobo
and Mongo Santamaría
. 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 Foster
.)
His first album as a leader was Tones for Joan's Bones
in 1966, two years before the release of his album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
, with Roy Haynes
on drums and Miroslav Vitouš
on bass
.
He made another sideman appearance with Stan Getz
on 1967's Sweet Rain (Verve Records
).
, his recordings with Circle
, and his playing on Joe Farrell
's Song of the Wind album on CTI Records
.
In September 1968 Corea replaced Herbie Hancock
in the piano chair in Davis' band and appeared on landmark albums such as Filles de Kilimanjaro
, In a Silent Way
, and Bitches Brew
. In concert, Davis' rhythm section
of Corea, Dave Holland
, and Jack DeJohnette
combined elements of free jazz
improvisation and rock music. Corea experimented using electric instruments with the Davis band, mainly the Fender Rhodes electric piano.
In live performance he frequently processed the output of his electric piano with a device called a ring modulator, producing sounds reminiscent of composer Karlheinz Stockhausen
. Using this style, he appeared on multiple Davis albums, including Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore West
and Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East
. His live performances with the Miles Davis band continued into 1970, with a great touring band of Steven Grossman, tenor sax, Keith Jarrett
, additional electric piano and organ, Jack DeJohnette
, drums, Dave Holland
, bass, Airto Moreira
, percussion, and Miles on trumpet.
Holland and Corea left to form their own group, Circle
, active between 1970 and 1971. This free jazz
group featured multi-reed player Anthony Braxton
and drummer Barry Altschul
. This band was documented on Blue Note
and ECM. 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.
style that incorporated Latin jazz elements. He founded Return to Forever
in 1971. This band had a fusion sound and even though it relied on electronic instrumentation it drew more on Brazil
ian and Spanish-American musical styles than on rock music. On its first two records, Return to Forever featured Flora Purim
's vocals, the Fender Rhodes electric piano, and Joe Farrell
's flute
and soprano saxophone
. Airto Moreira
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 Clarke
on bass and Tony Williams on drums, recorded the Columbia label
album Captain Marvel
under Getz's name.
Only Clarke remained from the group's first lineup; Bill Connors
played electric guitar and Lenny White
played drums. No one replaced vocalist Purim. (Briefly, in 1977, Corea's wife, Gayle Moran
, served as vocalist in the band.) In 1974 Al Di Meola
joined the band, replacing Connors. In this second version of Return to Forever, Corea extended the use of synthesizers, particularly Moogs
. The group released its final studio record in 1977. Thereafter, Corea focused on solo projects.
Corea's composition "Spain
" first appeared on the 1972 Return to Forever album Light as a Feather
. This is probably his most popular piece, and it has been recorded by a variety of artists. 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 with Bobby McFerrin on the 1992 album Play
. Corea usually performs "Spain" with a prelude based on Joaquín Rodrigo
's Concierto de Aranjuez
(1940), which earlier received a jazz orchestration on Miles Davis' and Gil Evans
' "Sketches of Spain
".
In 1976 he issued My Spanish Heart
, influenced by Latin American music
and featuring vocalist Moran and electric violinist Jean-Luc Ponty
.
The late Ana Mazzotti, a Brazilian jazz pianist and vocalist, dedicated what is perhaps her last ever recorded track, "Grand Chick", to Corea. The song may be found on her "Ao Vivo Guaruja
1982" album. As Ana Mazzotti worked with Brazilian jazz fusion masters Azymuth
in her first album, it was further testament to Corea's influence in the genre.
Gary Burton
, with whom he recorded several duet albums on ECM, including 1972's Crystal Silence
. 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 1970s, 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 Yamaha
concert grand pianos. The two jazz greats traded playing each other's compositions, as well as pieces by other composers such as Béla Bartók
.
In December 2007 Corea recorded a duet album, The Enchantment, with banjo
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.
Corea's other bands include the Elektric Band
, the Akoustic Band, and Origin.
The Akoustic Band released a self-titled album in 1989, and featured John Patitucci
on bass and Dave Weckl
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.
with their song The Game Maker.
In 1992 Corea started his own record label, Stretch Records
.
In 2001 the Chick Corea New Trio, with Avishai Cohen and Jeff Ballard
on bass and drums, respectively, released the album Past, Present & Futures. The 11-song album includes only one standard composition (Fats Waller
's "Jitterbug Waltz"). The rest of the tunes are Corea originals.
He also participated in 1998's Like Minds
, which features Gary Burton
on vibes, Pat Metheny
on guitar, Dave Holland
on bass and Roy Haynes
on drums.
Recent years have also seen Corea's rising interest in contemporary classical music
. He composed his first piano concerto
– and an adaptation of his signature piece
, Spain for a full symphony orchestra – and performed it in 1999 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
. Five years later he composed his first work not to feature any keyboards: His String Quartet
No. 1 was specifically written for the Orion String Quartet
and performed by them on 2004's Summerfest
.
Corea has continued releasing jazz fusion concept album
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 Group
.
In 2008 the second version of Return to Forever
(Corea, keyboards; Stanley Clarke
, bass; Lenny White
, drums; Al Di Meola
, 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 Festival
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 McLaughlin
, began a world tour in October 2008. Corea had previously worked with McLaughlin in Miles Davis'
late 1960s bands, including the group that recorded Davis' album Bitches Brew
. Joining Corea and McLaughlin in the 5 Peace Band are saxophonist
Kenny Garrett
and bassist
Christian McBride
. Drummer Vinnie Colaiuta
played with the band in Europe and on select North American dates; Brian Blade
played all dates in Asia and Australia, and most dates in North America.
has helped deepen his relationships with others, and helped him find a renewed path. Under the "special thanks" notes, found in all of his later albums, Corea mentions that L. Ron Hubbard
, founder of Scientology, has been a continual source of inspiration. In 1968 Corea discovered Dianetics
, Hubbard's principal work, and in the early 1970s developed an interest in Hubbard's science fiction novels. The two exchanged letters until Hubbard's death in 1986, and Corea 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 Man
."
Corea said that Scientology became a profound influence on his musical direction in the early 1970s:
Due to Corea's religious affiliation, he was banned from performing in a concert to be held in Stuttgart, Germany, on August 15, 1993. Members of the U.S. Congress sent letters to the German government concerning a violation of basic human rights that are upheld by the German Constitution. The ban was not upheld, and in later years Corea performed in festivals in Germany, including several times at the government-supported International Jazz Festival in Burghausen where he was awarded a plaque in Burghausen's "Street of Fame" in 2011.
In 1998, Corea and fellow entertainers Anne Archer
, Isaac Hayes
, and Haywood Nelson
attended the 30th anniversary of Freedom Magazine
, the Church of Scientology
's investigative news
journal, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to honor 11 human rights activists.
s out of which he has won 15:
His 1968 album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame
in 1999.
In 2010, he was named doctor honoris causa at Norwegian University of Science and Technology
(NTNU).
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist, keyboardist, and composer.
Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
. Along with Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...
and Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...
, he has been described as one of the major jazz piano voices to emerge in the post-John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
era.
His career has been driven by his will to operate as a free agent and compulsively explore different avenues of music making. This hunger has positioned him as an important catalyst in the world of serious, mainstream acoustic jazz, and he is one of the most influential and widely studied figures in the last 40 years.
Corea continued to pursue other collaborations and to explore various musical styles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He is also known for promoting and fundraising for a number of social issues, such as eradicating social illiteracy, and is a Scientologist.
Youth
Armando Corea was born in Chelsea, MassachusettsChelsea, 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:...
. He is of Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and Spanish
Spanish American
A Spanish American is a citizen or resident of the United States whose ancestors originate from the southwestern European nation of Spain. Spanish Americans are the earliest European American group, with a continuous presence since 1565.-Immigration waves:...
descent. His father, a jazz trumpet player who had led a Dixieland
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music 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.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
band in the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
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 bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
and stars such as Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl 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 Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
, and Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
. At eight Corea also took up drums, 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 lessons at age eight and who introduced him to classical music, helping spark his interest in musical composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
. He also spent several years as a performer and soloist for the Knights of St. Rose, a drum and bugle corps
Drum and bugle corps
Drum and bugle corps is a name used to describe two forms of marching units.* Drum and bugle corps — such as those organized by Drum Corps International after 1972, Drum Corps Associates, and other similar international organizations...
based in Chelsea.
Given a black tuxedo by his father, he started doing gigs when in high school. He enjoyed listening to Herb Pomeroy
Herb Pomeroy
Irving 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 Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
's music at a local jazz club.
He eventually decided to move to New York where he studied musical education for one month at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and six months at The Juilliard School. 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's first major professional gig was with Cab Calloway. Corea started his professional career in the 1960s playing with trumpeter Blue MitchellBlue Mitchell
Richard 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 Latin
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
greats such as Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
, Willie Bobo
Willie Bobo
Willie Bobo was the stage name of William Correa , an American jazz percussionist.-Biography: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 Santamaría
Mongo Santamaría
Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez 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...
. One of the earliest recordings of his playing is with Blue Mitchell's quintet on The Thing To Do
The Thing to Do (album)
The Thing to Do is an album by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded in 1964 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 5 stars and stated "The record is prime Blue Note hard bop, containing inventive tunes, meaningful solos, and an...
. 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 Foster
Al Foster
Al 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 comeback album The Man With the Horn of 1981...
.)
His first album as a leader was Tones for Joan's Bones
Tones for Joan's Bones
Tones 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 Sobs
Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
Now 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 Haynes
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
on drums and Miroslav Vitouš
Miroslav Vitouš
Miroslav Ladislav Vitouš , is a Czech jazz bassist.-Biography: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...
on bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
.
He made another sideman appearance with Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
on 1967's Sweet Rain (Verve Records
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by 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 Verve...
).
Avant garde period
From 1968 to 1971 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
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, his recordings with Circle
Circle (jazz band)
Circle was an avant garde jazz ensemble active in 1970 and 1971. The group arose from pianist Chick Corea's early 1970s trio with Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums and percussion with the addition of Anthony Braxton in a leading role on several reed instruments...
, and his playing on Joe Farrell
Joe Farrell
Joseph 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 Records
CTI Records
CTI Records was a jazz record label founded in 1967 by producer/A&R manager Creed Taylor. Initially, CTI was a subsidiary of A&M Records, but the label went independent in 1970...
.
In September 1968 Corea replaced Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
in the piano chair in Davis' band and appeared on landmark albums such as Filles de Kilimanjaro
Filles de Kilimanjaro
is a studio album by American jazz recording artist Miles Davis. It was recorded in June and September 1968...
, In a Silent Way
In a Silent Way
In a Silent Way is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released July 30, 1969 on Columbia Records. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded in one session date on February 18, 1969 at CBS 30th Street Studio B in New York City. Incorporating elements of classical sonata form,...
, and Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew is a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in April 1970 on Columbia Records. The album continued his experimentation with electric instruments previously featured on his critically acclaimed In a Silent Way album...
. In concert, Davis' rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
of Corea, Dave Holland
Dave Holland
Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years....
, and Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...
combined elements of free jazz
Free jazz
Free 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 music. Corea experimented using electric instruments with the Davis band, mainly the Fender Rhodes electric piano.
In live performance he frequently processed the output of his electric piano with a device called a ring modulator, producing sounds reminiscent of composer Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
. Using this style, he appeared on multiple Davis albums, including Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore West
Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore West
Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West is a live album by American jazz recording artist Miles Davis, recorded on April 10, 1970 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco...
and Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East
Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East
At Fillmore 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 as a double vinyl LP.The live performances were heavily edited by...
. His live performances with the Miles Davis band continued into 1970, with a great touring band of Steven Grossman, tenor sax, Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...
, additional electric piano and organ, Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...
, drums, Dave Holland
Dave Holland
Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years....
, bass, Airto Moreira
Airto Moreira
Airto 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:...
, percussion, and Miles on trumpet.
Holland and Corea left to form their own group, Circle
Circle (jazz band)
Circle was an avant garde jazz ensemble active in 1970 and 1971. The group arose from pianist Chick Corea's early 1970s trio with Dave Holland on bass and Barry Altschul on drums and percussion with the addition of Anthony Braxton in a leading role on several reed instruments...
, active between 1970 and 1971. This free jazz
Free jazz
Free 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 Braxton
Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
and drummer Barry Altschul
Barry Altschul
Barry Altschul is a free jazz drummer who gained fame in the late 1960s with the pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea.-Biography:...
. This band was documented on Blue Note
Blue note
In 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 ECM. 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 fusionJazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
style that incorporated Latin jazz elements. He founded Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
in 1971. This band had a fusion sound and even though it relied on electronic instrumentation it drew more on Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian and Spanish-American musical styles than on rock music. On its first two records, Return to Forever featured Flora Purim
Flora Purim
Flora Purim is a Brazilian jazz singer known primarily 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 Farrell
Joe Farrell
Joseph 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 flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. 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 saxophone
Soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
. Airto Moreira
Airto Moreira
Airto 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 Clarke
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
on bass and Tony Williams on drums, recorded the Columbia label
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
album Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (album)
Captain Marvel is a jazz album by Stan Getz released in 1975 on the Columbia Records 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.
Only Clarke remained from the group's first lineup; Bill Connors
Bill Connors
Bill 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 White
Lenny White
Leonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz fusion drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:...
played drums. No one replaced vocalist Purim. (Briefly, in 1977, Corea's wife, Gayle Moran
Gayle Moran
Gayle 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 Meola
Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola is an acclaimed American jazz fusion and Latin guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date...
joined the band, replacing Connors. In this second version of Return to Forever, Corea extended the use of synthesizers, particularly Moogs
Moog synthesizer
Moog 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 older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
. The group released its final studio record in 1977. Thereafter, Corea focused on solo projects.
Corea's composition "Spain
Spain (composition)
Spain 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 Feather
Light as a Feather
Light 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. 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 with Bobby McFerrin on the 1992 album Play
Play (Chick Corea and Bobby McFerrin album)
Play is an album by Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea. -Track listing: # "Spain" – 10:12# "Even From Me" – 6:34# "Autumn Leaves" – 11:41# "Blues Connotation" – 7:13# "'Round Midnight" – 7:59# "Blue Bossa" – 6:14-Production:...
. Corea usually performs "Spain" with a prelude based on Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez , commonly known as Joaquín Rodrigo, was a composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being nearly blind from an early age, he achieved great success...
's Concierto de Aranjuez
Concierto de Aranjuez
The 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 Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
' "Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City....
".
In 1976 he issued My Spanish Heart
My Spanish Heart
My 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 music
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
and featuring vocalist Moran and electric violinist Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 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 Corea. The song may be found on her "Ao Vivo Guaruja
Guarujá
Guarujá 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, and mean "narrow path". The population is highly urbanized.-Geography:Guarujá is...
1982" album. As Ana Mazzotti worked with Brazilian jazz fusion masters Azymuth
Azymuth
Azymuth 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 Corea's influence in the genre.
Duet projects
In the 1970s Corea started working occasionally with vibraphonistVibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
Gary Burton
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...
, with whom he recorded several duet albums on ECM, including 1972's Crystal Silence
Crystal Silence
Crystal Silence is an album by Chick Corea and Gary Burton. It was recorded in November 1972 and produced by Manfred Eicher for ECM Records...
. They reunited in 2006 for a concert tour. A new record called The New Crystal Silence
The New Crystal Silence
The New Crystal Silence is a 2008 live Jazz album by Chick Corea and Gary Burton. It was released in a 2-disc set. The first disc was recorded May 10 & 12, 2007 at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall...
(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 1970s, 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 Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha 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 Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
.
In December 2007 Corea recorded a duet album, The Enchantment, with banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
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
Chick Corea 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....
, the Akoustic Band, and Origin.
The Akoustic Band released a self-titled album in 1989, and featured John Patitucci
John Patitucci
John Patitucci is an American Grammy-winning jazz double bass and jazz fusion electric bass player.-Biography:Patitucci is of Italian descent and was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he began playing the electric bass at age ten, composing and performing at age 12, as well as the acoustic bass at...
on bass and Dave Weckl
Dave Weckl
Dave 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.
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...
with their song The Game Maker.
In 1992 Corea started his own record label, Stretch Records
Stretch Records
Stretch 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 Trio, with Avishai Cohen and Jeff Ballard
Jeff Ballard (musician)
Jeff Ballard is an American jazz drummer from Santa Cruz, California. He has played with Ray Charles and Pat Metheny and plays periodically with 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 Reid Anderson,...
on bass and drums, respectively, released the album Past, Present & Futures. The 11-song album includes only one standard composition (Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
's "Jitterbug Waltz"). The rest of the tunes are Corea originals.
He also participated in 1998's Like Minds
Like Minds (Gary Burton album)
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:...
, which features Gary Burton
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...
on vibes, Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
on guitar, Dave Holland
Dave Holland
Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years....
on bass and Roy Haynes
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years 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 music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary 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 concerto
Piano concerto
A 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 piece
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, 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 Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The 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 Quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
No. 1 was specifically written for the Orion String Quartet
Orion String Quartet
The 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...
and performed by them on 2004's Summerfest
Summerfest
Summerfest is a yearly music festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. 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, usually...
.
Corea has continued releasing jazz fusion concept album
Concept album
In 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 contributing...
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 Group
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
.
In 2008 the second version of Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
(Corea, keyboards; Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
, bass; Lenny White
Lenny White
Leonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz fusion drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:...
, drums; Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola is an acclaimed American jazz fusion and Latin guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date...
, 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 Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The 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...
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 McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
, began a world tour in October 2008. Corea had previously worked with McLaughlin in Miles Davis'
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
late 1960s bands, including the group that recorded Davis' album Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew
Bitches Brew is a studio double album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in April 1970 on Columbia Records. The album continued his experimentation with electric instruments previously featured on his critically acclaimed In a Silent Way album...
. Joining Corea and McLaughlin in the 5 Peace Band are saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
Kenny Garrett
Kenny Garrett
Kenny Garrett is a Grammy Award-winning American post bop jazz saxophonist and flautist who gained fame in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and of Miles Davis's band. He has since pursued a critically acclaimed solo career...
and bassist
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
Christian McBride
Christian McBride
Christian 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...
. Drummer Vinnie Colaiuta
Vinnie Colaiuta
Vincent 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 Blade
Brian Blade
Brian Blade in Shreveport, Louisiana is an American jazz drummer, composer, session musician, and singer-songwriter.-Early years:...
played all dates in Asia and Australia, and most dates in North America.
Scientology
Corea says that ScientologyScientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
has helped deepen his relationships with others, and helped him find a renewed path. Under the "special thanks" notes, found in all of his later albums, Corea mentions that L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
, founder of Scientology, has been a continual source of inspiration. In 1968 Corea discovered Dianetics
Dianetics
Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that was invented by the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is practiced by followers of Scientology...
, Hubbard's principal work, and in the early 1970s developed an interest in Hubbard's science fiction novels. The two exchanged letters until Hubbard's death in 1986, and Corea 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 Man
Renaissance Man
Renaissance Man is a 1994 comedy film, directed by Penny Marshall, starring Danny DeVito, Gregory Hines, James Remar, and Ed Begley, Jr. It also features Mark Wahlberg in one of his earliest roles....
."
Corea said that Scientology became a profound influence on his musical direction in the early 1970s:
Due to Corea's religious affiliation, he was banned from performing in a concert to be held in Stuttgart, Germany, on August 15, 1993. Members of the U.S. Congress sent letters to the German government concerning a violation of basic human rights that are upheld by the German Constitution. The ban was not upheld, and in later years Corea performed in festivals in Germany, including several times at the government-supported International Jazz Festival in Burghausen where he was awarded a plaque in Burghausen's "Street of Fame" in 2011.
In 1998, Corea and fellow entertainers Anne Archer
Anne Archer
Anne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
, Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
, and Haywood Nelson
Haywood Nelson
Haywood Nelson is an American actor. He is best known for having portrayed Dwayne Nelson on the television series What's Happening!!, and its spin-off series What's Happening Now!!...
attended the 30th anniversary of Freedom Magazine
Freedom Magazine
Freedom 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 Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an 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 and...
's investigative news
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
journal, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to honor 11 human rights activists.
Awards
Over the years, he has been nominated for 51 Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s out of which he has won 15:
| Year | Award | Album/song |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 Grammy Awards of 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 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories... |
No Mystery 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 Forever Return to Forever Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke... ) |
| 1977 Grammy Awards of 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 Grammy Award for 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:... |
"Leprechaun's Dream", The Leprechaun The Leprechaun (Chick Corea album) 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 Grammy Awards of 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 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories... |
The Leprechaun The Leprechaun (Chick Corea album) 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 Grammy Awards of 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 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories... |
Friends Friends (Chick Corea) 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 Grammy Awards of 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 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories... |
Duet Duet (Gary Burton & Chick Corea album) Duet is an album by vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Chick Corea recorded in 1978 and released on the ECM label in 1979. The album is the second studio recording by the duo following Crystal Silence .-Reception:... (with Gary Burton 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... ) |
| 1982 Grammy Awards of 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 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories... |
In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979 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 Burton 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... ) |
| 1989 Grammy Awards of 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 Grammy Award for 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 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 Grammy Awards of 1990 The 32nd Grammy Awards were held in 1990. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.-General:*Record of the Year**Arif Mardin & Bette Midler for "Wind Beneath My Wings"*Album of the Year... |
Best jazz instrumental performance, group Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories... |
Akoustic Band (with Akoustic Band) |
| 2000 Grammy Awards of 2000 The 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. Santana's album Supernatural was awarded a total of nine awards.... |
Best instrumental solo Grammy Award for 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... |
"Rhumbata", Native Sense (with Gary Burton 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... ) |
| 2001 Grammy Awards of 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. U2 was also a big winner winning three awards as well; including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Beautiful Day. Dr... |
Best jazz instrumental performance Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories... |
Like Minds Like Minds (Gary Burton album) 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 Burton 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... , Pat Metheny Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects... , Roy Haynes Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz... and Dave Holland Dave Holland Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years.... ) |
| 2002 Grammy Awards of 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'". U2 won 4 awards including Record of the Year and Best Rock Album.-Award winners:... |
Best instrumental arrangement Grammy Award for 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 |
| 2004 Grammy Awards of 2004 The 46th Grammy Awards were held on the February 8, 2004. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The big winners were Outkast, who won three awards including Album of the Year & Beyoncé Knowles, who won 5 Awards... |
Best jazz instrumental solo Grammy Award for 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" |
| 2007 Grammy Awards of 2007 The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was 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 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories... |
"The Ultimate Adventure" |
| 2008 | Best jazz instrumental album Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories... |
The New Crystal Silence (with Gary Burton 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... ) |
| 2010 | Best jazz instrumental album Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories... |
Five Peace Band Five Peace Band Five Peace Band is a post bop/jazz fusion quintet featuring Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride and Vinnie Colaiuta.... — Live (with John McLaughlin John McLaughlin (musician) John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer... , Kenny Garrett Kenny Garrett Kenny Garrett is a Grammy Award-winning American post bop jazz saxophonist and flautist who gained fame in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and of Miles Davis's band. He has since pursued a critically acclaimed solo career... , Christian McBride Christian McBride Christian 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... , Vinnie Colaiuta Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent 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... ) |
His 1968 album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
Now 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 Fame
Grammy Hall of Fame Award
The 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.
In 2010, he was named doctor honoris causa at Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology , commonly known as NTNU, is located in Trondheim. NTNU is the second largest of the eight universities in Norway, and, as its name suggests, has the main national responsibility for higher education in engineering and technology...
(NTNU).
External links
- Official site
- Official discography
- Jazzreview.com biography
- 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?"
- Chick Corea talks to Michael J Stewart about his Piano Concerto