Larry Coryell
Encyclopedia
Larry Coryell is an American
jazz fusion
guitarist
.
. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington
, where he played in local bands The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals, and The Flames. He also played with The Checkers from nearby Yakima, Washington
. He then moved to Seattle
to attend the University of Washington
. He played in a number of popular Northwest bands, including The Dynamics, while living in Seattle.
In 1965, Coryell moved to New York City
where he became part of Chico Hamilton
's quintet
, replacing Gabor Szabo
. In 1967 and 1968, he recorded with Gary Burton
. Also during the mid-1960s he played with The Free Spirits
. His music during the late-1960s and early-1970s combined the influences of rock
, jazz and eastern music. He formed his own group, The Eleventh House
, in 1973. Following the break-up of this band, Coryell played mainly acoustic guitar
, but returned to electric guitar
later in the 1980s. In 1979, Coryell formed "The Guitar Trio" with jazz fusion
guitarist John McLaughlin
and flamenco
guitarist Paco de Lucia
. The group toured Europe briefly, eventually releasing a video recorded at Royal Albert Hall
in London
entitled "Meeting of Spirits". In early 1980, Coryell's drug addiction led to him being replaced by Al Di Meola
.
In 2007, Coryell published an autobiography titled Improvising: My Life in Music. Larry's two sons, Julian Coryell
and Murali Coryell
are also actively involved in the music business.
in his review of Coryell concert at the Iridium
said:
When NPR
radio host Billy Taylor
, on one of the editions of Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center, introduced Coryell, he said:
With The Eleventh House
With Wolfgang Dauner
With The Free Spirits
With Chico Hamilton
With Arnie Lawrence
With Herbie Mann
With Steve Marcus
With Charles Mingus
With Bob Moses
With Chico O'Farrill
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz fusion
Jazz 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,...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
.
Biography
Coryell was born in Galveston, TexasGalveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington
Richland, Washington
Richland is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 48,058. April 1, 2011 estimates from the Washington State Office of Financial Management put the...
, where he played in local bands The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals, and The Flames. He also played with The Checkers from nearby Yakima, Washington
Yakima, Washington
Yakima is an American city southeast of Mount Rainier National Park and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the eighth largest city by population in the state itself. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,196 and a metropolitan population of...
. He then moved to Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
to attend the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
. He played in a number of popular Northwest bands, including The Dynamics, while living in Seattle.
In 1965, Coryell moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he became part of Chico Hamilton
Chico Hamilton
Chico Hamilton , is an American jazz drummer and bandleader.-Early life through 1960s:Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California. He had a fast-track musical education in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso...
's quintet
Quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members.It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit....
, replacing Gabor Szabo
Gábor Szabó
Gábor 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 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...
. Also during the mid-1960s he played with The Free Spirits
The Free Spirits
The Free Spirits were an American band who have been credited for being the first ever jazz-rock group. The band also incorporated elements of psychedelic rock, pop, and garage rock.-Formation:...
. His music during the late-1960s and early-1970s combined the influences of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, jazz and eastern music. He formed his own group, The Eleventh House
The Eleventh House
The 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 guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, but returned to electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
later in the 1980s. In 1979, Coryell formed "The Guitar Trio" with jazz fusion
Jazz 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,...
guitarist John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
and flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
guitarist Paco de Lucia
Paco de Lucía
Paco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez , is a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist and composer. He is considered by many to be one of the finest guitarists in the world and the greatest guitarist of the flamenco genre...
. The group toured Europe briefly, eventually releasing a video recorded at Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
entitled "Meeting of Spirits". In early 1980, Coryell's drug addiction led to him being replaced by 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...
.
In 2007, Coryell published an autobiography titled Improvising: My Life in Music. Larry's two sons, Julian Coryell
Julian Coryell
-Biography:Coryell was born in Pennsylvania in 1973 to famed jazz guitarist Larry Coryell and writer/actor /musician Julie Coryell, and grew up in Connecticut, New York and California. Coryell began playing the piano and drums at the age of 5, switched to violin at the age of 8, then to bass at the...
and Murali Coryell
Murali Coryell
Murali 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.
Said about
David Miller, a Jazz critique from AllaboutjazzAll About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
in his review of Coryell concert at the Iridium
Iridium Jazz Club
The Iridium Jazz Club is a jazz club located on Broadway in New York City. The club hosts weekly performances by John Colianni, and also featured weekly performances by Les Paul for nearly fifteen years.- History :...
said:
- "This was jazz at its finest—complex and virtuosic yet easily accessible, at times intense, at others fun-filled, and always with the feeling of the unknown that comes with truly spontaneous and inspired improvisation. While the music was steeped in the bop tradition, the musicians continually found new ways to utilize the idiom. Few locations other than New York could host a powerhouse gathering of musical heavyweights of this order, and one can only hope that the shows have been recorded for a future release."
When NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
radio host Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and since 1994, he was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in...
, on one of the editions of Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center, introduced Coryell, he said:
- Versatile virtuoso guitarist Larry Coryell proves to be more than an outstanding musician; he’s also a particularly enlightening and affable conversationalist.
As leader
- Lady CoryellLady CoryellLady Coryell is Larry Coryell's first album as a leader. The album was recorded in 1968 when Larry Coryell was 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)
- Barefoot BoyBarefoot BoyBarefoot 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) - Fairyland (1971) rec. live at Montreux Jazz FestivalMontreux Jazz FestivalThe Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
- Larry Coryell at the Village Gate (1971)
- Offering (1972)
- The Real Great Escape (1973)
- Spaces (1974) with John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Miroslav Vitous, Chick Corea
- The Restful Mind (1975) with Ralph TownerRalph TownerRalph Towner is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion and trumpet.-Biography:...
, Glen MooreGlen 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 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)
- Larry Coryell/Philip CatherinePhilip CatherinePhilip Catherine is a Belgian jazz guitarist.-Biography:He was born in London from an English mother and Belgian father....
- Twin House (1976) - The Lion and the Ram (1977)
- Two For The Road (1977) with Steve KhanSteve KhanSteve 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...
- Back Together Again (1977) with Alphonse MouzonAlphonse MouzonAlphonse Mouzon is a well-known jazz-fusion drummer and percussionist, and the Chairman/CEO of Tenacious Records. He also composes, arranges and produces, as well as acts...
- Difference (1978)
- Splendid (1978) with Philip Catherine
- Standing Ovation (1978)
- Tributaries (1978)
- European Impressions (1978)
- Young Django (1979) with Stephane GrappelliStéphane GrappelliStéphane 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 all-string jazz bands....
- Boléro (1981)
- Round Midnight (1983) with Fumio Karashima
- The Enormous Radio (1984) with Simon Bard Group, Paul WerticoPaul WerticoPaul Wertico is an American drummer. He gained 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. Metheny heard the Simon Bard Group with Wertico and bassist Steve Rodby, and invited...
- Together (1985) with Emily RemlerEmily RemlerEmily Remler was an American jazz guitarist who rose to prominence in the 1980s. She recorded seven albums of hard bop, jazz standards and fusion guitar.- Early Life and Influences:...
- Sketches of Coryell (1996)
- Spaces Revisited (1997)
- Cause and Effect (1998) with Steve SmithSteve Smith (musician)Steve Elliott 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 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 WootenVictor Lemonte Wooten is an American bass player, composer, author, and producer, and has been the recipient of five Grammy Awards.... - Private Concert (Live) (1999)
- Gypsy Blood and Voodoo Crossing (2002) - Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
tributes with Paul Santa Maria - Count's Jam Band Reunion (2002) with Steve Marcus
- Three Guitars (2003) with Badi AssadBadi AssadBadi 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 (guitarist)John Abercrombie is an American jazz guitarist, whose work often explores jazz fusion and post bop. Abercrombie has played with Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker... - Tricycles (2004)
- Electric (2005) with Lenny WhiteLenny WhiteLeonard 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:...
, Victor Bailey - Traffic (2006) with Lenny White, Victor Bailey
- Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players (2011)
- Montgomery (2011) Patuxent Records with John ColianniJohn ColianniJohn Colianni is an American Jazz pianist, soloist, band leader, recording artist and accompanist. Recorded John Colianni Blues-O-Matic and Live at the Maybeck for Concord Records. Two Three other records followed, the latest being "Johnny Chops," recorded with his quintet...
piano and James CammackJames CammackJames Alfred Conrad Cammack Jr. is an African American bassist, from the region of Cornwall, NY.He is the bassist for the Ahmad Jamal Trio, which includes the founder, Ahmad Jamal and drummer, Idris Muhammad. Cammack both records and tours with the trio...
bass - Duality (2011) Random Acts Records duet with Kenny Drew Jr. on piano
With The Eleventh House
The Eleventh House
The 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...
- Introducing Eleventh House with Larry Coryell (1974)
- Larry Coryell and the Eleventh House at Montreux (1974)
- Level One (1974)
- AspectsThe Eleventh House - AspectsAspects is a 1976 album by Larry Coryell and The Eleventh House.-Side one:# "Kowloon Jag" - 8:03# "Titus" - 5.30# "Pyramids" - 5:22# "Rodrigo Reflections"* - 4:38-Side two:...
(1976)
As sideman
With Gary BurtonGary 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...
- DusterDuster (album)Duster is an album by vibraphonist Gary Burton recorded in 1967 and released on the RCA label.Duster is often considered to be one of the first jazz fusion albums...
(RCA, 1967) - Lofty Fake AnagramLofty Fake AnagramLofty Fake Anagram is an album by vibraphonist Gary Burton recorded in 1967 and released on the RCA label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars stating "it is the interplay between Burton and the rockish Coryell in this early fusion group that makes this session...
(RCA, 1967) - A Genuine Tong FuneralA Genuine Tong FuneralA Genuine Tong Funeral is an album by vibraphonist Gary Burton featuring compositions by Carla Bley recorded in 1967 and released on the RCA label.-Reception:...
(RCA, 1968) - Gary Burton Quartet in ConcertGary Burton Quartet in ConcertGary Burton Quartet in Concert is a live album by vibraphonist Gary Burton recorded in 1968 at Carnegie Hall and released on the RCA label.-Reception:...
(RCA, 1968)
With Wolfgang Dauner
Wolfgang Dauner
Wolfgang Dauner is a German jazz fusion pianist, composer and keyboardist born in Stuttgart, Germany, probably best known for his work in the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble and with musicians such as Hans Koller, Albert Mangelsdorff, Volker Kriegel or Ack van Rooyen...
- Knirsch (1972)
With The Free Spirits
- Out of Sight and Sound (1967)
With Chico Hamilton
Chico Hamilton
Chico Hamilton , is an American jazz drummer and bandleader.-Early life through 1960s:Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California. He had a fast-track musical education in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso...
- The DealerThe DealerThe Dealer is a 1966 release by jazz drummer/bandleader Chico Hamilton. It was first released by Impulse! Records and has been subsequently reissused on CD with the addition of bonus tracks from Chic Chic Chico, Definitive Jazz Scene Vol. 3 and Passin' Thru...
(Impulse!, 1966)
With Arnie Lawrence
Arnie Lawrence
Arnold Lawrence Finkelstein, better known as Arnie Lawrence was an American jazz saxophonist....
- Look Toward a Dream (1969)
With 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...
- Memphis UndergroundMemphis 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 Steve Marcus
- Count's Rock Band (1968)
- The Lord's Prayer (1968)
With Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
- Three or Four Shades of BluesThree 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 compositions performed by large ensembles featuring Jack Walrath, Ricky Ford, George Coleman, Sonny Fortune, Jimmy Rowles, Philip...
(Atlantic, 1977)
With Bob Moses
Bob Moses (musician)
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 The Free Spirits, a jazz fusion ensemble, and from 1967 to 1969 he played in Gary Burton's quartet...
- Love Animal (1967–68)
With Chico O'Farrill
Chico O'Farrill
Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill was a composer-arranger best known for his work in the Latin idiom, although he also composed straight-ahead jazz pieces and even symphonic works....
- Nine FlagsNine FlagsNine Flags is an album by Cuban composer-arranger Chico O'Farrill featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:...
(Impulse!, 1966)
Filmography
- Meeting of the Spirits (1980) - live performance in London with Coryell, John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (musician)John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
, and Paco de LuciaPaco de LucíaPaco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez , is a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist and composer. He is considered by many to be one of the finest guitarists in the world and the greatest guitarist of the flamenco genre...
. - L. Subramaniam: Violin From the Heart (1999) - directed by Jean Henri Meunier. (Includes a scene of Coryell performing with L. SubramaniamL. SubramaniamDr. 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 AssadBadi AssadBadi 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 (guitarist)John Abercrombie is an American jazz guitarist, whose work often explores jazz fusion and post bop. Abercrombie has played with Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker...
. - Super Guitar Trio and Friends in Concert (2005) - live performance featuring Coryell, Al Di MeolaAl Di MeolaAl 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...
, and Biréli LagrèneBiréli LagrèneBiréli Lagrène is a French guitarist and bassist. He came to prominence in the 1980s for his Django Reinhardt-influenced style on the classical guitar, as well as for being a jazz fusion virtuoso on the electric guitar...
.