Chick Corea's musical journey took him to many different destinations. Each shared a common quality, reflecting a lifelong exploration of keyboard sounds and rhythmic possibilities. As a piano player, composer and innovator, he was up there with the very best in jazz history, and he combined this musical gift with great humour and a naturally positive attitude.
His journey ended, quite suddenly it seems, on February 9th, when Chick passed away at the age of 79 from a rare form of cancer, which his family said was discovered only recently.
Of all the modern jazz greats I have seen in concert, Chick was the one I saw the most -The Elektrik Band in London in the 1980s; the expanded Acoustic Band in New York in 1992; with John McLaughlin in the Five Peace Band in New Zealand - and many other nights of amazing music.
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| At the Blue Note, Hawaii |
For my wife and I, there were echoes of a night 20 years previously. Back in December 1992, just before we were married, we flew to the US from London to visit her brother and sister in law in Connecticut.
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| The flyer for the 1992 Blue Note show |
On the Saturday night, after an expensive restaurant meal, I
had booked us in to see Chick Corea and his band at The Blue Note in Greenwich
Village. And what a band that was - as always Chick had the cream of
the jazz players working with him. On this occasion it was Vinnie Colaiuta on
drums, John Pattitucci on bass, Bob Berg on sax, Wallace Roney on trumpet.
Here's a clip, from that same time, of the trio, Corea, Pattitucci and Colaiuta at the Blue Note in Tokyo. I bought a CD of this show from a store in Tokyo and later got the DVD. It's that good.
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| Chick and Dave Holland with Miles Davis |
A reviewer of the IOW performance said, "The group's use of rock rhythms was far more evident than before, but they proved beyond any doubt that they are capable of making it as subtle, as complex and as rewarding as any conventional jazz rhythm."
In the 70s, Chick collaborated with vibraphonist Gary Burton, with whom he recorded several duet albums for ECM, including 1972's Crystal Silence.
ECM Records founder Manfred Eicher said: “Crystal Silence introduced the piano and vibes duo of Corea and Gary Burton who played together every year for more than four decades, perfecting a virtuosic chamber music of their own (aptly augmented with strings on 1982’s Lyric Suite).
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| with Gary Burton |
“I’d call our music true contemporary music,” Chick had said back in 1974. “Classical music has influenced our music harmonically and formally. What I’m striving for is incorporating the subtlety and beauty of harmony, melody and form with the looseness and rhythmic dancing quality of jazz and more folky musics.”
He picked up with Burton regularly thereafter, including for these live shows in 1981, for the album Like Minds, which also included his Miles bandmate, bassist Dave Holland, his original trio drummer Roy Haynes and Pat Metheny - the first time Chick and Pat had worked together. Later, New Crystal Silence reunited Corea and Burton once again.
Chick is perhaps best remembered by rock listeners for his work with the jazz fusion group Return To Forever. In common with Weather Report, RTF went through different line-ups that made a significant difference to their sound. The earliest, latin-tinged incarnation contained Joe Farrell, Stanley Clarke, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim.
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| Return To Forever |
Eicher said of the original Return To Forever sessions: “The whole band had a wonderful energy as they played Chick’s compositions. And Chick’s sound on the Fender Rhodes was beautiful, luminous, hypnotic.”
Here's some great footage of that band playing live, minus Flora, from 1972
Only Clarke was retained for the second version of RTF which moved much more into the jazz rock arena, adding drummer Lenny White and guitarist Bill Connors to the mix. Their album Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy has some remarkable playing and interaction between all four band members.
Connors left the band and was replaced by Al Di Meola, who was only 19 when he joined! This was the most commercially successful version of Return To Forever, beginning with another great album, Where Have I Known You Before, which followed the feel of the previous album but with a bit more funk, courtesy of Clarke's electric bass riffs.
Though they disbanded in the late 70s, this version of RTF reformed to tour in 2008, including a concert at the Montreux jazz festival that was released on blue-ray.
The show was capped by an appearance by Gayle Moran, Chick's wife, who had been a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the 1970s. They played Smile of the Beyond, from the MO album Apocalypse, with Gayle singing and the drummer Brian Blade whipping up a storm in the concluding passage of the tune. I wish I had a video of that. It was astonishing. Someone did post it on youtube at the time, but it has since disappeared.
So all in all, with the albums, DVDs and live shows, I think Chick Corea must be one of the artists I have seen and listened to the most.
On his passing, Chick's family posted the following note on his Facebook page:
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| Chick with John McLaughlin |
He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather, and a
great mentor and friend to so many. Through his body of work and the decades he
spent touring the world, he touched and inspired the lives of millions.
Though he would be the first to say that his music said more
than words ever could, he nevertheless had this message for all those he knew
and loved, and for all those who loved him:
“I want to thank all of those along my journey who have helped keep the music fires burning bright. It is my hope that those who have an inkling to play, write, perform or otherwise, do so. If not for yourself then for the rest of us. It’s not only that the world needs more artists, it’s also just a lot of fun.
“And to my amazing musician friends who have been like family to me as long as I’ve known you: It has been a blessing and an honor learning from and playing with all of you. My mission has always been to bring the joy of creating anywhere I could, and to have done so with all the artists that I admire so dearly—this has been the richness of my life.”
More Chick Corea listening and viewing pleasure :
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