Chick Corea has been one of the most significant jazzmen since the '60s. Not content at any time to rest on his laurels,
Corea has been involved in quite a few important musical projects, and his musical curiosity has never dimmed. A masterful pianist who, along with
Herbie Hancock and
Keith Jarrett, was one of the top stylists to emerge after
Bill Evans and
McCoy Tyner,
Corea is also one of the few electric keyboardists to be quite individual and recognizable on synthesizers. In addition, he has composed several jazz standards, including "Spain," "La Fiesta," and "Windows."
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Chick Corea has been one of the most significant jazzmen since the '60s. Not content at any time to rest on his laurels,
Corea has been involved in quite a few important musical projects, and his musical curiosity has never dimmed. A masterful pianist who, along with
Herbie Hancock and
Keith Jarrett, was one of the top stylists to emerge after
Bill Evans and
McCoy Tyner,
Corea is also one of the few electric keyboardists to be quite individual and recognizable on synthesizers.
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In addition, he has composed several jazz standards, including "Spain," "La Fiesta," and "Windows."
Corea began playing piano when he was four and, early on,
Horace Silver and
Bud Powell were influences. He picked up important experience playing with the bands of
Mongo Santamaria and
Willie Bobo (1962-1963),
Blue Mitchell (1964-1966),
Herbie Mann, and
Stan Getz. He made his recording debut as a leader with 1966's Tones for Joan's Bones, and his 1968 trio set (with
Miroslav Vitous and
Roy Haynes) Now He Sings, Now He Sobs is considered a classic. After a short stint with
Sarah Vaughan,
Corea joined
Miles Davis as
Herbie Hancock's gradual replacement, staying with
Davis during a very important transitional period (1968-1970). He was persuaded by the trumpeter to start playing electric piano, and was on such significant albums as Filles de Kilimanjaro,
In a Silent Way,
Bitches Brew, and Miles Davis at the Fillmore. When he left
Davis,
Corea at first chose to play
avant-garde acoustic jazz in Circle, a quartet with
Anthony Braxton,
Dave Holland, and Barry Altschul. But at the end of 1971, he changed directions again.
Leaving Circle,
Corea played briefly with
Stan Getz and then formed
Return to Forever, which started out as a melodic Brazilian group with
Stanley Clarke, Joe Farrell,
Airto, and
Flora Purim. Within a year,
Corea (with
Clarke, Bill Connors, and Lenny White) had changed
Return to Forever into a pacesetting and high-powered
fusion band;
Al DiMeola took Connors' place in 1974. While the music was
rock-oriented, it still retained the improvisations of
jazz, and
Corea remained quite recognizable, even under the barrage of electronics. When
RTF broke up in the late '70s,
Corea retained the name for some
big band dates with
Clarke. During the next few years, he generally emphasized his acoustic playing and appeared in a wide variety of contexts; including separate duet tours with
Gary Burton and
Herbie Hancock, a quartet with
Michael Brecker, trios with
Miroslav Vitous and
Roy Haynes, tributes to
Thelonious Monk, and even some
classical music.
In 1985,
Chick Corea formed a new
fusion group, the Elektric Band, which eventually featured bassist
John Patitucci, guitarist Frank Gambale, saxophonist
Eric Marienthal, and drummer
Dave Weckl. To balance out his music, a few years later he formed his
Akoustic Trio with
Patitucci and
Weckl. When
Patitucci went out on his own in the early '90s, the personnel changed, but
Corea continued leading stimulating groups (including a quartet with
Patitucci and
Bob Berg). During 1996-1997,
Corea toured with an all-star quintet (including
Kenny Garrett and
Wallace Roney) that played modern versions of
Bud Powell and
Thelonious Monk compositions. He remains an important force in modern
jazz, and every phase of his development has been well-documented on records.
Corea started out the 21st century by releasing a pair of solo piano records, Solo Piano: Originals and Solo Piano: Standards, in 2000, followed by
Past, Present & Futures in 2001.
Rendezvous in New York appeared in 2003, followed by To the Stars in 2004. The Ultimate Adventure was released in 2006. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
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