Chick Corea | |
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_IMGP8025_(cropped).jpg) Corea in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Armando Anthony Corea |
| Born | (1941-06-12)June 12, 1941 Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | February 9, 2021(2021-02-09) (aged 79) Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1962–2021[1] |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | chickcorea |
Armando Anthony "Chick"Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an Americanjazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist.[2][3] His compositions "Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" and "Windows" are widely consideredjazz standards.[4] As a member ofMiles Davis's band in the late 1960s, he participated in the birth ofjazz fusion. In the 1970s he formedReturn to Forever.[3] Along withMcCoy Tyner,Herbie Hancock andKeith Jarrett, Corea is considered to have been one of the foremost pianists of the post-John Coltrane era.[5]
Corea continued to collaborate frequently while exploring different musical styles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. As of January 2025, he has won 28Grammy Awards and was nominated 72 times for the award.[6]
Armando Corea was born inChelsea, Massachusetts, on June 12, 1941,[7] to parents Anna (née Zaccone) and Armando J. Corea.[2][8] He was ofsouthern Italian descent, his father having been born to an immigrant fromAlbi, a commune in theProvince of Catanzaro in theCalabria region.[9][10] His father, a trumpeter who led aDixieland band in Boston in the 1930s and 1940s, introduced him to the piano at the age of four.[11] Surrounded by jazz, he was influenced at an early age bybebop and musicians such asDizzy Gillespie,Charlie Parker,Bud Powell,Horace Silver, andLester Young.[12] He came into possession of a drumset at age 11,[13] and would occasionally play drums for the rest of his career.[14]
Corea developed his piano skills while exploring music on his own. At first, his father taught him piano, but eventually, the elder Corea thought it proper that his son receive instruction from a professional teacher. At the age of eight, he began taking formal lessons with Italian concert pianist Salvatore Sullo. Sullo was indifferent to the young Corea’s passion for jazz, instead teaching him to playclassical piano, but being introduced to classical music helped spark Corea’s interest in musical composition.[13]
Given a blacktuxedo by his father, he started playing gigs while still in high school. He enjoyed listening toHerb Pomeroy's band at the time and had a trio that played Horace Silver's music at a localjazz club. He eventually moved to New York City, where he studied music atColumbia University, then transferred to theJuilliard School. He later dropped out so he could spend more time playing gigs.[8]
Corea began his professional recording and touring career in the early 1960s withMongo Santamaria,Willie Bobo,Blue Mitchell,Herbie Mann, andStan Getz. In 1966, he recorded his debut album,Tones for Joan's Bones. In March 1968, he recorded the highly regarded trio album,Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, with drummerRoy Haynes and bassistMiroslav Vitouš.[3]
In the fall of 1968,[15] Corea began recording and touring withMiles Davis, appearing on the widely praised Davis studio albumsFilles de Kilimanjaro,In a Silent Way,Bitches Brew, andOn the Corner. He also appeared on later compilation albumsBig Fun,Water Babies, andCircle in the Round. He left Davis' band shortly after its performance at the1970 Isle of Wight Festival.[15]
BassistDave Holland departed the Davis group with Corea to form their own group,Circle, withmultireedistAnthony Braxton and drummerBarry Altschul. They were active from 1970 to 1971, and recorded onBlue Note andECM.[16] In 1971, Corea, at the behest of ECM producerManfred Eicher, began playing solo piano, recording the sessions that becamePiano Improvisations Vol. 1 andPiano Improvisations Vol. 2 in April of that year.[17] In 1974, Corea collaborated with Richie Grasso on the latter's albumSeason of Grace, produced byMorris Levy'sTiger Lily Records.[18]
Named after their eponymous 1972 album, Corea'sReturn to Forever band combined acoustic and electronic instrumentation, and initially drew upon Hispanic music styles more than rock music. On their first two records, the group consisted ofFlora Purim on vocals and percussion,Joe Farrell on flute and soprano saxophone, Miles Davis bandmateAirto on drums and percussion, andStanley Clarke on acoustic double bass.[3] DrummerLenny White and guitaristBill Connors later joined Corea and Clarke to form the second version of the group, which blended the earlier Latin music elements with rock and funk-oriented music. This incarnation of the band recorded the albumHymn of the Seventh Galaxy, before Connors' replacement byAl Di Meola, who later played onWhere Have I Known You Before,No Mystery andRomantic Warrior.[19]
In 1976, Corea releasedMy Spanish Heart, influenced by Hispanic music and featuring vocalistGayle Moran (Corea's wife) and violinistJean-Luc Ponty. The album combined jazz andflamenco, supported byMinimoog synthesizer and a horn section. He collaborated with flamenco guitaristPaco De Lucía years later on theTouchstone andZyryab albums.
In the 1970s, Corea started working with vibraphonistGary Burton, with whom he recorded several duet albums for ECM, including 1972'sCrystal Silence. They reunited in 2006 for a concert tour. A new record calledThe New Crystal Silence was issued in 2008 and won a Grammy Award in 2009. The package includes a disc of duets and another disc with theSydney Symphony Orchestra.
Towards the end of the 1970s, Corea embarked on a series of concerts with fellow pianist Herbie Hancock. These concerts were presented in elegant settings with both artists dressed formally and performing on concert grand pianos. The two played each other's compositions, as well as pieces by other composers such asBéla Bartók, and duets. In 1982, Corea performedThe Meeting, a live duet with the classical pianistFriedrich Gulda.
In December 2007, Corea recorded a duet album,The Enchantment, with banjoistBéla Fleck.[20] Fleck and Corea toured extensively for the album in 2007. Fleck was nominated in the Best Instrumental Composition category at the49th Grammy Awards for the track "Spectacle".[21]
In 2008, Corea collaborated with Japanese pianistHiromi Uehara on the live albumDuet (Chick Corea and Hiromi). The duo played a concert at Tokyo'sBudokan arena on April 30.[22]
In 2015, he reprised the duet concert series with Hancock, again sticking to a dueling-piano format, though both now integrated synthesizers into their repertoire. The first concert in this series was at theParamount Theatre inSeattle and included improvisations, compositions by the duo, and standards by other composers.[23]
Corea's other bands included theChick Corea Elektric Band, its trio reduction called "Akoustic Band", Origin, and its trio reduction called the New Trio. Corea signed a record deal withGRP Records in 1986 which led to the release of ten albums between 1986 and 1994, seven with the Elektric Band, two with the Akoustic Band, and a solo album,Expressions.
The Akoustic Band released a self-titled album in 1989 and a live follow-up,Alive, in 1991, both featuringJohn Patitucci on bass andDave Weckl on drums. It marked a return to traditional jazz trio instrumentation in Corea's career, and the bulk of his subsequent recordings have featured acoustic piano.[24]
In 1992, Corea started his own label,Stretch Records.[3]
In 2001, the Chick Corea New Trio, with bassistAvishai Cohen and drummerJeff Ballard, released the albumPast, Present & Futures. The eleven-song album includes only one standard (Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz"). The rest of the tunes are Corea originals. He participated in 1998'sLike Minds with old associates Gary Burton on vibraphone, Dave Holland on bass, Roy Haynes on drums, andPat Metheny playing guitars.
During the later part of his career, Corea also exploredcontemporary classical music. He composed his firstpiano concerto—an adaptation of his signature piece "Spain" for a full symphony orchestra—and performed it in 1999 with theLondon Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2004, he composed his first work without keyboards: hisString Quartet No. 1 was written for theOrion String Quartet and performed by them at 2004'sSummerfest in Wisconsin.
Corea continued recording fusion albums such asTo the Stars (2004) andUltimate Adventure (2006). The latter won theGrammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group.
In 2008, the third version of Return to Forever (Corea, Stanley Clarke,Lenny White, and Di Meola) reunited for a worldwide tour. The reunion received positive reviews from jazz and mainstream publications.[25] Most of the group's studio recordings were re-released on the compilationReturn to Forever: The Anthology to coincide with the tour. A concert DVD recorded during their performance at theMontreux Jazz Festival was released in May 2009. He also worked on acollaboration CD with the vocal groupThe Manhattan Transfer.
A new group, theFive Peace Band, began a world tour in October 2008. The ensemble included John McLaughlin, whom Corea had previously worked with in Miles Davis's late 1960s bands, including the group that recorded Davis's classic albumBitches Brew. Joining Corea and McLaughlin were saxophonistKenny Garrett and bassistChristian McBride. DrummerVinnie 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. The vast reach of Corea's music was celebrated in a 2011 retrospective with Corea guesting with theJazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in theLincoln Center for the Performing Arts; aNew York Times reviewer had high praise for the occasion: "Mr. Corea was masterly with the other musicians, absorbing the rhythm and feeding the soloists. It sounded like a band, and Mr. Corea had no need to dominate; his authority was clear without raising volume."[26]
A new band, Chick Corea & The Vigil, featured Corea with bassistHadrien Feraud,Marcus Gilmore on drums (carrying on from his grandfather,Roy Haynes), saxes, flute, and bass clarinet from Origin vetTim Garland, and guitarist Charles Altura.
Corea celebrated his 75th birthday in 2016 by playing with more than 20 different groups during a six-week stand at theBlue Note Jazz Club inGreenwich Village, New York City. "I pretty well ignore the numbers that make up 'age'. It seems to be the best way to go. I have always just concentrated on having the most fun I can with the adventure of music."[27]
Corea and his first wife Joanie had two children, Thaddeus and Liana; the marriage ended in divorce. In 1972, Corea married his second wife, vocalist/pianistGayle Moran.[28][29]
In 1968, Corea readDianetics, authorL. Ron Hubbard's most well-known self-help book, and developed an interest in Hubbard's other works in the early 1970s: "I came into contact with L. Ron Hubbard's material in 1968 withDianetics and it kind of opened my mind up and it got me into seeing that my potential for communication was a lot greater than I thought it was."[30]
Corea said thatScientology became a profound influence on his musical direction in the early 1970s: "I no longer wanted to satisfy myself. I really want to connect with the world and make my music mean something to people."[31] With Clarke[32] Corea played onSpace Jazz: The soundtrack of the book Battlefield Earth, a 1982 album to accompany L. Ron Hubbard's novelBattlefield Earth.[33]
Corea was excluded from a concert during the1993 World Championships in Athletics inStuttgart, Germany. The concert's organizers excluded him after the state government ofBaden-Württemberg had announced it would review its subsidies for events featuring avowed members of Scientology.[34][35] After Corea's complaint against this policy before the administrative court was unsuccessful in 1996,[36] members of theUnited States Congress, in a letter to the German government, denounced the ban as a violation of Corea's human rights.[37] Corea was not banned from performing in Germany, however, and had several appearances at the government-supportedInternational Jazz Festival inBurghausen; he was awarded a plaque on Burghausen's "Street of Fame" in 2011.[38]
Corea died at his home inTampa, Florida, from a rare cancer on February 9, 2021, shortly after his diagnosis. He was 79.[2][39][8]
Corea's 1968 albumNow He Sings, Now He Sobs was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame in 1999. In 1997, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music fromBerklee College of Music.[40] In 2010, he was namedDoctor Honoris Causa at theNorwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).[41]
Grammy Awards
As of May 2024, Corea has won 27 Grammy Awards and was nominated 72 times for the award.[6]
| Year | Category | Album or song |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Best Jazz Performance by a Group | No Mystery (withReturn to Forever) |
| 1977 | Best Instrumental Arrangement | "Leprechaun's Dream" |
| 1977 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group | The Leprechaun |
| 1979 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group | Friends |
| 1980 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group | Duet (withGary Burton) |
| 1982 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group | In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979 (with Gary Burton) |
| 1989 | Best R&B Instrumental Performance | "Light Years" |
| 1990 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group | Chick Corea Akoustic Band |
| 1999 | Best Jazz Instrumental Solo | "Rhumbata" with Gary Burton |
| 2000 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group | Like Minds |
| 2001 | Best Instrumental Arrangement | "Spain for Sextet & Orchestra" |
| 2004 | Best Jazz Instrumental Solo | "Matrix" |
| 2007 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group | The Ultimate Adventure |
| 2007 | Best Instrumental Arrangement | "Three Ghouls" |
| 2008 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group | The New Crystal Silence (withGary Burton) |
| 2010 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group | Five Peace Band Live |
| 2012 | Best Improvised Jazz Solo | "500 Miles High"[42] |
| 2012 | Best Jazz Instrumental Album | Forever |
| 2013 | Best Improvised Jazz Solo | "Hot House" |
| 2013 | Best Instrumental Composition | "Mozart Goes Dancing" |
| 2015 | Best Improvised Jazz Solo | "Fingerprints" |
| 2015 | Best Jazz Instrumental Album | Trilogy |
| 2020 | Best Latin Jazz Album | Antidote (with The Spanish Heart Band) |
| 2021 | Best Jazz Instrumental Album | Trilogy 2 (withChristian McBride andBrian Blade) |
| 2021 | Best Improvised Jazz Solo | "All Blues" |
| 2022 | Best Improvised Jazz Solo | "Humpty Dumpty (Set 2)" |
| 2022 | Best Latin Jazz Album | Mirror Mirror |
Latin Grammy Awards
| Year | Award | Album/song |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Best Instrumental Album | The Enchantment (withBéla Fleck) |
| 2011 | Best Instrumental Album | Forever (withStanley Clarke andLenny White) |
I no longer wanted to satisfy myself. I really want to connect with the world and make my music mean something to people.
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