Chick Corea and Me…
As an artist I’ve learned what I think is the wisdom of putting those kinds of changes, like attention, on a lower mechanical level, in order to focus on the essential thing that happens in music between an artist and an audience. No matter what culture you’re in or what period of history, human beings communicating comes down to the same basic thing: the desire to get someone’s attention and to maintain his attention. For you to have an exchange that not only makes sense but is pleasurable is, I hate to throw out this word but I think it’s the correct one, “archetypical.” It’s built into the human way of living. The essential thing that happens in music is an element that was there from the beginning of time and will never change until the end of time. And that’s human spiritual contact.
Chick Corea
It’s up to us as performers to be responsible for making sure there’s a good groove there. My rule number one of ethics as a performer is that you can never blame the audience for being a bad audience. You hear players say stuff like “They weren’t so good tonight.” C’mon! That’s not their job. They paid to come into the hall to see us. It then becomes our job to give them something that they can hold and enjoy. … I’ve made music that totally loses the audience sometimes. Not because I wanted to, but because I didn’t give ’em enough hooks, enough familiarity. That’s part of our job, and it’s one of the reasons I like to talk between tunes. Because it brings us down to earth together for a moment. I’ll tell a little bit about what we’re about to do, to get them oriented. Honestly, I like it when the audience gets what we’re doing.
Chick Corea
Inner Space (1966 and 1969 recordings, 1973 reissue) signed by Chick
I’ll tell you one thing that happened that was really important to me. After Mongo’s band, Willie Bobo, who was the timbale player, formed his own Latin-jazz band and hired me. After the gig the first night, I was at the bar at Birdland having a drink. I think I might have been down on myself—feeling like I could have played better. It was just me at the bar, the end of the night. I notice this guy walking toward me. When he got close up I recognized him as Tommy Flanagan, and he just pointed at me and he said, “You got something fresh.” I was on cloud nine for two weeks.
Chick CoreaThat was the ultimate apprenticeship! I was definitely an apprentice with Miles. We all were, the whole band. By 1968, when I joined the band, everyone playing for Miles was apprenticing for him. Horace Silver was one of Miles’ first pianists, on Miles’ solo albums, and Horace was also a mentor for me. I’ve had the best teachers and I’ve been so lucky to have experienced all of that. Miles was the greatest silent teacher, with very few words and only a demonstration with his horn of what he wanted. What he chose to do with his music was an endless learning experience for me, for two and a half years.
Chick Corea on Miles Davis
Friends (1978) signed by Chick, Steve Gadd, Eddie Gomez
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.
Chick Corea - Facebook post - 11 February 2021
Not many artists write their own epitaph, not many are as talented and influential as Chick Corea. He passed away recently, but what a legacy of recordings he left, a treasure trove of everything from straight ahead jazz to Latin jazz to free jazz to fusion to classical improvisations. He was an artist who was constantly exploring and challenging his fans with new musical directions. His loss was all the more shocking, since he appeared so vital on Instagram during the scourge that has been the Covid lockdown, as he conducted master classes and concert recitals...then he was gone, felled by a rare and rapacious cancer. But his music will resonate forever, especially his collaborations with Miles Davis, Gary Burton, Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock, Blue Mitchell, and his fusion supergroup Return To Forever.
Chick Corea Plays (2021) signed by Chick
Nominated for more than sixty Grammy awards and winner of a staggering twenty-five, Armando "Chick" Corea had an amazing and decorated career. Born to an Italian immigrant family in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Chick was surrounded by music, as his father played trumpet in a Dixieland band in Boston. As a youngster, Chick played piano and drums, and was largely self taught except for a short stint studying classical music with concert pianist Salvatore Sullo.
Chick started to play professionally outfitted with a tuxedo furnished by his father, "In high school, I had one fortunate gig with a Portuguese trumpet player named Phil Barbosa. He had a little quartet, and the conga player was Bill Fitch, who played with Cal Tjader later on. I knew nothing about Latin music. When we went to play the first time, I didn’t know what to do, and Bill showed me how to make a rhythm background on the piano, like the Latino guys. That was my beginning. And then he played me records—Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Cachao, a whole bunch of people. That music and those rhythms just completely opened me up. It went straight to my heart. I was like, “I know this somehow. I’ve been here. I don’t know when or where. But this is really natural.” Nothing like the Latin masters to open your heart and ears.
Another formative experience was playing with Cab Calloway's Orchestra, "That was an interesting gig. I did that for a week in a showroom at a hotel in Boston. He had a revue with scantily clad dancers and I was wearing my dad's loose fitting tuxedo. I think I was a junior in high school. I could read music so I could read and do the show. Musically, it was kind of fun, and watching Cab communicate with people was interesting and new for me. He was doing his thing and I was so far from being able to do that, it was inspiring. An interesting sidelight of that gig was getting a piano lesson every night from Herman Chittison in the hotel's lounge. He was an older black pianist in Boston who had Art Tatum's flowing style in his blood and could play those beautiful standards. Every intermission I had during the week with Cab, I'd go sit near Herman and watch him play."
Upon graduation from high school, Chick moved to New York City and studied music at Columbia University before transferring to the Juilliard School. He found the curriculum unsatisfying and quit to join Mongo Santamaria, a Cuban percussionist of renown as well as gig with other Latin influenced bandleaders Herbie Mann and Cal Tjader. He also worked with Blue Mitchell whom Chick recalled fondly, "When I got the gig with Blue Mitchell,I was over the moon, because that's the music I grew up with, sort of hard bop rhumba. I was basically stepping into Horace Silver's band, and Horace was one of my mega-heroes. I transcribed more Horace, particularly his tunes, more than any other transcription thing I did. And the gigs were an adventure. We did two or three stints at Minton's Playhouse, long stints like four to five weeks at a time, and six nights a week playing three or four sets a night. Me playing on a shitty piano." His days playing on a shitty piano would soon end.
The Bill Evans/Chick Corea Sessions (1964, 1967 recordings, 1976 reissue) signed by Chick, Ron Carter, Richard Davis
Chick began touring with Stan Getz and Sarah Vaughan, two mentors who helped him considerably in his early days, "Sarah was the ultimate solo singer, but she encouraged interaction between me and her. She'd say, 'Chick, go take the trio out on stage and warm up the audience.' I'd go out and play a five minute tune and then she'd come on. She liked it so much that she'd ask me to play longer before she came out. So I'd play a half-hour set and play things like "Matrix" and all my wild stuff... Sarah was very encouraging and I started writing some arrangements for her. I really learned from her, and I improved at accompanying a soloist - her - who was so rich in melody and expression, and learning how to make an interesting background for them, not just a plodding backdrop, but a piece of music that would make something beautiful out of it."
Stan Getz was equally supportive, "Stan was the tenor saxophone soloist. He had a beautiful, lyrical sound. Again, I was fortunate that he pretty much gave me the freedom to play what I liked. When I first got in the band, he tamped me down because my solos were too long, and my intros were too long and weird and he wanted something simpler. But Stan helped encourage me as a composer, because he started playing my song "Windows" and, later on, "La Fiesta."
Lyric Suite For Sextet (1983) signed by Chick, Gary Burton
The gigs as a sideman led Chick to his first recording as a leader, Tones For Joan's Bones, released on Atlantic Records in 1968 featuring Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Farrell on tenor sax, Steve Swallow on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums. Chick recalled the excitement of his first record, "That was important for me because I always thought I was copying everybody, because I was! I remember about six months after my first solo record Tones For Joan's Bones came out. I found it in a record shop and bought it. Joe Farrell was on that - he was my elder by several years and I looked up to him. Anyway, I took it to his apartment and we made some peanut butter sandwiches and sat down and listened. And every time my piano solo came, he'd be listening to the piano solo, I'd play a lick and he'd go, 'Horace (Silver).' Few seconds later, another lick and he'd go 'Wynton (Kelly).' He was blowing me up because he was kinda right. I could hear what he was saying." Chick took this message earnestly and his next release, Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, featured his original compositions with the redoubtable Roy Haynes on drums and Miroslav Vitous on bass. Critically acclaimed when released, it has become an influential recording with the title track inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Spaces (1970) signed by Chick, Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Miroslav Vitous
Spaces back cover personalized by Larry Coryell
After his stint with Sarah Vaughan, Chick had a two and half year sojourn with Miles Davis which culminated in Chick's participation on Bitches Brew, a seminal jazz album released in 1970 which has become a lodestar among rock, soul and funk musicians. The sounds of Miles were becoming more electric and featured the blistering electric guitar of John McLaughlin and marked Chick's first foray on electric piano, an instrument he would feature in his new group Return To Forever, which he co-founded with bassist Stanley Clarke.
Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy (1973) signed by Lenny White, Stanley Clarke
Chick remembered their inauspicious beginnings, "That first one for ECM was the first thing we did as a group—we had no record company for it at the time. We’d been performing regularly, and all we did was go in and play our set down and that was the record. We took the tapes to Germany and Manfred (Eicher, the ECM record label founder) was in on the mix. Light As A Feather happened after that, and I think Crystal Silence was before the first Return to Forever. The records didn’t come out in the order they were recorded. … They’re all quite a stretch from each other. I had two tunes, “Some Time Ago” and “La Fiesta,” and I put a band together based on that. The first guy I bumped into was Stanley Clarke, we played a gig with Joe Henderson here in Philly … then I asked Joe Farrell, then Flora (Purim) came to a rehearsal and brought her husband Airto, who I had played with earlier in Miles’ band. Our first gig was at the Vanguard. I went to see (Village Vanguard owner) Max (Gordon) and told him I had a group he would like. He said “Well, I can pay you blah-blah, and you can open for Roy Haynes’ group this weekend.” So we played two nights and it was such a hit that he hired us again to do a week. At that point I was booking the gigs and me and Stanley were carrying the Fender Rhodes around.”
No Mystery (1975) signed by Lenny White, Stanley Clarke
The heavy lifting was about to end as Return To Forever took off and soon they were playing theaters and festivals, their surging success and renown more akin to the popularity of rock musicians. They went on to sell millions of records, but the restlessness of Chick's artistry was unrelenting. Through the years, he would explore free jazz with Circle, an avant garde collective with Anthony Braxton, Dave Holland, and Barry Altschul, release duets with Gary Burton, Herbie Hancock and Bela Fleck (even banjo pickers were not immune from Chick's curiosity and creativity!) and write and perform his first piano concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra. As prolific as he was creative, Chick had a seemingly inexhaustible supply of inventiveness.
I was blessed to see Chick Corea several times over the years. The most memorable concert was at the Blue Note in New York City in December 1999. Chick was reprising Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, released thirty years earlier with his original cohorts Roy Haynes and Miroslav Vitous. The crowd was buzzing as it was a treat to see Chick in such an intimate setting with his superb accompanists. We were not disappointed. Highlights were improvisations on Monk’s “Rhythm-a-Ning” and “Eronel” which displayed Chick’s light and airy fluency rather than Monk’s heavy percussive dissonance. As always, Roy was hard hitting and propulsive on drums, and Miroslav was laying down the bottom with melodic and resonant bass lines. Chick’s composition, “Matrix”, was the closer in all its knotty disjointedness.
Trio Music (1982) signed by Chick, Roy Haynes, Miroslav Vitous
After the show, Erin and I had a chance to visit with Chick and he was gracious when he signed his albums. When I handed him the Stan Getz reissue of 1967 recordings, "Oh, I love Stan, I learned so much from him.” When I gave him Spaces,which already had the signatures of John McLaughlin, Larry CoryelI and Billy Cobham, Erin mentioned it was my birthday, so Chick was kind enough to personalize it with “Happy Birthday Neil.” He loved Trio Music, "Wow, this is why we're here. We had a great time recording this." I was struck by the remnants of a thick Massachusetts accent, though dulled over the years, it was still noticeable as 'r' became 'h'. As a fellow unrepentant Masshole, who occasionally lapses into similar speech patterns, I couldn't help but encourage Chick with a "Go Sawx," as I thanked him for his music.
Chick Corea, one of the most important pianists in jazz, a whirlwind of activity and creativity on and off stage, I wish peace and blessings to his family.
Chinese Butterfly (2017) signed by Chick, Steve Gadd
Choice Chick Corea Cuts (per BKs request)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKuQ6gwbPqk&list=PL072336F3168FE5D8
“Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” 1968
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14ovAQNNmWQ
“Someday My Prince Will Come” live with Herbie Hancock 1974
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8XcNz4uCVQ
“Afro Blue” live with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZOprqPzpZY
“The Matrix” Now He Sings, Now He Sobs 1968
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBfihSAIVKQ
Return To Forever live 1972 Molde Jazz Festival
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHfbIPqTCcc
“Windows” live with Stan Getz, Stanley Clarke, Tony Williams, Montreux 1972
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29WR8prMC7M
Trio Music Live with Roy Haynes, Miroslav Vitous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTRh43K2BRo
“Spain” with London Symphony Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHDlEMZ-DT0
“Spain” live with Al DiMeola on guitar, Billy Cobham on drums
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uok_WpjCTc
“La Fiesta” live with Gary Burton 2011
I want to thank all my friends who reached out with condolences who knew that Chick was like a brother to me. We shared many many stages, recording studios, and our passion for Jazz and “Mama Corea’s Beef Cutlets”…..but what really created the bond between us was our similar beliefs in the power of the individual to create the most beautiful and inspiring art, “the great healer,” for people. We sure had fun sprinkling that magic all over the world!!I will miss doing that with him. He was the best all-around musician that I’ve ever stood shoulder to shoulder with. I will miss standing next to him on the stage as much as many of you who have had the pleasure to stand with him. And to all his fans, his impact in musical art was of such a great magnitude that it will be impossible to lose sight of him. His spirit is always with us.I love you Chick and I know you’re doing just fine… Travel well my friend and very very well done…
Stanley Clarke, tribute to Chick