Chick Corea RIP.

Started by Irons, February 12, 2021, 12:00:34 AM

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Irons

Chick Corea has passed away at 79.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

Roasted Swan

Quote from: Irons on February 12, 2021, 12:00:34 AM
Chick Corea has passed away at 79.

I just saw this online - what a player and musician.  One of my all-time favourite jazz albums is Chick Corea & Gary Burton live in Zurich - pure genius....




T. D.

[moved from another thread]

RIP, surprised and saddened to hear of Chick Corea's passing. Have enjoyed his music since the late '60s, including classical albums on ECM.
Listening to a couple of sideman appearances:
 

Old San Antone

Sad to hear about this.  Of course the albums from the 70s with his first incarnation of Return to Forever, Flora Purim, airto, Stanley Clark and Joe Farrell were the first place I really got into his music.  At the time, Spain - was one of the songs every jazz musician coming up had to demonstrate before entering the inner sanctum of jam sessions.

But he had another side:

The Mozart Sessions
Chick Corea & Bobby McFerrin

QuoteLike other pianists of his time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart prided himself on his ability to improvise at the keyboard, both in solo works and concertos. That long-abandoned practice is one of the elements of Mozartean style that conductor Bobby and pianist Chick Corea explore in The Mozart Sessions, which includes recordings of Mozart's Piano Concertos No.20 in D minor, K.466, and No.23 in A Major, K.488, performed with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. The Mozart Sessions was released in October, 1996.

Not only does Corea play his own cadenzas in the concertos, he and Bobby link their individual improvisations to lead the listener directly into each of the concertos. What makes these improvisations so unusual is the fact that both Bobby and Chick, a jazz pianist, bring their own distinctive creative styles to bear on Mozart's music. Improvisation was considered an essential talent for a concert pianist in the late 18th century. Both Mozart and Beethoven dazzled audiences with their skill at improvisation. When he was still a performing pianist, Beethoven frequently played Mozart's D minor concerto — one of the few Mozart works he championed — adding his own cadenzas, which have become standard since Mozart's own cadenzas for this concerto were never notated.

With their inimitable Mozart improvisations drawing the audience into a performance of the same Mozart concerto, McFerrin and Corea, joined by the Orchestra of St. Luke's, were featured in a PBS "Great Performances" concert special entitled "Classic Innovations."



This recording is really very good.

André

Many years (and cars) ago, this was my favourite cassette for listening on the road:



I especially liked his audacious, non-conventional improvisations. He dabbled into classical music, too.

ritter

#5
R.I.P. Chick Corea. I saw him live in Caracas in 1980 IIRC.

I had his tête-à-tête piano improvisations with Friedrich Gulda, recorded live in Munich in 2982, on LP, and still enjoy watching the YouTube every now and again:

https://www.youtube.com/v/Ns6fbGd_oSk&t=724s
There's some great pianism throughout, but I particularly like the section starting at ca. 5'20", and then again at 8'40" or so (the latter leading into a very well-known tune).

Karl Henning

Quote from: ritter on February 12, 2021, 08:04:50 AM
R.I.P. Chick Corea. I saw him live in Caracas in 1980 IIRC.

I had is tête-à-tête piano improvisations with Friedrich Gulda, recorded live in Munich in 2982, on LP, and still enjoy watching the YouTube every now and again:

https://www.youtube.com/v/Ns6fbGd_oSk&t=724s
There's some great pianism throughout, but I particularly like the section starting at ca. 5'20", and then again at 8'40" or so (the latter leading into a very well-known tune).

Many thanks, Rafael!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

ritter


relm1

A fabulous performer who leaves behind a tremendous legacy!  RIP.  :(

Mirror Image

I wasn't a huge fan of his own music, but his playing with Miles (especially on In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew) and on Stan Getz's Sweet Rain made huge impressions on me when I was in my teens (by this point, an avid listener of jazz). One thing was for certain, his talent and influence were immense. RIP, Mr. Corea.

71 dB

#10
Chick Corea is another giant I have never explored. My dad is a jazz nut, but he likes jazz from the 50's and HATES electronic jazz so I never heard 70's stuff not to mention later stuff in childhood. In fact it was pretty recently when I discoreved 70's Miles Davis (In A Silent Way/In the Corner*) both having Chick Corea playing on them. I was so ignorant I mixed up Chick Corea and CHIC!  ;D That's what happens when your dad is so limited in music taste (and hates electric instruments) you know the likes of Max Roach and Clifford Brown, but not the likes of Herbie Hancock.

* In the Corner is the most controversial Miles Davis album, but it's my favorite. I love funky stuff, okay?  0:)

Rick Beato made a great Youtube video educating about Chick Corea. I don't know if the video is still up as he played A LOT of Chick Corea's music in it.
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Mirror Image

Quote from: 71 dB on February 12, 2021, 11:07:18 PM
Chick Corea is another giant I have never explored. My dad is a jazz nut, but he likes jazz from the 50's and HATES electronic jazz so I never heard 70's stuff not to mention later stuff in childhood. In fact it was pretty recently when I discoreved 70's Miles Davis (In A Silent Way/In the Corner*) both having Chick Corea playing on them. I was so ignorant I mixed up Chick Corea and CHIC!  ;D That's what happens when your dad is so limited in music taste (and hates electric instruments) you know the likes of Max Roach and Clifford Brown, but not the likes of Herbie Hancock.

* In the Corner is the most controversial Miles Davis album, but it's my favorite. I love funky stuff, okay?  0:)

Rick Beato made a great Youtube video educating about Chick Corea. I don't know if the video is still up as he played A LOT of Chick Corea's music in it.

Actually, Herbie Hancock's roots are in acoustic jazz (bebop, post-bop) as he recorded several albums without electronic instruments at all. Hancock's Maiden Voyage is one of the greatest jazz albums of all-time, IMHO. Also, your dad didn't like Miles' Second Great Quintet recordings: E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, etc.?

Irons

#12
Quote from: Mirror Image on February 13, 2021, 06:49:23 AM
Actually, Herbie Hancock's roots are in acoustic jazz (bebop, post-bop) as he recorded several albums without electronic instruments at all. Hancock's Maiden Voyage is one of the greatest jazz albums of all-time, IMHO. Also, your dad didn't like Miles' Second Great Quintet recordings: E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, etc.?

Funny you mention Herbie Hancock as when I heard of Chick Corea's passing I listened to HH "Watermelon Man"! Chick Corea turned the electric keyboard into an artform. My entry into jazz was jazz/rock, groups like Weather Report. Chick Corea was a major player in that scene.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

71 dB

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 13, 2021, 06:49:23 AM
Actually, Herbie Hancock's roots are in acoustic jazz (bebop, post-bop) as he recorded several albums without electronic instruments at all. Hancock's Maiden Voyage is one of the greatest jazz albums of all-time, IMHO. Also, your dad didn't like Miles' Second Great Quintet recordings: E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, etc.?

Yes, but my dad is not a fan of Herbie Hancock as far as I know. He likes Miles Davis before 70's, but when these jazz giants started to use electric instruments + do all that fusion business back in the late 60's and 70's a lot of jazz nuts lost their marbles and stopped following what these artists do. For them jazz of around 1955 is the real jazz.
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

T. D.

I listened to loads of Chick Corea's recordings, starting with Miles sideman work, from the early '70s through the early '90s. As jazz became a larger share of my listening, I branched off into a lot of other pianists and didn't keep up with Chick's work, though whatever I heard was well done. Great musician, I didn't always love his projects (e.g. Elektric Band), but that's OK.

His albums Tones for Joan's Bones and Captain Marvel (sideman appearance w. Getz) have long been on my want list; now I feel sad that I didn't pick them up.

Mirror Image

#15
Quote from: Irons on February 13, 2021, 07:12:26 AM
Funny you mention Herbie Hancock as when I heard of Chick Corea's passing I listened to HH "Watermelon Man"! Chick Corea turned the electric keyboard into an artform. My entry into jazz was jazz/rock, groups like Weather Report. Chick Corea was a major player in that scene.

I liked Miles' fusion a la Bitches Brew or Get Up With It, but I never could get into Weather Report, but I do like Return to Forever, especially Romantic Warrior, which must be my favorite album of theirs. I also liked Jean-Luc Ponty and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Anyway, I wasn't too big into the fusion scene aside from the afore mentioned bands. This does seem like where Corea was able to really flourish and grow as a musician, but his time with Miles remains my favorite of any of his musical contributions.

Irons

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 13, 2021, 07:55:21 PM
I liked Miles' fusion a la Bitches Brew or Get Up With It, but I never could get into Weather Report, but I do like Return to Forever, especially Romantic Warrior, which must be my favorite album of theirs. I also liked Jean-Luc Ponty and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Anyway, I wasn't too big into the fusion scene aside from the afore mentioned bands. This does seem like where Corea was able to really flourish and grow as a musician, but his time with Miles remains my favorite of any of his musical contributions.

Miles Davies was not only great but he brought out the greatness in others.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.