Chick Korea. Chick coria

Chick Corea is one of the most iconic jazz figures. recent decades. Never satisfied with the results achieved, Coria is always completely fascinated by several musical projects at once, and his musical curiosity never knows the limit. A virtuoso pianist who, along with Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, was one of the top stylists to come after Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner, Corea is also one of the few "electro keyboardists" who has an original and recognizable playing style. In addition, he is the author of several classic jazz standards such as "Spain," "La Fiesta" and "Windows."

Corea started playing the piano when he was only 4 years old, and during the formation of his musical tastes, Horace Silver and Bud Powell were his main influences. And he gained serious musical experience playing in the orchestras of Mongo Santamaria and Willy Bobo, Blue Mitchell, Herbie Mann and Stan Getz.

His debut recording as a bandleader was "Tones For Joan's Bones" in 1966, and the album "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs", recorded as a trio with Miroslav Vitus and Roy Haynes in 1968, is regarded by music critics as a worldwide jazz classic.

After a short spell with Sarah Vaughn, Corea joined Miles Davis as Hancock's replacement in the orchestra, and remained with Miles during the very important transitional period of 1968-70. He has been featured on Miles' impressive works such as Filles De Kilimanjaro, In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew.

As part of Circle with Anthony Braxton, Dave Holland and Barry Eltchul, he began playing avant-garde acoustic jazz after he left Davis. And at the end of 1971 he changed direction again.

After leaving the Circle project, Corea briefly played with Stan Getz and then formed Return To Forever with Stanley Clarke, Joe Farrell, Airto and Flora Purim, which debuted in the Brazilian melodic tradition. Within a year, Corea, with Clarke, Bill Connors and Lenny White, tried to transform Return To Forever into a leading high-energy fusion band; in 1974, Connors was replaced by Al DiMeola. At a time when the music was rock-oriented and used jazz improvisations, Corea remained quite recognizable even under the veil of electronic sound.

After the breakup of the group in the late 70s, Corea and Clark played in various orchestras, giving these groups a special significance. Over the next few years, Corea mainly focused on acoustic sound and appeared on the general public either with the duet of Gary Burton and Herbie Hancock, or in the Michael Brecker quartet, and even performed classical classical music.

In 1985, Chick Corea formed a new fusion band, the Electric Band, which eventually included bassist John Patituchi, guitarist Frank Gembale, saxophonist Eric Marienthal, and drummer Dave Weakle. A few years later he initiated his "Acoustic Trio" with Patituchi and Wickle.

During 1996-97, Corea toured with an all-star quintet including Kenny Garrett and Vallacey Roney, who performed modern versions of compositions by Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk.

He currently plays music that masterfully interweaves complex passages of arrangements with fusion solos. He brings jazz back to its former strength, and every phase of his creative development is beautifully represented by his discs.

On June 12, 1941, in the state of Massachusetts in a town called Chelsea, the famous jazz pianist Armando Anthony Coria, better known to the whole world under the pseudonym Chick Corea, was born. Some sources claim that this was given to him by his aunt.

early years

From early childhood, the future pianist was shrouded in music: his father played the trumpet, and the music of the great classics - Beethoven, Mozart - often played in the house.

Chick Corea began to master the piano at the age of four, his favorite performers were, Bud Powell,. Corea learned a lot by the method of self-education.

Youth years

At the age of 18, Chick sets off to conquer New York. At first, he successfully entered Columbia University, but after a month he abandoned his studies. Then there was an attempt to enter the Juilliard School of Music, but even here he became bored after two months of study.

Chick Corea, already famous, often recalled that musicians should communicate freely outside of formalized organizations. He attended lessons that he learned for a long time.

Carier start

Chick began his creative career with the bands Mongo Santamaria and Willy Boobo, after which he played with trumpeter Blue Mitchell. By the way, with him he founded the band Tones for Joan's Bones.

Corea repeatedly returned from electro-jazz to acoustic

After that, for about a year he accompanied Sarah Vaughan, even managed to record several records as a leader. Then he teamed up with the Miles Davis band, where he already played the electric piano. It was this fact that brought Corea brilliant career, because Miles marked the beginning of the jazz-rock era with musicians such as John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette.

Chick Corea played with Joe Zawinul - the combination of the sound of their instruments gave wide publicity to the released albums. But Coria did not like this style, so he chose a different path. Chick Corea creates the avant-garde group Circle, which existed for three years until Chick changed direction.

Chick Corea and Return to forever

At the same time, Chick was engaged in solo activities. In 1972 he released the album Return to forever, which later became the name of his band.

At this time, Coria again returned to the electric piano - he played music with Latin motifs, in flamenco tempo. Later, he decided to experiment and added a touch of rock, muting the Latin sounds.

Since 1973, Chick has been releasing a series of discs that have brought him immense popularity. In 1975, he was awarded his first Grammy for his album No mistery.

Album by Chick Corea and Return to forever Romantic Warrior entered

From electrojazz to acoustic

The 1970s changed a lot in Corea's life - he met the singer Gail Moran, who would later become his wife. From New York, he moved to California, and in 1996 they moved to the town of Clearwater, Florida. Gale supported her husband in everything.

Chick Corea's Wife Gail Moran

After the dissolution of the band, Coria returned to playing acoustic music, and in 1985 he was again attracted to electronic fusion themes. As a result, his new project The Chick Corea Electric Band. It is interesting that the ensemble had two names at once, in another way it was called Chick Corea Akoustic Band.

Explaining his choice, he said that people under 45 grew up listening to the music of Elvis Presley and The Beatles, so they are more comfortable with electronic music, and acoustic instruments more to the liking of the older generation. It is worth noting that such a separation did not affect the quality of performance.

Own label Stretch Records

Coria dedicated his first disc on his own label Stretch Records to pianist Bud Powell

In 1992, Chick fulfilled his lifelong dream by creating his own label, Stretch Records. At that time, he still had obligations to GRP Records, but already in 1996, upon completion of the contract, a set of 5 discs Music forever & beyond was released.

From that moment Chick was able to release his own records, and his debut release was a collection dedicated to pianist Bud Powell. During these years there was also a collaboration with St. Paul Chamber Orchestra directed by . The ninth Grammy award was brought to him by the disc with Gary Burton Duet in 1980.

Corea and Gary Burton

Since 1997, the musician has been forming a new group to create acoustic music. His live music album Origin was a resounding success. After such changes, Chick returns to the classics again - in 1999 he plays with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. After the 2000s, Chick revives the Elektric band again.

The real name of the outstanding composer and performer is Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (Armando Anthony Corea). He was born in Chelsea (Massachusetts) in the summer of 1941 in a family of Italian immigrants who lived in a traditional town for that time next door to immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe. Chika's father is a shoemaker who enjoys jazz in his spare time. It was he who began to teach his son music, as soon as he was 4 years old. By the way, all 13 children in this family had an ear for music and knew how to play one or another instrument. Armondo Anthony himself mastered the art of playing the piano, drums, percussion, and trumpet.

More solid musical experience "Chick" gets playing in the orchestras of Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo (1962-63), Blue Mitchell (1964-66), Herbie Mann and Stan Getz. As the leader of his own group, in 1966 he recorded the album “Tones for Joan's Bones.” A couple of years later, the disc “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” was released, recorded in a trio with Miroslav Vitus and Roy Hens. Today these compositions belong to the world jazz classics.A short period of cooperation with Sarah Vaughn is replaced by a fruitful work (1968-70) in the Miles Davis Orchestra, where Corea replaced Hancock.At this time, such notable projects like Filles de Kilimanjaro, In s Silent Way, Bitches Brew.

Immediately after his departure from Davis, talented musician changes his passions and begins to perform avant-garde acoustic jazz as part of the Circle group, where he was invited by Anthony Braxton, Dave Holland and Bury Eltluch. But at the end of 1971, Chick changes direction again: at first, he briefly collaborates with Stan Getz, and then creates his own band, Return to Forever. The group included Stanley Clark, Joe Farrell, Flora Purim, who made her debut in the Brazilian jazz tradition. Over the next year, Corea and his musicians tried to play exclusively high-energy fusion. I must say that by that time (1974), rock and electronic sound reigned in the world, but even under them jazz improvisations were easily guessed.

For these and other creative throwing, inconsistency, Coria was not favored by music critics. According to them, he changed styles, directions, instruments more often than others, trying to combine the incompatible, speaking in one evening with parallel programs. To date, the composer has more than 70 different albums recorded in collaboration with such musicians as Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Bobby McFerrin, Bella Fleck and others. Since 1992, Chick has owned Stretch Records and Mad Hatter Studios in Los Angeles, both of which generate good income. But a calm "well-fed" life did not deprive him of his love for adventurism and the thirst to create something new, the desire to surprise listeners and critics. He has an encyclopedic knowledge, knows how to apply his many talents in various fields. During his career (data for 2015), the musician was nominated for Grammy thirty-three times and this most prestigious American award 22 times, and also won the Latin Grammy Awards twice.

Coria visited the USSR in the 80s, and his visits were dictated not only by the desire to give concerts, but to get to know real life in the Soviet Union up close. In 2001, he returned again to perform in the Great Hall of the Conservatory, to raise money for the renovation of this room with unique acoustics. In 2007, he gave a concert at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, where he performed with Bella Fleco (banjo), and four years later "Chick" played with Harry Burton (vibraphone) in the Svetlanov Hall of the International House of Music.

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Chick Korea 75 years // Essay by Mikhail Alperin

Chick has inspired more than one generation of musicians to find their own voice in this world of imitations. I was one of those who immediately fell in love with his "voice".

"Children song" solo piano album, I still consider it a unique example of the fusion of improvisational music and composer's thought.

I even wrote once, many years ago, a parody of Nikolai Levinovsky, called "Latin American birches or a letter to mother Chick Korea"

Yes, I was a fighter for my own original voice in Moscow, where everything domestic in those years was exotic, and the pseudo-American jazz of Kozlov and Levinovsky was perceived as a "firm", like jeans and Coca Cola.

At that time, my own path was just beginning, but an inner voice protested against fakes in any area of ​​​​life. So I think now.

Chick Korea surprised me with his talent at the beginning, and I lost interest in him quite quickly because he did not evolve as a musician over the years, but vice versa

succumbed to the American mentality of entertaining, and nothing more. He is an example for all of us of how the music market absorbs talents, and the dollar becomes a religion.

Few can disagree with society.

I am one of the minority.

The audience and the history of music always remember not the success of musicians, but the message that every artist must convey through sounds in his own way with sounds or words.

Music is not entertainment, but a healing tool for the spiritual upbringing of a person.

A person needs healing and transmeditative immersion in sound, for a permanent experience of communication with the subtle worlds.

When a musician like the great Chick Korea aims to have fun and dance as the only means of relaxation after the hard work of the "common man", I want to ask Chic, are you sure that everyone is so tired after work that they are ready only to dance to the sounds of Latino -American jazz?

You clearly do not underestimate the audience, as well as yourself, I think.

Chick is sure that we, musicians, in this "heavy world" are called upon to distract a person from sad thoughts.

See how primitive the master thinks?

This is the old school division between serious and non-serious art, which should soon disappear.

Without awareness of these processes by each person individually, it will not be easy to do this.

Discography of Chick Corea (for 2016)

As leader or co-leader:

• Tones for Joan's Bones (1966)
• Bliss! (1968), first released as Turkish Women at the Bath (1967) under Pete La Roca's name
• Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (1968)
• Is (1969)
• Sundance (1969)
• The Song of Singing (1970)
• Circulus (1970)
• A.R.C. (1971)
• Paris Concert (1971)
• Piano Improvisations Vol. 1 (1971)
• Piano Improvisations Vol. 2 (1972)
• Return to Forever (1972, ECM)
• Inner Space (1972)
• Crystal Silence (1973, with Gary Burton)
• Chick Corea (1975)
• The Leprechaun (1976)
• My Spanish Heart (1976)
• The Mad Hatter (1978)
• An Evening with Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea: In Concert (1978)
• Secret Agent (1978)
• Friends (1978)
• Delphi I (1979)
• Corea Hancock (1979)
• Duet (1979, with Gary Burton)
• Chick Corea & Lionel Hampton in Concert (1980, with Lionel Hampton)
• In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979 (1980, with Gary Burton)
• Delphi II & III (1980)
• Tap Step (1980)
• Greatest Hits of 1790 (1980, with Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York, conducted by Richard Kapp. Featured piano soloist on Mozart: "Elvira Madigan" and Beethoven: "Für Elise")
• Live in Montreux (1981)
• Three Quartets (1981)
• Trio Music (1981)
• Touchstone (1982)
• Lyric Suite for Sextet (1982, with Gary Burton)
• Again and Again (1983)
• On Two Pianos (1983, with Nicolas Economou)
• The Meeting (1983, with Friedrich Gulda)
• Children's Songs (1984)
• Fantasy for Two Pianos with Friedrich Gulda (1984)
• Voyage - with Steve Kujala (1984)
• Septet (1985)
• The Chick Corea Electric Band (1986)
• Light Years (1987, with Electric Band)
• Trio Music Live in Europe (1987)
• Summer Night - live (1987, with Akoustic Band)
• Chick Corea featuring Lionel Hampton (1988)
• Eye of the Beholder (1988, with Electric Band)
• Chick Corea Akoustic Band (1989)
• Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown (1989)
• Inside Out (1990, with Electric Band)
• Beneath the Mask (1991, with Electric Band)
• Alive (1991, with Akoustic Band)
• Play (1992, with Bobby McFerrin)
• Electric Band II: paint the World (1993)
• Sea Breeze (1993)
• Expressions (1993)
• Time Warp (1995)
• The Mozart Sessions (1996, with Bobby McFerrin)
• Live from Elario's (First Gig) (1996, with Elektric Band)
• Live from Blue Note Tokyo (1996)
• Live from the Country Club (1996)
• From Nothing (1996)
• Remembering Bud Powell (1997)
• Native Sense - The New Duets (1997, with Gary Burton)
• Live at the Blue Note (1998, with Origin)
• A Week at the Blue Note (1998, with Origin)
• Like Minds (1998, with Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, Dave Holland)
• Change (1999, with Origin)
• Corea Concerto – Spain for Sextet & Orchestra – Piano Concerto No. 1 (1999, with Origin)
• Corea Concerto (1999)
• Solo Piano - Originals (2000)
• Solo Piano - Standards (2000)
• New Trio: Past, Present & Futures (2001)
• Rendezvous in New York (2003)
• To the Stars (2004, with Electric Band)
• Rhumba Flamenco (2005)
• The Ultimate Adventure (2006)
• Super Trio (2006, with Steve Gadd and Christian McBride)
• The Enchantment (2007, with Bela Fleck)
• 5trios - 1. Dr. Joe (2007, with Antonio Sanchez, John Patitucci)
• 5trios - 2. From Miles (2007, with Eddie Gómez, Jack DeJohnette)
• 5trios - 3. Chillin" in Chelan (2007, with Christian McBride, Jeff Ballard)
• 5trios - 4. The Boston Three Party (2007, with Eddie Gomez, Airto Moreira)
• 5trios - 5. Brooklyn , Paris to Clearwater (2007, with Hadrien Feraud, Richie Barshay)
• The New Crystal Silence (2008, with Gary Burton)
• Five Peace Band Live (2009, with John McLaughlin)
• Duet (2009, with Hiromi Uehara)
• Orvieto (ECM, 2011) with Stefano Bollani
• Forever (2011)
• Further Explorations (2012) with Eddie Gomez and Paul Motian
• Hot House (2012) with Gary Burton
• The Vigil (2013) with Hadrien Feraud, Marcus Gilmore, Tim Garland and Charles Altura
• Trilogy (2013) (Universal, 3CD live)
• Solo Piano - Portraits (2014)
• Two (with Bela Fleck)(2015)

• Circling In (1970)
• Circulus (1970)
• Circle 1: Live in Germany Concert (1970)
• Paris Concert (1971)
• Circle 2: Gathering (1971)

With Return to Forever

• Return to Forever (1972)
• Light as a Feather (1972)
• Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973)
• Where Have I Known You Before (1974)
• No Mystery (1975)
• Romantic Warrior (1976)
• Musicmagic (1977)
• Live (1977)
• Return to Forever - Returns (2009)
• Return to Forever Returns: Live at Montreux (DVD) (2009)
• The Mothership Returns (2012) with Jean-Luc Ponty

With Anthony Braxton

• The Complete Braxton 1971 (Freedom, 1977)

With Marion Brown

• Afternoon of a Georgia Faun (ECM, 1970)

With Donald Byrd

• The Creeper (Blue Note, 1967)

With Stanley Clarke

• Children of Forever (Polydor, 1973)
• Journey to Love (Nemperor Records, 1975)
• Rocks, Pebbles and Sand (Epic, 1980)

Spaces (Vanguard, 1970)

With Miles Davis

• Water Babies (Columbia 1976, recorded 1967-68)
• Filles de Kilimanjaro (Columbia, 1969)
• In a Silent Way (Columbia, 1969)
• Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 (Columbia Legacy released 2013)
• Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1970)
• A Tribute to Jack Johnson (Columbia, 1970)
• Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore West (Columbia, 1977, recorded 1970)
• Miles Davis at the Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East (Columbia, 1970)
• Miles at the Fillmore - Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3 (Columbia Legacy released 2014)
• Circle in the Round (Columbia, 1979, recorded 1955-70)
• Live-Evil (Columbia, 1971)
• On the Corner (Columbia, 1972)
• Big Fun (Columbia, 1974)

With Richard Davis

• The Philosophy of the Spiritual (Cobblestone, 1971)

With Joe Farrell

• Joe Farrell Quartet (1970)
• Outback (CTI, 1971)
• Skate Board Park (1979)

• Sweet Rain (Verve, 1969)
• Captain Marvel (Verve, 1972)

With Herbie Hancock

• Gershwin's World (Verve, 1998)

With Joe Henderson

• Relaxin" at Camarillo (Contemporary, 1979)
• Mirror Mirror (Pausa, 1980)
• Big Band (Verve, 1996)

With Elvin Jones

• Merry-Go-Round (1971)

• Echoes of an Era (1982)

• To Hear Is to See! (Prestige, 1969)
• Consciousness! (Prestige, 1970)

• Going to the Rainbow (1971)

With Pete La Roca

• Turkish Women at the Bath (1967), reissued under Corea's name as Bliss (1973)

With Hubert Laws

• The Laws of Jazz (Atlantic, 1964)
• Flute By-Laws (Atlantic, 1966)
• Laws" Cause (Atlantic, 1968)
• Wild Flower (Atlantic, 1972)

With Herbie Mann

• Herbie Mann Plays The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd (Atlantic, 1965)
• Monday Night at the Village Gate (Atlantic 1965)
• Latin Mann (Columbia, 1965)
• Standing Ovation at Newport (Atlantic, 1965)

With Blue Mitchell

• The Thing to Do (1964)
• Down with It! (Blue Note, 1965)
• Boss Horn (Blue Note, 1966)

With Tete Montoliu

• Lunch in L.A. (Contemporary, 1980)

With Airto Moreira

• Free (CTI, 1972)

• Manhattan Latin (Decca, 1964)

With Wayne Shorter

• Moto Grosso Feio (Blue Note, 1970)

With Sonny Stitt

• Stitt Goes Latin (Roost, 1963)

With John Surman

• Conflagration (Dawn, 1971)

With Gabor Szabo

• Femme Fatale (Pepita, 1979)

• Soul Burst (Verve, 1966)

With Miroslav Vitous

• Universal Syncopations (ECM, 2003)

With Sadao Watanabe

• Round Trip (1974)

• 1976: Chick Corea/Herbie Hancock/Keith Jarret/McCoy Tyner (Atlantic)
• 1987: Chick Corea Compact Jazz (Polydor)
• 1993: Best of Chick Corea (Blue Note)
• 2002: Selected Recordings (ECM)
• 2002: The Complete "Is" Sessions (Blue Note)
• 2004: Very Best of Chick Corea (Universal)
• 2007: Herbie Mann-Chick Corea: The Complete Latin Band Sessions

Chick Corea with the program "Solo Piano" at the Moscow Philharmonic

The famous jazz pianist about the culture of Russia, the Great Hall of the Conservatory and selfies on stage.

On May 15, the famous jazz pianist Chick Corea, who holds the record for the most Grammy awards, performed in Moscow.

Together with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Brian Blade, they put a bright end to the trio's tour by playing the famous composition "Spain" at the end - the audience of the Tchaikovsky Hall sang along to the musicians in chorus.

After the concert, 75-year-old Chick Corea told Evgeny Konoplev about how life is jazz classics in the days of YouTube.

The last time you performed in Moscow was in 2012. A lot has happened since then - in our country, in your country, in the world. Did you feel changes during your current visit, or do you feel it is still the same Russia?

One thing is inevitable in this world - change. Everything is changing - and, in my opinion, changing faster and faster. But this is a topic for a sociologist, not a musician.

As for me, my tool for learning about culture and the world is the audience that I see in front of me. These are living people, they came, and here they are. Today's concert was very warm, the audience was very receptive, and I enjoyed it immensely. This will be what I will remember for myself as an answer to the question: “How do you like today's Moscow?”

A lot came together for me in today's concert. Our trio had a very successful, wonderful tour, and tonight was their conclusion.

The shows on this tour got better and better, the band became more and more united. Today we have made an end. And my concert in St. Petersburg will already be solo - piano.

Many years ago you participated in a concert, the proceeds of which went to the repair and restoration Great Hall conservatory, the legendary Moscow venue. And you wrote your name in the history of this hall.

Oh, I love this idea! This hall is of great importance to me - this is the place where the greatest concert of Vladimir Horowitz was recorded, when he came here already in years, he was 83 years old.

I have watched it many times on DVD because I am a big fan of this pianist.

For you, is Russia the country of Rachmaninov or Igor Butman and other jazz musicians that you mentioned in an interview?

Russia for me is everything together. It is impossible to discard the history of Russia, because this history has given such treasures of culture - in music, in ballet, in all directions. But since the 50s and 60s of the last century, there has been such a great interest in jazz here. First underground, now free.

You know, they showed me one thing today... a record. And I am very proud of the fact that after the release of my album “Return to Forever” in 1972, a few years later it was released on the Melodiya record company and became either the first, or one of the first jazz records published in Russia officially.

In general, I do not divide the culture of Russia into "old" and "new". For me it's all one thread.

Musicians agree that your playing technique is outrageous. So, you are ready to perform the most complex music. Do you often feel that although you would like to show something completely new and complex, the public may simply not be able to perceive these things?

I think it's a matter of balance. After all, you can make the audience feel comfortable in my hall, in my space. I believe - and my experience convinces me of this - that if the audience feels comfortable, I can show them things of varying complexity.

If you notice, during today's concert there were some parts where very, very subtle music was played, and the listeners were very, very receptive to it.

I like it when the audience understands the message and the idea. So I try to create an atmosphere where the listener can understand a variety of ideas and I can show something that people have never heard and combine it with things that they are already familiar with ... and so continue a quality dialogue.

- And how do you feel about the “new audience”? Is it difficult for a jazz musician to bring his music to the age of YouTube?

Yes, there are so many different things around, and the world is so different. Every five years, society and culture change drastically... But I believe that looking for ways to communicate, interact with the public is still the artist's responsibility.

And you, I must say, very vividly turns out to look for new ways of communication. Today the audience was very amused and your shooting from the stage on mobile phone, and the selfie you took with the musicians during the final applause.

Well, that's just my memory. And show my wife. But I also think that it allows the audience to feel a little more relaxed, not so formal. I don't like too formal concerts.

Chick Corea. Photo - Olga Karpova

You have seen many periods in the development of music. Don't you have the feeling that today it is generally losing its significance? Some people think that being both a rock star and a rapper is less prestigious today than it was a couple of decades ago. Which is much cooler to go into investment bankers or IT entrepreneurs.

Who thinks so? I do not think so. You know, people are so individual - in every family, city, culture, age group...

Humanity is so different. So it's impossible to say that "they" think "that's it." They think different things. And for me, the path to real communication, to real teamwork, to real creation lies precisely through the recognition of people as individuals.

Why, in one family there can be five or ten people - and each will be different from the other. So there is no need to generalize. I think that this is the only way to seek the truth and build relationships.

I can't help but ask you a question as the owner of 22 Grammy statuettes. How many of them should there be for you to say: “That's enough for me”?

- (Laughs.) It does not depend on me! I don't choose. This is group work. We record a disc, and then Grammy experts vote for it. And every time it's a new album and new music.

Awards give confidence, but also push forward, because they oblige each time to give out something even better. I just don't have the right to record and release the same music all the time.

The editors of Colta.ru would like to thank the organizers of the Moscow concert, the Ram Music company, for arranging the interview.

Chick Corea had no musical education, which did not stop him from becoming a world famous jazz pianist

Today we will talk about one of the most iconic figures among jazz pianists recent decades - Armando Anthony "Chick" Coria. The American musician (piano, keyboards, drums) and composer is called the founder of jazz-rock, whose musical experiments know no bounds.

Armando Anthony "Chick" Coria was born on June 12, 1941 in Chelsea, Massachusetts to an Italian family. His father was jazz musician and taught his son to play the piano at the age of four, and from the age of eight - to play percussion instruments. Despite the fact that Chick Corea did not receive a special musical education, he continued to study music and made his debut in his father's band, then played in the orchestras of Billy May and Warren Covington.

In 1962, at age 22, Chick Corea moved to New York City, where he began his professional career with the Mongo Santamaria Orchestra, playing music in a Latin American style. In the mid-1960s, Corea met trumpeter Blue Mitchell, flutist Herbie Mann, saxophonist Stan Getz and collaborated with them until 1968. With them, he made the first professional recordings. Coria's first success comes from a record Tones For Joan's Bones, recorded in the style of "hard bop" in 1966. Even more famous in 1968 was the album "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs", recorded as a trio with Miroslav Vitus and Roy Haynes. Today it is regarded by music critics as a world jazz classic.

At the end of 1968, Corea joined the Miles Davis band, with whom records were recorded. Filles De Kilimanjaro, In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Live-Evil. During this period, Corea uses an electronic piano, which opens up a fresh sound and a new direction in jazz is born. In 1970, Corea became the leader of a group that performed to an audience of 600,000 at a music festival in England.

Circle

In search of a new sound, Chick Corea formed the free jazz trio Circle with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul.

Shortly after a successful performance at the festival, Corea, along with bassist Dave Holland, left Davis' band in search of their own avant-garde sound. They formed a free jazz trio with drummer Barry Altshul. Circle, which was later joined by saxophonist Anthony Braxton. The new group began to play avant-garde acoustic jazz and toured extensively in Europe and the United States. Even though the group Circle did not last long, the musicians released three records, the best of which is called Paris Concert(1971). Soon, Chick Corea changed his direction towards solo piano improvisations and already in April 1971 he recorded several compositions on the ECM label, thereby foreseeing the popularity of modern piano music.

Return to Forever

At the end of 1971, Corea assembled the group Return to Forever, which included bassist Stanley Clark, saxophonist and flutist Joe Farrell, drummer and percussionist Airto Moreira, vocalist Flora Purim. With this lineup, in February 1972, they recorded their debut album for the ECM label, which included the very famous Coria composition "La Fiesta". Already in March, the next hits were recorded - “500 Miles High,” “Captain Marvel”. The group did not leave the inspiration. This brilliant team created classical and light jazz melodies with Brazilian rhythms. They became the best in the 1970s in the "fusion" style.

In early 1973, the band included electric guitarist Bill Connors and drummer Lenny White, with whom the band found a new electronic sound. A new one was born musical wave when rock and jazz improvisations merged into a single sound. It was in this year that Corea was named "composer number one" in Down Beat magazine, and since 1975 has been the best performer on the electric piano.

In 1974, guitarist Connors was replaced by 19-year-old rampant and speedy Al DiMeola. He breathed in an energetic, rocky and bold sound. With him, the group conquered a new audience and gained crowds of rock fans. One gets the impression that Corea pays tribute to fashion. But he goes further, supplementing the group with strings and wind instruments, as well as using the techniques of classical music.

Since 1972, Corea and Return to Forever have been recording an album a year - Light As A Feather (1972), Return To Forever (1973), Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy (1973), Where Have I Known You Before (1974), No Mystery (1975), The Leprechaun (1976), My Spanish Heart (1976), The Mad Hutter (1977), Music Magic (1977). From 1976-1977 the group is at the pinnacle of success and has won three awards. Grammys.

Creative duets and solo albums

In 1978, Chick Corea found inspiration in a duet with Herbie Hancock, while continuing to work with Return to Forever (RTF). Chick and Herbie play exclusively on acoustic piano and have produced brilliant results together: recordings were made in 1978 Corea / Hancock, 1980's An Evening with Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea.

Corea also collaborates with Michael Brekker, Keith Jarrett. In the spring of 1981, Corea visited Moscow and St. Petersburg with Gary Burton. It was not a tour in the usual sense of the word, he came to the Soviet Union, driven by curiosity about Soviet life, and gave several speeches in a narrow circle of initiates.

In addition to creative alliances, Corea has recorded solo and classical albums. So, in 1984, Mozart's Concerto for Two Claviers was released.

Electrical Band

The new band included bassist John Patituchi, guitarist Frank Gembale, saxophonist Eric Marienthal, drummer Dave Weakle.

In 1985, Chick Corea opened new project- "Electric Band", in fusion style. The new band included bassist John Patituchi, guitarist Frank Gembale, saxophonist Eric Marienthal, drummer Dave Weakle. Together they recorded five albums: Elektric Band (1986), Light Years (1987), Eye of the Beholder (1988), Inside Out (1990) and Beneath the Mask (1991).

A few years later, he assembled the "Acoustic Trio" with Wickle and Patituchi. In 1993, Corea recorded many piano jazz improvisations and toured extensively in the following years.

Chick Corea's music is virtuosic and unpredictable, full of lively feelings and passion. Coria is a versatile pianist who excels in any genre. His merit is that he did not stop only at jazz - he constantly goes beyond and discovers something new. He stands at the origins of the direction of jazz-rock.

Coria devoted himself entirely to music, he works hard and fruitfully, often doing several projects at the same time. Today he is known as a virtuoso pianist and composer whose jazz standards have become classics and whose style is always recognizable.