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Armando's Rhumba - The Rise of Chick Corea. Chick coria Creative duets and solo albums

This musician has released countless records over his more than fifty-year career, repeatedly changing his style. He has been involved in countless projects, recording with individuals as well as with various ensembles and orchestras, and has left behind a rich legacy. Armando Anthony Coria was born on June 12, 1941 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He began to master the piano from the age of four, and preferred to listen to such performers as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Lester Young. He was also greatly influenced by the works of Beethoven and Mozart, which awakened Chick's composer instincts. My creative career Coria started out with Mongo Santamaria and Willy Bobo, and then worked for trumpeter Blue Mitchell and helped record records for Herbie Mann and Stan Getz. In 1966, he made his studio debut as a bandleader, but still Corea was not opposed to working for other artists.

Chick accompanied Sarah Vaughan for about a year, after which he joined the Miles Davis Ensemble, where he played electric piano. The next step in the musician's career was the creation of the avant-garde improvisational group "Circle". The project lasted three years until Corea changed his focus. His new band was called "Return To Forever" and performed softer music with a noticeable Latin American influence.

Having made two albums in this spirit, Chick Corea took up an electronic fusion akin to the Mahavishnu Orchestra, enhancing the band's sound with the help of drummer Lenny White and guitarist Bill Connors. Practicing his unique style on the "Moog" synthesizer, Chick, along with "RTF", released such innovative albums as "Where Have I Known You Before", "No Mystery" and "Romantic Warrior". After the dissolution of "Return To Forever" Corea began to lean towards acoustic music, and often worked in duets, trios or quartets, and sometimes moved out of jazz to classical. In the mid-80s, Chick was drawn to electronic fusion again, as a result of which the project "The Chick Corea Elektric Band" was born. The group existed for quite a long time, but by the end of the decade, Coria created the "Akoustic Band" (which was essentially a stripped-down line-up of "EB") to maintain balance. In 1992, Chick fulfilled his lifelong dream by founding his own label "Stretch Records". However, he still had obligations to his former company GRP Records, and in 1996 that contract was completed with the release of the 5-disc box set "Music Forever & Beyond", compiled from recordings from the period 1964-1996.

Corea was now able to release records on his label, and his first release on "Stretch" was an album dedicated to pianist Bud Powell. That same year Chick recorded with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under Bobby McFerrin. This was followed by a second duet with Gary Burton (the first was released in 1977), which brought the musician his ninth Grammy award.

At the end of 1997, Coria assembled a new team, in which he returned to the acoustic piano. The live debut album "Origin" was such a success that a six-disc box set "A Week At The Blue Note" soon appeared, based on the band's three concerts at the Blue Note club. Having improvised enough with "Origin", Chick in Once again turned to classical music. In 1999 he recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the following year he released two solo records, one with his own stuff and the other with classical standards. Zero Corea exchanged with the project "The Chick Corea New Trio" ("Past, Present & Futures"), and after some time once again revived the "Electric Band" ("To The Stars"). In 2005, Chick paid tribute to Latin music on the program "Rhumba Flamenco", after which he made a musical tribute to his non-musical passion for Scientology ("The Ultimate Adventure").

The year 2007 turned out to be fruitful for releases: after a duet album with banjoist Belaya Fleck, Corea released a series of five discs recorded as part of various trios. The following year, he teamed up with John McLaughlin for the first time since Miles' "Bitches Brew" and also put together a new version of "Return To Forever" for the tour. The rest of the 2000s and the beginning of the 10s were also occupied mainly by collaborations with other musicians, and in 2013 the tireless Chick Corea presented his new band "The Vigil" to the public.

Last update 25.07.13

12 June celebrates 75th anniversary Chick Corea- one of the most influential and respected jazz musicians in the world, winner of more than two dozen awards Grammys(more precisely, on currently- 22) and over 40 nominations for this prestigious recording award, as well as many other international awards.

In 2012, the prestigious award of the International Association of Jazz Journalists Jazz Award-2012 in the category " best photo of the year” was awarded to Jazz.Ru, a regular contributor who has been publishing with us since 1998, the master of Russian jazz photography Pavel Korbut. The prize was awarded to his 2011 work "Pianist Chick Corea", which served as the basis for the cover of Jazz.Ru magazine No. 2-2011.

The award ceremony took place in August 2012 on the stage of the Moscow Jazz in the Hermitage Garden festival.

Antonio Armando Coria(Chick - "Chick" - his musical nickname) was born on June 12, 1941 in Chelsea, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston). Until 1958, he lived with his parents at No. 149 Chestnut Street, which in 2001 was renamed in honor of its famous native Chick Corea Street. In 1956, when Corea was in the ninth grade, he was elected "president" of his class and, according to the school report, proved to be "the most striving for success, the most open to cooperation and the most musical." According to the same description, he then, at the age of 15, wanted to "become jazz musician and write songs. His former classmates recall that he was very modest, that his dad led an amateur ensemble that played for everyone. school activities(for those places it was unusual - in all the surrounding schools they just started records), and Chick himself played the trumpet in the school orchestra and accompanied the school choir on the piano.

Big jazz career Chica Corea began in New York in the first half of the 1960s. as part of jazz bands led by Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, Herbie Mann And Stan Getz. Then he made the first solo recordings.

The most important stage in the life of the musician was the invitation to the ensemble of the great jazz revolutionary - trumpeter Miles Davis, in collaboration with which Miles' important albums of the late 60s were recorded: " Filles de Kilimanjaro», « In A Silent Way», « Bitches Brew».

VIDEO: August 29, 1970, Miles Davis plays a 38-minute improvisation at the Isle of Wight (UK) rock festival, later called "Call It Anything".
Line-up: Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett - keyboards, Gary Bartz - saxophones, Dave Holland - bass guitar, Airto Moreira - percussion, Jack DeJohnette - drums.

Since then, Chick Corea has repeatedly turned to a variety of styles - from avant-garde acoustic jazz to fusion and post-bop. In the late 80s and 90s, Chick Corea became interested in large concert forms, he created a piano concerto with a symphony orchestra (recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra), as well as jazz versions of concertos by W. A. Mozart and others large forms in a manner crossover(at the intersection of jazz and academic music).

IN different years Chick Corea has worked with a wide variety of his own line-ups - Circle, Return To Forever, Electric Band, New Trio and etc.

VIDEO: Chick Corea with his band Return To Forever, 1973

On account of Chick Corea - performances on all the largest and most prestigious concert stages in America, Europe and Asia, participation in the most important festivals and cooperation with famous musicians ( Bobby McFerrin, John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucia, Herbie Hancock, Al DiMeola, John Patitucci, Bela Fleck and etc). Chick Corea has released over 100 albums.

Collaboration with a vibraphonist played a special role in the life of Chick Corea Gary Burton. Back in 1972 on a little-known European label Editions for Contemporary Music(“Modern Music Publishing House”), now known to everyone simply as ECM, an album was recorded by the duo Chick Corea and Gary Burton, entitled "Crystal Silence", " Crystal Silence". The idea of silence generally pretty much occupied the permanent head and producer ECM Manfred Aicher, it is not for nothing that the creative motto of his record company is translated into Russian as "The most beautiful sound after silence." Chick and Gary accidentally crossed paths in 1971 in Munich, where the company's headquarters are located, on jazz festival, and suddenly found that only the two of them showed up for the festival jam session after the show. They tried to play together, and - as they say, "clicked". And so the duet began. Interestingly, two years earlier, when Chick was still playing with Miles Davis, and Gary already had his own jazz-rock quartet, they already tried to play together, but in a quartet, and then it “didn’t click”: the active rhythm section turned out to be redundant for them to play together.

When Corea started playing duets with Burton, he had just created his own fusion project, Return to Forever, who were destined to become one of the most famous classic jazz-rock bands of the 70s. But on the first joint album with Burton there was no free jazz (as in the earlier project of Corea Circle), nor jazz-rock. There was really crystal clear, bright music of an incredibly sharp rhythmic nature, as both musicians used their instruments, the piano and vibraphone respectively, emphasizing the sharp percussiveness and percussiveness of their sound. But all this, as usual in the sound aesthetics of the company ECM sounded very restrained and romantic.

VIDEO: Chick Corea and Gary Burton concert in Tokyo, 1981

The album was a success and the duo toured almost every year when Chick took his jazz rock band on vacation. In hot July 1982, Chick Corea and Gary Burton came to Moscow for the first time, but it was one of the most tense moments of the Cold War, relations between the Soviet Union and the United States of America were as hostile as ever, and there was no public concert. Some people were able to get to their private performance at Spaso House, the residence of the American ambassador, and the next day there was a jam session in the hall of the Union of Composers - where Soviet jazzmen, as numerous witnesses say, went a little overboard, trying to impress the overseas "superstars". ".

Corea and Burton listening to jam in Moscow, 1982 (among the surrounding public - A.E. Petrov, A. Gradsky, N. Levinovsky, V. Feiertag, etc.) Photo by Alexander Zabrin from the book "Soviet Jazz", 1987

Subsequently, both Chick and Gary repeatedly came to post-Soviet Russia, each with their own solo projects.

So, Chick Corea performed in Great Hall Moscow Conservatory as part of the festival dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the famous concert venue, in April 2001. The ensemble with which he then arrived - The Chick Corea New Trio, that is, he himself, double bassist Avishai Cohen from Israel and drummer Jeff Ballard, in fact, was the rhythm section of the then large ensemble of Coria, The Origin. At the same time, Coria's symphonic work "Concerto No. 1" performed by the maestro together with the trio and with the symphony orchestra of the Great Hall of the Conservatory (basically student orchestra) was also performed at the BZK. Conducted by the head of the orchestra Yuri Botnari.

VIDEO: Chick Corea and his "New Trio" on the air of the "Anthropology" program on NTV, hosted by Dmitry Dibrov (2001).
Interview and unique live recording of the trio with Avishai Cohen and Jeff Ballard in the live studio.

The duo with Burton reappeared on the Moscow stage only in 2006, when they celebrated the 35th anniversary of their first joint album with a world tour. Two years later on ECM released their album The New Crystal Silence”, once again awarded the Grammy Award.

And in April 2011, during the new world tour of the duo Chick Corea - Gary Burton, two famous musicians performed in Russia for the third time.

VIDEO: Chick Corea & Gary Burton "La Fiesta"
Performance at the festival Jazzwoche Burghausen, 2011

Jazz.Ru wrote a lot about the work and performances of Chick Corea - at least about all his visits, starting with concerts at the BZK in 2001 and ending with a duet performance with vocalist Bobby McFerrin in 2012. But on the day of his 75th birthday famous pianist, we decided to reproduce the texts of two of his interviews: the first was taken from him by our Yerevan correspondent Armen Manukyan behind the scenes of the Yerevan Jazz Festival in 2000, and the second was taken from him by phone before performances in Moscow in 2001 by a music journalist Andrey Solovyov, later - a long-term co-author of our jazz podcast "Listen here".

Chick Corea: "My Destiny Is to Entertain People" (2000)

Text of the exclusive interview great pianist gave Yerevan journalist Armen Manukyan behind the scenes of the Yerevan Jazz Festival (he did not give a single interview during his entire visit to Armenia in early June 2000).

Now many are trying to predict the future development of jazz. Some see it in alliance with electronics, others - in symbiosis with folklore or classics. What is your opinion?

I get asked a lot about the future of jazz, and that's a very good question, and one that we really need to ask ourselves now. So, for me, it is not so important whether jazz will look more like symphonic music, or folk music, or whether more or less attention will be paid to improvisation. For me, the most important thing is the situation in which music is born and performed. Real music can only exist in a calm, peaceful atmosphere. If the situation in the country is tense, people are intimidated, then art suffers first of all, including music. Because music is primarily musicians, and musicians are people who live in the country. So if we want our music to flourish, we must create calm environment, to give musicians the freedom of creativity, in a word, happy life. This is a very difficult task, but we must do everything in our power to accomplish it. But in what form the musician's creativity will find its expression is no longer so important.

There is an opinion that jazz has recently lost its original purpose - to entertain and amuse people. Having become the music of professionals, jazz left clubs and bars, moving to philharmonic halls. Jazz has become too complex, an elitist art.

Any music, becoming too serious, loses its soul, emotionality, and finally loses its listeners. And it's not just jazz. This problem is inherent in any other kind of art. Each genre has its professionals and amateurs, and jazz in this sense is no exception. Jazz can only be considered real jazz when it is of good quality, when people understand it, when they feel it, enjoy it. Today, at a concert in Yerevan, we were able to please the audience, although our music is not so simple. I don't think it's a question of complexity or simplicity of music. The fact is that in order to achieve success, spiritual contact must be established between the performer and the listener. And the main executor of this task is the musician, not the audience. He must create an atmosphere of mutual understanding and trust, only then can he be understood by people.

You perform and record a lot. What should your fans expect in the near future?

I have many different ideas. I am currently involved in a project with my sextet origin- We perform a lot in different countries of the world. I also perform solo projects quite often and have just released two albums recorded during my solo performances in Japan and Europe. I collaborate with the London Philharmonic Orchestra on my piano concertos. And, of course, I experiment a lot and work with electronics in my studio. It is unlikely that anything worthwhile will come of this, but as a result of such experiments, new ideas may be born.

You often change your tastes - you played electronic music, acoustic, and classical. Which period of your work do you like the most?

It's not about the style of music I play. I'm a musician and my purpose is to entertain people, and naturally I don't want to repeat myself endlessly. If I were an actor, then every season I would change my role - tragic, comedian. I would do something avant-garde for a narrow circle of spectators, entertaining for the general public. I do the same as a musician. I always try to create something new to give people joy and pleasure.

We know Coria the musician very well, but at the same time we know almost nothing about his life outside of music.

I have two children. Although they are no longer children. My son, Fabius, plays percussion instruments writes music. He has his own band, and most recently they performed in Las Vegas in a show called Blue Men Group. He is married to a beautiful girl named Tracy. She is a dancer and choreographer, often performing in Broadway musicals. My daughter Liana, an excellent pianist, loves her instrument very much, she often performs with her friends, playing jazz. She loves and prefers old jazz from the 40s and 50s. My father passed away 12 years ago, and it is to him that I dedicated my work " Armando's Rhumba"and more recently -" Armando's Tango". He was also a musician, he had his own band, they often gathered at our house and played, so I grew up in a musical environment. Father had huge collection old 78rpm records, I used to listen to them a lot. My first acquaintance with jazz came through these records. It was the music of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell. I grew up with musicians and the jazz music that surrounded me.

VIDEO: Chick Corea solo performance at Jazz Festival a Vienne, France, 2012

Chick Corea: "I'm not ashamed to study" (2001)

On the eve of Chick Corea's arrival in Russia in 2001, journalist Andrey Solovyov contacted him by phone and asked him a few questions. First of all, of course, he asked the pianist to comment on the very fact of his performance in the citadel of Russian academic music - the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
Are you now more interested in classical than in jazz?

When I perform or record with an ensemble or orchestra, I try not to think too much about the style and its boundaries. It's much more important for me to understand the musicians I work with. The result depends on how the relations between the performers develop. It's not all about style or direction, but how you manage to find a particular sound. I don't think about categories the least of all - it's classical music, jazz or some other, I start from sound first of all. From this point of view, academic music - whether it be a chamber or a symphony orchestra - is distinguished by special sound colors and possibilities. I have determined the field of activity for myself and I can say: everything that I have done lately is internally connected, there is a lot in common in all my works. I just use different means to realize my ideas.

Over the past 30 years, you have repeatedly returned to the idea of synthesising jazz with academic music - is it connected with some kind of life rhythm, an inner sense of the flow of time?

Don't think. When I think about music or read something about it, it often seems to me that the structures and schemes associated with time, with the process of history, contain too much probability of error. It seems to me that things are easier. I work with classical lineups when I am interested and when there is a favorable opportunity.

One of your famous records (" mad hatter”) is a sonic parallel to the tale of Alice in Wonderland. Is there any literary basis at other jobs?

I think that " mad hatter” is rather an exception to the rule, and I did not try to literally follow storylines borrowed from Lewis Carroll. The same can be said about the album " My Spanish Heart”, in which they often try to find one or another program idea. There are no literal parallels here. literary works, but I have always been interested in Spanish culture - poetry, painting - and all this could influence my work.

Everyone knows you as one of the pioneers in the synthesis of jazz and rock. How do you feel about what is happening in rock, pop and dance music today?

I continue to follow with interest what is happening in this area. Here, as always, there are a lot of creative people who invent something unusual all the time. I am not ashamed to learn from them, I always try to understand what they have to say, and I am grateful for the fresh ideas of those who record electronic dance music today. Unfortunately, jazz musicians often act arrogantly and consider pop music to be second-rate art. It only harms them. Sharing ideas and paying close attention to what "neighbors" are doing does nothing but good for the musicians.

In the first half of the 80s, you already performed in Russia in a duet with vibraphonist Gary Burton. What impressions did this trip leave, which of our musicians do you remember then?

Yes, of course, I remember these tours, there were many different impressions. Of the Russian musicians, I especially liked the pianist then Nikolai Levinovsky I played jam sessions with him and got to know his family. In St. Petersburg, I also met with Igor Butman and with several other excellent musicians - unfortunately, I did not remember their names. But in general, I am more familiar with those Russians who permanently live in New York or often come to America. And in Russia itself, I was more struck not by the musicians, but by the audience, because the interest in my performances was very high. Russians, it seemed to me, are very fond of jazz.

Everyone knows you as one of the most technical virtuosos in contemporary jazz. How do you feel about those musicians who are technically less prepared, but nevertheless try to pave their way in art?

I don’t know, unfortunately or fortunately, but I am very interested in a lot. What's more, I've come to realize that it's not often that musicians manage to make the breakthrough necessary for music to become truly free. And it depends not on technology and not on education. To witness such an event is always interesting and exciting. But, unfortunately, there is not enough time to search for them.

Do you manage to find time for the implementation of new projects and ideas?

Unfortunately, it's not just a matter of time. Much depends on money. Musicians need to be paid, big expenses are associated with tours, with the invitation of artists from different countries. I am not free to solve these problems - I do not write music for films (many make good money on this), I do not promote commercial projects. Therefore, any idea, especially if its implementation involves the participation of a large number of people, requires financial support, and I myself do not have sufficient funds. The larger the ensemble, the more expensive the pleasure of working with it.

What attracts you in music in the first place - the ability to talk about serious things, reflect the sublime aspects of life, or vice versa - wit and irony?

It seems to me that it is not necessary to focus on the choice between these states. irony, like serious attitude to life is rather a consequence great work, result. Any emotional state (and music can express a very wide range of human experiences) depends on how sincerely the musicians communicate. Contact with the audience is also very important, sometimes it is very difficult to establish it. If the spirit of communication reigns at a concert, music can deeply affect both the listeners and the performers themselves.

And what do you value today - creative freedom or discipline, order?

I don't think that "freedom" and "order" should be considered as a pair of opposites at all. The absence of "freedom" means, rather, "slavery", and "order", in turn, is opposed to "chaos". Freedom and discipline never interfere with each other. To be free means to have the ability to independently and responsibly make decisions, choose. To achieve this, you often have to force yourself and do something against your will.

You were one of the first to introduce synthesizers and other electronics into jazz. However, lately you have performed more often with acoustic programs, although the technique has become much more perfect than in the days of Return To Forever. Does this mean that you are disillusioned with electronics and consider it unsuitable for jazz music?

No, I have nothing against electronics, it just seems to me that all this technology is much more useful at home than on stage. I use many devices and devices - they make it easier for me to work with the score, but on stage I take only the Fender piano. Not because I'm not interested - it just entails too many additional technical difficulties, primarily with sound tuning and coordination of performers.

VIDEO: Chick Corea with the new line-up of Return to Forever at the Montreux Festival, Switzerland, 2008 - "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy"
Chick Corea - electronic keyboards, Al DiMeola - guitar, Stanley Clarke - bass guitar, Lenny White - drums

Chick Corea didn't have music 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" Corea. American musician(piano, keyboards, drums) and the 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 a jazz musician and taught his son how to play the piano at the age of four, and from the age of eight on 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, where he began professional career in the orchestra of Mongo Santamaria, performing music in the 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 line-up, in February 1972 they recorded their debut album for the ECM label, which included a very famous composition Coria "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 "number one composer" in Down Beat magazine, and since 1975 has been 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. This was not a tour in the usual sense of the word, he came to 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.

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

early years

WITH early childhood the future pianist was enveloped 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 pleasant to perceive electronic music, and acoustic instruments are 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 new group for creating 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 of 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, the 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, Corea was not favored 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 the most different areas. 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.

Koria 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 Soviet Union. 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 Acoustic 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