Chick Corea, jazz legend and renowned pianist, dead at 79

Yes...RIP.

I saw Chick Corea and Return to Forever in the late 70’s. I thought I saw him at the same college where I met the hub (standing with me in that picture thread). But he says “no!” and is adamant he never played there so it must have been at Syracuse where I transferred to art school and left him behind. But apparently, they had disbanded the years I was there. So wherever and whatever, I saw them play somewhere and it was with Stanley Clarke. < He was so cool...

I think Corea was the “jazz door” that led me to other groups like Weather Report, and a couple of Newport Jazz festivals. Lenny White at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland was the best concert ever! Jean-Luc Ponty, Miroslav Vitous, Larry Coryell, Billy Cobham, George Duke...

I was wondering (couldn’t remember) if I had a RTF album and if so, which one. Dug into the old vinyls and turns out it’s “Musicmagic” and next to it was a (totally forgotten) album by Flora Purim (!) Hub just informed me we also saw CC here in town - just a few years ago - when he played with Christian McBride and Brian Blades. I argued that “No, we never saw him HERE.” He assured me we did. So, oh well. Somebody around here has ancient and disintegrating brain cells.

And I’m afraid it’s me.

But still, I can remember enough to say he was definitely part of the “soundtrack of my life.”
 
It's funny that Corea was the door that dropped opened all that jazz stuff for you, Olive. In many ways, he probably did for me, too, inadvertently. Years before I knew the family, my brother was a music geek and listened to everything, including Chick Corea and all those musicians you named that splintered off from him, especially Al di Miola (however you spell it). I probably didn't get a good listen to what he was blasting in his room until he got to Miles Davis and Weather Report. Then I had a drum teacher that turned me onto Cobham and that was all intense. But I honestly didn't like the scores Corea was writing and/or performing. I of course respected him like crazy, but I got into Larry Carlton and Terry Trotter, the Steely Dan team and other piano/guitar duos. Even Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve became cool to me. Jean-luc Ponty and those guys got on my nerves, but people like George Duke did not. I started seeing them play live at a club called My Place near Sanat Monica. Everyone would drop in and play a few songs with whoever might be playing that night--the guys from Toto, Patrice Russian, George Duke, Rayford Griffin, guys from Earth Wind & Fire, Bonny Raitt...all sorts of various musicians whose names I can't spell correctly.

I used to practice with some of the guys from EW&F between the ages of 12-17, whenever they'd let me. I feel like it made me a better groove player for sure. They taught me a lot. A lot of musical secrets as a matter of fact. Secrets I can hardly use now. :(

Chick's son was one of my best friends for many years, but we had a falling out when I wrote my book, so it's been sad. We've been roommates and drum buds since I was almost 16 years old. He's an amazing person and a great drummer/songwriter. I miss him and wish I could give him my condolences right now. :cry:
 
Aww. Why couldn’t you contact him again? Did he get mad at YOU for something in your book? Because then I’d get your hesitancy. But then again, I know nothing about anything but still....I wish there was a way for you to make your way back to him...
 
I just sent him an email. but I doubt he'll write back.

no...he, and many others don't/can't talk to me because I left the cult and wrote a disparaging book about it. That's forever.
 
Anyway, moving on back to music (somehow), all that does is remind me of how I was stripped of my entire life, in music and of friends. Life is better now, alone and at peace. However, I could do with more music in my life. I like listening to Aimee Mann a lot, as well as Fiona Apple, PJ Harvey, First Aid Kit. Joni Mitchell...Not too much jazz anymore.
 
Well, ya never know! Maybe he’s out and about too and you’ll hear back from him and all will be forgotten/forgiven. I sound like Pollyanna but in any case, good luck to reconnecting.

Just a quickie here...and not to derail us further into nightmare...but I’m currently obsessed with watching the two shows about the NXIVM sex cults (speaking of). I have to space the episodes out because it (or rather, he...Dear Asshole Leader) makes me actually feel nauseous. So between those people and all the insurrection drama, my head is about to spin off my shoulders.

So yeah...back to music.

I don’t generally listen to much jazz these days, either.

Guess life is jazzy (and discordant) enough.
 
I have RTF - Romantic Warrior on vinyl. Stanley Clark, Al Dimeola, Billy Cobham, Chick Corea etc. All those guys were great. I especially liked Mahavishnu Orchestra- Birds of Fire. I recently bought Billy Cobham- Spectrum on vinyl. Talk about musicians!

It's funny how that progressive jazz fusion seemed so promising but then seemed to fade away. At least it did on my radar.
 
I listen quite a bit to Jazz. My favorite stuff tends to be from 50s through the mid-60s: Monk, Miles, MJQ, Coletrane, Tristano, Ellington, Bill Evans, Brubeck, Basie, Gillespie, Mingus, Sonny Rollins, etc... I was never overly fond of Jazz-fusion... except for Miles' Bitch's Brew... but I do have Chick Corea's Return to Forever, which I quite enjoy.
 
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