Now he sings... now he sobs. I am heartbroken to find out the news of the passing of one of my musical heroes, the one and the only, Mr. Chick Corea, the legendary keyboardist and founder of Return To Forever, who also worked for five years with Miles Davis and his early electric bands. I had the great honor and pleasure of meeting Chick, after a show in 2011 when Return To Forever performed here in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on their 2011 World Tour, at the Orpheum Theater, and I introduced myself and said, "I am amazed by all your work, but especially what you played on the keys with Miles Davis", and Chick was so stunned at the time, that I, a young man at the time who was nothing more than an aspiring musician, knew who he was and knew of his musical work, I thought he'd fall on the floor!
Chick's music, his mastery of keyboards like the Rhodes piano and the Minimoog synthesizer, surely inspired me, even as a guitar player. His work with Miles Davis, with Return to Forever, and with the Elektric Band, as well as one of his later projects, The Vigil, and also his work with legendary drummer, Steve Gadd, musically, captivated my soul, whether it was an electric jazz rock fusion piece, or, his own solo piano compositions or interpretations of other jazz greats, Chick always brought a fresh and creative approach to the music, whatever setting it happened to be in. Return To Forever, and their collective body of work, led as always, by Chick, blew my mind, and made me think about music in a completely new and different way.
It actually started, with hearing Chick, along with Joe Zawinul, on some of the first electric Miles Davis recordings such as 1969's "In A Silent Way", and 1970's "Bitches Brew". These recordings made me think about music in a completely new and different way, over a decade ago, while I was still a college student. They opened, or maybe reopened, a door into the realm of jazz. Chick and his music, was a catalyst for me to go back and beginning digging many, many, many jazz legends that came before him, or any of his contemporaries who he performed and collaborated with. Talk about opening a window, to musical treasures. That's what Chick's music, did for me as a musician and as a person.
I saw Chick perform twice more, with a new group he had founded called The Vigil, in 2013 or 2014, (I believe 2014), and then, with legendary drummer and collaborator, Steve Gadd, and this goes back to somewhere between 2017 and 2019. Sometime before the pandemic. I cannot remember the exact year or date, except for the show being at The Dakota in Minneapolis, the venue where I did see Chick play those two subsequent shows after Return To Forever. They are listed in the blog here, someplace, so you will be able to find them if you search for Chick Corea's name in the search box.
If you have not listened to the aforementioned Miles Davis records, or to Return To Forever, in honor of the legacy of the man, of Chick Corea, I encourage you to do so. It is some of the finest, and most incredible music you will ever hear. It did not matter if Chick was playing a grand piano, a Rhodes, or a Moog synthesizer. Anything he ever did is worth a listen. He is a cornerstone of modern jazz music from the 1960s to the present day, and will be missed tremendously, not only by me, but my his legions of fans around the world.
Rest In Peace, Chick Corea. Here is a tribute, from YouTube musician, engineer, producer, Rick Beato.
More tributes to Chick yet to come I am sure. Stay tuned.
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