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Chick Corea has died

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Re: Chick Corea has died

#21

Post by lb1lf »

mindfulplay wrote: post #16
linguae wrote: post #12

I am a huge fan of Chick Corea; he is my favorite jazz pianist. I was saddened to hear this news this afternoon. My very first jazz album outside of smooth jazz was “My Spanish Heart,” which was my introduction to jazz fusion. I then discovered Return to Forever and the Elektric Band, and I also learned about Chick Corea’s post-bop work. Chick Corea’s music has been a mainstay in my life for the past 15 years. I love…

I had previously no idea who he was. Having listened to his music, I now understand how good he is/was and this was a gentle introduction to this genre. Are there good jazz piano/jazz albums to listen to that people might recommend? (By him or others)

-For something same, same but decidedly different, you could do worse than checking out Keith Jarrett.

I usually recommend his Köln Concert as a starting point - a recording of a 1975 concert which even though I've probably listened to it a thousand times over the years still sounds fresh and brings a smile to my face every time I put it on.

Among the contemporaries, I have a soft spot for Iiro Rantala. Oh, and Bugge Wesseltoft.

Re: Chick Corea has died

#22

Post by jacquesm »

brtkdotse wrote: post #14
SkyMarshal wrote: post #10

Fyi, ScriptSafe is showing that one of the blocked domains on this site is scientology.tv. Apparently Chick was a Scientologist. https://www.scientology.tv/series/staywell-concert/artists/c...

He was, and quite a prominent one as well. While it low-key bugs me, I decided I won’t let it destroy the beauty of his art for me. In general, it’s better not to dig into the personal lives of people you look up to, because chances are we’re attributing all sorts of virtues to them based on their work, while they’re - just like all of us - humans with flaws and dark nooks. John Lennon, for example, beat his first wi…

Seconded. Scientology is pretty good at corrupting people, and has quite a few prominent people in their ranks. John Travolta, Chick Corea, Tom Cruise, Isaac Hayes. Pretty sad in a way.

Re: Chick Corea has died

#23

Post by Softcadbury »

josh2600 wrote: post #8

Chick Corea was a god. I learned Spain on the bass in the hopes that one day I could play my meager rendition for him. In a concert at SFJazz he picked people out of the audience to paint their portraits with his piano. How lucky was I to be placed upon such a seat where Chick dismembered me with his eyes, eviscerating my soul upon a platter. He stared at me with the eyes of a musician who had searched heaven and hel…

Thanks for the story. Sorry, I know nothing about music, how do you paint someone's portrait with a piano? He was able to create a music based on a person?

Re: Chick Corea has died

#24

Post by linguae »

mindfulplay wrote: post #16
linguae wrote: post #12

I am a huge fan of Chick Corea; he is my favorite jazz pianist. I was saddened to hear this news this afternoon. My very first jazz album outside of smooth jazz was “My Spanish Heart,” which was my introduction to jazz fusion. I then discovered Return to Forever and the Elektric Band, and I also learned about Chick Corea’s post-bop work. Chick Corea’s music has been a mainstay in my life for the past 15 years. I love…

I had previously no idea who he was. Having listened to his music, I now understand how good he is/was and this was a gentle introduction to this genre. Are there good jazz piano/jazz albums to listen to that people might recommend? (By him or others)

Disclaimer: My favorite subgenres of jazz are fusion and post-bop.

A wonderful, accessible jazz album that I highly recommend for newcomers is saxophonist Michael Brecker's 1987 self-titled album, which was his first album as a band leader (though by this point he had already been a highly prolific session player). There is some great piano playing on this album. I consider Michael Brecker one of the greatest saxophonists in jazz. Unfortunately he passed away rather untimely in 2007, but thankfully he left us with a lot of wonderful music.

While I'm still talking about Michael Brecker, I also recommend the albums "Steps Ahead," "Modern Times," and "Magnetic," which are all from the band Steps Ahead and feature Michael Brecker as a sideman. Don Grolnick was another wonderful pianist, and I also recommend his album "Hearts and Numbers," which features Michael Brecker.

Regarding Chick Corea's work, "My Spanish Heart" is an excellent introduction, as well as "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs." The albums from his two fusion bands Return to Forever and the Chick Corea Elektric Band are also all top-notch; I recommend starting with "Romantic Warrior" for the former and "Eye of the Beholder" for the latter as definitive albums for these bands.

Re: Chick Corea has died

#25

Post by mindfulplay »

linguae wrote: post #24
mindfulplay wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had previously no idea who he was. Having listened to his music, I now understand how good he is/was and this was a gentle introduction to this genre. Are there good jazz piano/jazz albums to listen to that people might recommend? (By him or others)

Disclaimer: My favorite subgenres of jazz are fusion and post-bop. A wonderful, accessible jazz album that I highly recommend for newcomers is saxophonist Michael Brecker's 1987 self-titled album, which was his first album as a band leader (though by this point he had already been a highly prolific session player). There is some great piano playing on this album. I consider Michael Brecker one of the greatest saxopho…

Thank you and others for the suggestions. This is great.

Re: Chick Corea has died

#28

Post by mindfulplay »

jacquesm wrote: post #18
mindfulplay wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had previously no idea who he was. Having listened to his music, I now understand how good he is/was and this was a gentle introduction to this genre. Are there good jazz piano/jazz albums to listen to that people might recommend? (By him or others)

Return to Forever, Crystal Silence, Romantic Warrior, My Spanish Heart, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy. When you're done with those (I figure, five years or so :) ), then you will want to listen to everything else... My personal favorite is probably Crystal Silence, that is such an amazing piece, it never ceases to give you more joy and new bits of discovery, even when you know it note-for-note. As for other good Jazz al…

Thank you, I just got hooked to John Coltrane but my view of the jazz world was very limited, glad to see so many new names.

Re: Chick Corea has died

#29

Post by jacquesm »

mindfulplay wrote: post #28
jacquesm wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Return to Forever, Crystal Silence, Romantic Warrior, My Spanish Heart, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy. When you're done with those (I figure, five years or so :) ), then you will want to listen to everything else... My personal favorite is probably Crystal Silence, that is such an amazing piece, it never ceases to give you more joy and new bits of discovery, even when you know it note-for-note. As for other good Jazz al…

Thank you, I just got hooked to John Coltrane but my view of the jazz world was very limited, glad to see so many new names.

Jazz is probably wider and deeper than either pop or classical, you have your work cut out for you :) But it's the best kind of work.

Oh, and I forgot to mention Michel Petrucciani.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PyYcnXQZJY

Re: Chick Corea has died

#30

Post by josh2600 »

Softcadbury wrote: post #23
josh2600 wrote: post #8

Chick Corea was a god. I learned Spain on the bass in the hopes that one day I could play my meager rendition for him. In a concert at SFJazz he picked people out of the audience to paint their portraits with his piano. How lucky was I to be placed upon such a seat where Chick dismembered me with his eyes, eviscerating my soul upon a platter. He stared at me with the eyes of a musician who had searched heaven and hel…

Thanks for the story. Sorry, I know nothing about music, how do you paint someone's portrait with a piano? He was able to create a music based on a person?

Chick asked me to sit in a chair a couple feet away from his piano. He stared at me with the a look that seemed to say "whatever you've got, I'll work with it." If I had to imagine how I looked back at him in that moment it would've been the simulacrum of wanderlust and kummerspeck (German for grief bacon). It felt like I was being channeled by a ghost and the chords matched my facade like icing on a cake.

Chick played the piano, all I could do was sit there and listen.

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