R.I.P. Chick Corea

[nosebone]

Devastating news..., one of my biggest musical heroes .., rest easy Chick on your return to forever.

[mnprogger]

this is heart wrenching. Been a fan for about 20 years as it was 20 years ago last December I went to see him at the Dakota Jazz Club in St.Paul, MN, on a whim from a suggestion of a friend (the "Jam on it" guy from Nearfest).

Been into his and RTF music especially, ever since.

This feels quite odd too given he had been sending emails regularly about his online school and other releases and interviews in the age of COVID. It really feels like it came out of nowhere.

[zeprogmeister]

Quite shocking to say the least and sad. During the Pandemic he had been posting livestreams every day on Facebook for a while and he looked good. The illness must have come on recently and quickly.

[chescorph]

RIP. It is such a big loss and his influence was enormous.....saw him twice, once with the Elektric Band in the mid 80s, opening that show was Allan Holdsworth whose Metal Fatigue had just come out...the other time a few years later was a one off show a huge Yes fanatic friend insisted we go to at Carnegie Hall, featuring Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie Gomez on bass and Steve Gadd on drums. Like others have stated I discovered RTF through Yes and Moraz and Romantic Warrior and am just now realizing Chick’s connection to and influence on so many greats. Did not know he was sick or that he was that old as he was so spry and energetic.

[chescorph]

Here he is in 1969 with Miles:

https://twitter.com/dusttodigital/st...414838785?s=20

[profusion]

The thing I'll remember most is the obvious joy he got from playing on stage.

I was blessed to see Chick and John McLaughlin perform at the Blue Note in NYC a few years ago during Chick's 70th birthday celebration. I was sitting only a few feet away from Chick, and his enthusiasm was INFECTIOUS. No stern genius business for him. He was having the time of his life up there on stage, casually tossing out brilliant passages one after the other.

His rhythmic and compositional senses were utterly unique and instantly recognizable, no matter the context. A huge loss. RIP.

[MissKittysMom]

Tonight's piano practice will be sight reading a bunch of his Children's Songs. RIP, Chick.

[chalkpie]

I spun Friends and Romantic Warrior on vinyl tonight. Drinking a nice Equilibrium brew in Chick's honor. Three Quartets playing now...Gadd is a fucking badass.

[GuitarGeek]

Listening to Paris Concert by Circle right now. Really dig his piano solo on Nefertiti.

[AncientChord]

I saw him perform with Return to Forever for both sets at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Ca. in 1978. They opened for UK. My friends and I enjoyed RTF immensely. We were there for UK, but Chick and RTF blew us away too. At I point in my youth I know I owned the LP of Romantic Warrior. Great early jazz/fusion prog. Hope he's jamming in the forever. RIP

[Progatron]

I had to write this.

https://www.velvetthunder.co.uk/now-...forever-chick/

[rdclark]

1976, my first visit to the Boston area, I'm in the Harvard Coop record department, looking to expand my bass vocabulary, looking at Stanley Clarke records. On the sound system, something beautiful and beguiling: "My Spanish Heart." Cosmic convergence, Stanley and Chick. An entree to jazz that would continue to open wider with time. All the musical changes I've been through since, Chick Corea was always a constant presence somewhere in the back of my mind, doing something new, but with that voice, those voicings.

The last times we saw Chick were both with Bela Fleck: in 2017, at the Count Basie in Red Bank, the Flecktones on one side of the stage, the Elektric Band on the other. What a night. And in 2019, a duo performance at the Strathmore (seeing them for the second time).

I don't know what it will be like going forward without that voice. Maybe it's time to listen to all the things you played I never heard.

Rest well.

[Udi Koomran]

as time passed I got to realize the scope of his work and the amazing drive and passion he had
his resilience and longevity were amazing
the 70's few such a fertile decade for Chick but he didn't slow down in the 80 he was just as passionate and on the cutting edge
I saw him twice once in the late 70's with Herbie - man they did LaFiesta that was incredible
then in 1986 with The Electric Band one of the amazing shows I ever saw
a giant

[Paulrus]

I didn't know much about Chick, other than he'd been in Return to Forever, when I happened across this video on YouTube years ago (apologies for the quality!) The electric sounds are definitely dated (he's playing a DX7 fer crissakes), but it starts with some great acoustic piano playing and then gives you a fascinating look into his creative process.

[Rarebird]

RIP.
Just heard it on the news on German television. I'm not really a big lover of his music, though I own several Return to Forever albums I like.

[Vic2012]

RIP. I have a couple RTF albums.

[chalkpie]

Really enjoying this right now....

[Firth]

RIP Chick. I was fortunate to see this phenomenal reunion performance in 2008.



You ask me where I've been,
Earth friend,
Searching, searching for the truth,
Reaching out listening.
Many is the time I've held him by the tail,
Only to find two feathers left,
To show there was a trail.
Yes I have been searching
Searching for the truth,
Lifting stones, listening.
Many is the time I caught him,
Locked him in a room,
Only to find the curtains waving
In the breeze.
Never smile too soon with him my friend,
Never smile too soon.
I have searched and searched
My earth friend,
Running through the centuries,
From then till now to eons past.
Many is the time he talked me round,
We even sat to dine,
Only to find he left the room,
Before I served the wine.
Only to find he left the room,
Yes, I have been searching
For the truth earth friend.
Searching across space, in space, through time.
Many of the signs he left quickened my flow,
Again to find he left the game
A universe ago.
Thank you for asking my dearest earthly friend,
But I'm searching not today.
Look close - be aware,
The answer's in my eyes,
Face to face we met today
And I'm clearing all those lies.
Yes, truth and I we met today,
He's closer than you see.
The truth is you
The truth is me
Whether here or in the seventh galaxy
The truth is you
The truth is me
Infinity

[walt]

One of Chick Corea's lesser known studio sessions(1969) but some fine music is to be found here.I've been listening to the 2 cd Complete "IS" Sessions(Blue Note).R.I.P.

[Zappathustra]

I haven't really connected with Chick Corea music, except for the Miles Davis albums and early Return to Forever. That said, I am not really familiar with anything he did from 80's onward.
I remember in high school, some schoolmate took me at his place and put me some Corea trio album with the words "this is the greatest musician of all times". Being a hard rock/heavy metal fanboy I wasn't really convinced.
Of course he was a huge player and his loss is so big for the music.

[alucard]

Great memory from an trio outdoor concert in Paris. He started playing very out for about an hour and a part of the audience left. During a short break someone in the audience whistled a short melody and Corea asked him to whistle it again and then started using this melody and build around a diatonic improvisation. Once finished he asked the audience for another "tune" and he continued like this for nearly two hours. One of the most intense artist to audience relations I witnessed and a standing ovation at the end.
Great artist
R.I.P.

[Mister Triscuits]

Great memory from an trio outdoor concert in Paris. He started playing very out for about an hour and a part of the audience left. During a short break someone in the audience whistled a short melody and Corea asked him to whistle it again and then started using this melody and build around a diatonic improvisation. Once finished he asked the audience for another "tune" and he continued like this for nearly two hours. One of the most intense artist to audience relations I witnessed and a standing ovation at the end.

Wow. That's so much like the stories about Bach, who when entertaining a royal patron would ask for a tune and then improvise a fugue on it.

[alucard]

Wow. That's so much like the stories about Bach, who when entertaining a royal patron would ask for a tune and then improvise a fugue on it.

Same spirit :-)

[FrippWire]

A favorite of mine. I was numb all day yesterday after getting the news at work. I work in a record store so I spent a good part of the day informing customers of what had happened. Not that any of us know when we're going to go but this one took me by total surprise -- he toured in 2019 and been very active in a number of ways during the pandemic. This one hurts.

[Dana5140]

He never stopped making music. He was doing show after show as short ago as 6 months. I am hearing the cancer he had was both rare and highly aggressive. And even so, before he left us, he left a message for fans and his peers that thanked them for following him and encouraged them to live and love.