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Great Electronic Keyboard Players

Herbie Hancock
Joe Zawinul
Bernie Worrell
Brian Eno
Peter Gabriel
Keith Emerson
Chick Corea
Sly Stone
D'Angelo
John Medeski
Liam Howlett
Stevie Wonder
Thomas Dolby
Steve Winwood


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Chick Corea


Great Electronic Keyboard Players


Chick Corea

Chick Corea has been one of the most significant jazzmen since the '60s. Not content at any time to rest on his laurels, Corea has been involved in quite a few important musical projects, and his musical curiosity has never dimmed. A masterful pianist who, along with Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, was one of the top stylists to emerge after Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner, Corea is also one of the few electric keyboardists to be quite individual and recognizable on synthesizers. In addition, he has composed several jazz standards, including "Spain," "La Fiesta," and "Windows."

Corea began playing piano when he was four and, early on, Horace Silver and Bud Powell were influences. He picked up important experience playing with the bands of Mongo Santamaria and Willie Bobo (1962-1963), Blue Mitchell (1964-1966), Herbie Mann, and Stan Getz. He made his recording debut as a leader with 1966's Tones for Joan's Bones, and his 1968 trio set (with Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes) Now He Sings, Now He Sobs is considered a classic. After a short stint with Sarah Vaughan, Corea joined Miles Davis as Herbie Hancock's gradual replacement, staying with Davis during a very important transitional period (1968-1970). He was persuaded by the trumpeter to start playing electric piano, and was on such significant albums as Filles de Kilimanjaro, In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, and Miles Davis at the Fillmore. When he left Davis, Corea at first chose to play avant-garde acoustic jazz in Circle, a quartet with Anthony Braxton, Dave Holland, and Barry Altschul. But at the end of 1971, he changed directions again.

Leaving Circle, Corea played briefly with Stan Getz and then formed Return to Forever, which started out as a melodic Brazilian group with Stanley Clarke, Joe Farrell, Airto, and Flora Purim. Within a year, Corea (with Clarke, Bill Connors, and Lenny White) had changed Return to Forever into a pacesetting and high-powered fusion band; Al DiMeola took Connors' place in 1974. While the music was rock-oriented, it still retained the improvisations of jazz, and Corea remained quite recognizable, even under the barrage of electronics. When RTF broke up in the late '70s, Corea retained the name for some big band dates with Clarke. During the next few years, he generally emphasized his acoustic playing and appeared in a wide variety of contexts; including separate duet tours with Gary Burton and Herbie Hancock, a quartet with Michael Brecker, trios with Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes, tributes to Thelonious Monk, and even some classical music.

In 1985, Chick Corea formed a new fusion group, the Elektric Band, which eventually featured bassist John Patitucci, guitarist Frank Gambale, saxophonist Eric Marienthal, and drummer Dave Weckl. To balance out his music, a few years later he formed his Akoustic Trio with Patitucci and Weckl. When Patitucci went out on his own in the early '90s, the personnel changed, but Corea continued leading stimulating groups (including a quartet with Patitucci and Bob Berg). During 1996-1997, Corea toured with an all-star quintet (including Kenny Garrett and Wallace Roney) that played modern versions of Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk compositions. He remains an important force in modern jazz, and every phase of his development has been well-documented on records.
Corea started out the 21st century by releasing a pair of solo piano records, Solo Piano: Originals and Solo Piano: Standards, in 2000, followed by Past, Present & Futures in 2001. Rendezvous in New York appeared in 2003, followed by To the Stars in 2004. The Ultimate Adventure was released in 2006.--Bio Courtesy of allmusic.com


Visit the official Chick Corea Web Site here www.chickcorea.com

RETURN TO FOREVER: Romantic Warrior -- Originally released in 1976, Return To Forever's Romantic Warrior could be described as the high-water mark of jazz fusion's commercial popularity, reaching a spot on the Billboard charts and garnering the group a fanatical following of fans attracted to the band's technical prowess and bombast. Released on the heels of the breakup of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Romantic Warrior still sounds like a standard-bearer for jazz fusion, full of flashy solos and complicated arrangements that seem like collages of different moods, meters, and tempos. The album is much closer to the progressive rock of Yes, Emerson Lake & Palmer, or King Crimson than anything from the jazz realm. Return to Forever's rhythm team of bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White, who gives the group a subtly funkier sound than most of their contemporaries. Still, it's pianist Chick Corea, using a veritable arsenal of keyboards and effects, and guitarist Al DiMeola, only 21 at the time of this recording, who define Romantic Warrior as a fusion landmark.--Ezra Gale
RETURN TO FOREVER: No Mystery -- Certainly the funkiest of all the "Return to Forever" records, I played this album until no grooves were left on the LP! Chick plays plenty of clav, moog, rhodes and piano to make this required listening for any serious keyboard player. -- Rodney Lee
Chick Corea Elektric Band: Live at Montreux 2004 -- DVD
Chick Corea is one of the most significant jazzmen of recent times. He first came to notice as a keyboard player for Miles Davis in the late sixties and early seventies before founding his own jazz-fusion band Return To Forever with Stanley Clarke, which started the career of Al Di Meola. In more recent times he has been operating as either the Chick Corea Akoustic Band or, as in this case, the Chick Corea Elektric Band.
The band line-up features Corea on keyboards, John Patitucci on bass, Frank Gambale on guitar, Dave Weckl on drums and Eddie Marienthal on sax.
Chick Corea has played Montreux on many occasions both in his own right and as a sideman for other performers. This two and a half hour concert from 2004 was part of the tour for the most recent Elektric Band album To The Stars and the first part of the concert is made up of a number of tracks from that album. After the interlude, the band come back to offer a selection of classic tracks including Eternal Child, Spain and Blue Miles.
Three Quartets -- Definitely one of my favorite Chick Corea records. It features Chick at the acoustic piano at his compositional peak. And with Steve Gadd, Eddie Gomez, and Michael Brecker on board how can you go wrong? Just buy it and listen!! -- Rodney Lee
Check out Chick Corea with Return to Forever live.
Vintage Keys: Moog, Rhodes, Clavinet, Arp Odyssey



If you are a Chick Corea fan then perhaps you will enjoy my CD as well.
The Satellite Orchestra is the latest project from Los Angeles keyboardist Rodney Lee. The music is a cinematic journey into soulful live electronica with Lee navigating from a Fender Rhodes electric piano. The CD was released in Sept. 2006 and features Rico Belled on bass, Allen Lightner on percussion, Dino Soldo on bass clarinet and flutes, Dave Karasony on Drums, and vocalists Jody Watley, Jeff Robinson, and Wade3.
The Satellite Orchestra is like a chance meeting of Massive Attack, Zero-7, and Herbie Hancock.

" I have always believed that an album is a trip..not just music to wash the dishes to, but a place to go.. a journey to take.. an album goes to a place in your soul that maybe you forgot was there...or maybe you never discovered.. The Satellite Orchestra is such an album..it's music you feel...make sure to bring your headphones." -DJ Jedi



Chick Corea: Chick Corea Collection - sheet music at www.sheetmusicplus.com
Chick Corea: Chick Corea ...

The Jazz Solos of Chick Corea  - sheet music at www.sheetmusicplus.com
The Jazz Solos of Chick C...

Keyboard Workshop - sheet music at www.sheetmusicplus.com
Keyboard Workshop

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