The Pre-Scientology Chick Corea
GNZ
68 Posts
I have (somewhat subconciously) begun listening to the music of chick corea created only before he converted to the scientology mirage. His work with circle, joe farrell quartet, marion brown and miles davis is some of my favorite piano playing. He could work a rhodes with a ring modulator or be up inside the piano scraping the shit out of some strings and banging around in there and whatnot. After he goes to the dark side we get overblown fuzak of Return to Forevor and his 80's solo work. His latest album is "inspired by the L. Ron Hubbard science fiction novel 'To The Stars'" apparently. I'd rather listen to L. Ron lecture.
Comments
This one is borderline booty. There are a few nice moments on here, nothing that'll floor you though.
Chick Corea- Return To Forever- ECM 1972
I still haven't heard this one yet
But bootlegs by this quintet are
Corea was not[/b] fucking around in those days. That Marion Brown record is top notch, too.
i've always wondered about this album. what's with the smurfs? chick down with peyo?
Some of the RTF albums are nice. That track 'You're Everything' on Light as a Feather is real smooth.
DJ Ferrari
approximately when did he convert to scientology?
1)Chick plays w/miles using electric pianos w/many effects
2)Chick leaves miles along w/dave holland to form Circle w/anthony braxton and barry atschul playing only very complex acoustic improvistory music.
3)Chick records "Return to Forever" and "light as a feather" on ECM signaling a return to more melody driven/brazillian/fusion/joe farrell flute attack
Apparently his reasons for doing the RTF was a desire to communicate more effectively and simply through his music. "Clear communication" is a trademark bullshit phrase of scientology and a famous joe farrell quote circa 1972:
"Don't lay that scientology shit on me, man"
But seriously though, his work on Wayne Shorter's "Supernova," Miles Davis' "Filles De Killamanjaro" and Larry Coryell "Spaces" are some of my favorite early fusion electric piano playing, while his performance on Marion Brown's "Afternoon of a Georgia Faun" (on acoustic piano) has made me reevaluate my entire approach to the piano.
But bring in the scientology and bring in the MINIMOOGS AND KEY-TARS.
dude fell the fuck off after this album
he should have been in apollo stars and torn shit up on some lo-fi steez.
Light as a feather had it's moments, but for the most part I agree.
Why is that album cover so awesome in a middle aged balding white man kind of way?
Seriously...may be one of my favorite album covers...I guess ECM has that whole style on lock though.
Anyone see that "Miles Electric" documentary? Corea actually manages to look SCARY in his interviews...his face looks like dough.
Scientology will age a man. Tom cruise will look like this by the time he is fourty.
Ahhhh, Tom Cruise is beyond 40 already.
hes such a whore for yamaha too. Why?
yeah........
he is another of the same kind :
during the short time he has been forced to play (somehow) electric in a funky setting did amazing things..........
but then he messed up his mind and became like this :
Used to be a favourite summer dj set opener for me. I love that track.
Agreed.
I don't mean to argue, but I've never understood the fascination with this album. I remember reading through a top jazz albums of all time list, possibly published by AMG or NPR (who has a book on jazz). This was #5. Personally, I don't get it. I listened to this album a couple of times through and then posted it on eBay (knowing that I would never listen to it again). Of all the jazz albums out there that are undisputably badass...this? number 5? But I've never understood the whole "Kind of Blue is greatest jazz album of all time" argument either.
FM
Well, it's just a great trio music album with top notch musicians playing at a very advanced improvisatory level. You would probably hate Bill Evans "Sunday at the Village Vanguard" too.
Whoever brought up keith jarrett is dead on though. He played some of the craziest electric piano with miles davis I've ever heard. Now in interviews he apparently denies that he enjoyed that music at all, and claims he was forced to play electric only because he wanted to play with miles. Keith! That doesn't explain the few OTHER electric albums that you recorded as a sideman and leader w/out miles! That doesn't explain how ecstaticly happy you look in video recording of miles concerts! Check this fool out, he's going CRAZY on a rhodes/organ combo in this one clip I've seen....I mean, I know we've all seen Keith wile out on an acoustic piano and groan/hum along, but this is a whole new level!
Revisionist history like what.
as for corea mastorbating with his yamaha key-tar? Maybe he is sponsered by them...
in one word = they are spoiled
it was me posting the Keith Jarrett link .............and I also think that with time these musicians has reached a level of "hype" that others never achieved...
that's the reason today they will dismiss the more funky (commercial ?) music they played years ago as being not valid for their today standard
I think too much artistical success so they lost touch with reality, so that start fartin around with scientology ( keith jarrett too he is close to some other similar stuff I don't remember details).......
instead just for instance, today you read Jimmy McGriff interviews and you read an old man talking very grateful in the old religious way.......he was someone, that although very well known, he did regular job and never been idolized by anyone..of course his music was surely less "artistical" but from his words you can feel that he probably never took his "notes" so seriously as the miles guys do....
so in his 80 years old his mind is still firmly on the planet heart.....