One small piece of the puzzle: why is Chick playing with so many musicians who were associated with Horace Silver? He probably explained it a hundred times, but I heard it in a Zoom chat he did with Wynton Marsalis, very near the end of his life during the early COVID lockdown. He had a band when he was a student in Massachusetts that played Horace Silver tunes. When he got to NYC, the guys in Horace's band wanted to work more than Horace did. Chick knew the book and, I presume, worked fairly cheap. So he'd be the pianist in the Junior Cook Quintet or the Blue Mitchell Quintet. And so on to Woody, Joe Hen and Maupin.
Chick (and his dad!) came to see Horace at Concerts By The Sea when I played with him in '83. The affection and respect he had for Horace was immense and obvious!
Great piece - Chick Corea's debut is jaw-droppingly good and should be way more celebrated than it is - a daring statement. I also did want to note that it's Joe Farrell as opposed to Henderson on the album.
Nice piece! Yes, Robert Gilbert beat me to it by 7 min - it's Joe Farrell on Tones. Joe played a lot with Chick over the years (including in the original RTF) before leaving way too early in the mid-to-late 80s. Vinnie, check out some of the records he's on with Elvin, Andrew Hill (Passing Ships), and others, as well as his own sides, especially the ones on CTI ("Outback" with Chick, Buster, Elvin, Airto, and "Moon Germs" with Herbie, Stanley Clarke, and Jack de J). Little known now, but one of the baddest of the era IMHO.
Great rundown of early Chick, thank you! "Light as a Feather," the second and to me superior release of the pre-electric RTF, also deserves noting. Rhodes only, but what beautiful Rhodes. Farrell too, and Flora Purim, but above all that marvelous trio of Corea, acoustic Stanley Clarke, and Airto on traps and percussion. So open and fresh.
"Now He Sings easily connects to much of Chick’s later work— Spanish vamps, bass/piano unisons, advanced blues, and aspirational poetry were all a part of the first Chick Corea Elektric Band album in 1986, for instance."
Well observed! There is a through-line in Chick's many disparate works and bands that isn't always obvious. Thanks for this piece on some of my favorite music.
Those 1st three records are tremendous. Another good one is the Chick Corea Sextet Live @ the VV, Oct. 1, 1967 with Joseph Firantello, Richard Davis, Elvin. Check it out:
Vinnie, thanks for this great piece on Chick. I heard each of these albums when I worked at WTJU-FM in Charlottesville in the mid-70s. You brought back great memories of late nights alone in the broadcast studio listening to these and Chick's albums with Gary Burton. Glad also that Joe Farrell is not totally forgotten. Saw him several times in NYC in the 70s leading his own band. Loved his 1970 CTI album "Joe Farrell Quartet" with Chick, John McLaughlin, and Dave Holland at Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio. Died too young at 49 in 1986.
I was fortunate to borrow a beautiful vinyl copy of "Tones for Joan's" from a fellow student when I was in NYC (as I recall we were at a party and someone put it on and it was immediately overruled by the partygoers). I wasn't able to give it back to the owner before he went back to Germany, so Sebi Vogler, if you're out there, I have your record and want to get it back to you!
One small piece of the puzzle: why is Chick playing with so many musicians who were associated with Horace Silver? He probably explained it a hundred times, but I heard it in a Zoom chat he did with Wynton Marsalis, very near the end of his life during the early COVID lockdown. He had a band when he was a student in Massachusetts that played Horace Silver tunes. When he got to NYC, the guys in Horace's band wanted to work more than Horace did. Chick knew the book and, I presume, worked fairly cheap. So he'd be the pianist in the Junior Cook Quintet or the Blue Mitchell Quintet. And so on to Woody, Joe Hen and Maupin.
Chick (and his dad!) came to see Horace at Concerts By The Sea when I played with him in '83. The affection and respect he had for Horace was immense and obvious!
Amazing memory, thanks for that Brian!
Great points Paul....thanks for the comment...
Great piece - Chick Corea's debut is jaw-droppingly good and should be way more celebrated than it is - a daring statement. I also did want to note that it's Joe Farrell as opposed to Henderson on the album.
Ah, I was just coming here with that.
Fixed! Sincere apologies; this error will haunt me for days.
Ha. Don't let it haunt you, man. We have other stuff to attend to tomorrow. ✊
And let's not forget the album Sundance which has tracks recorded at the same sessions as IS.
The Brain is my favorite cut from Sundance.
Excellent rundown of some classic early Chick jazz sides. But it’s Joe Farrell on those sides rather than Joe Hen.
Fixed! Thanks for catching.
Nice piece! Yes, Robert Gilbert beat me to it by 7 min - it's Joe Farrell on Tones. Joe played a lot with Chick over the years (including in the original RTF) before leaving way too early in the mid-to-late 80s. Vinnie, check out some of the records he's on with Elvin, Andrew Hill (Passing Ships), and others, as well as his own sides, especially the ones on CTI ("Outback" with Chick, Buster, Elvin, Airto, and "Moon Germs" with Herbie, Stanley Clarke, and Jack de J). Little known now, but one of the baddest of the era IMHO.
And those CTI Farrell's are all killer, as you note.
Passing Ships is almost like a concerto for Joe's many winds; he sounds brilliant on all of them, of course.
Thank you Mr. Lynch! Will do....
Great rundown of early Chick, thank you! "Light as a Feather," the second and to me superior release of the pre-electric RTF, also deserves noting. Rhodes only, but what beautiful Rhodes. Farrell too, and Flora Purim, but above all that marvelous trio of Corea, acoustic Stanley Clarke, and Airto on traps and percussion. So open and fresh.
"Now He Sings easily connects to much of Chick’s later work— Spanish vamps, bass/piano unisons, advanced blues, and aspirational poetry were all a part of the first Chick Corea Elektric Band album in 1986, for instance."
Well observed! There is a through-line in Chick's many disparate works and bands that isn't always obvious. Thanks for this piece on some of my favorite music.
Appreciate it Blake!
+ 1, Vinnie
Those 1st three records are tremendous. Another good one is the Chick Corea Sextet Live @ the VV, Oct. 1, 1967 with Joseph Firantello, Richard Davis, Elvin. Check it out:
https://www.dustygroove.com/item/505653/Chick-Corea-Joe-Farrell-Elvin-Jones-Others:Jazz-For-A-Sunday-Afternoon-aka-Jazz-For-A-Sunday-Afternoon-Vol-4-Live-At-The-Village-Vanguard-with-bonus-track
Joseph Firantello indeed! Thanks Charles....
Vinnie, thanks for this great piece on Chick. I heard each of these albums when I worked at WTJU-FM in Charlottesville in the mid-70s. You brought back great memories of late nights alone in the broadcast studio listening to these and Chick's albums with Gary Burton. Glad also that Joe Farrell is not totally forgotten. Saw him several times in NYC in the 70s leading his own band. Loved his 1970 CTI album "Joe Farrell Quartet" with Chick, John McLaughlin, and Dave Holland at Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio. Died too young at 49 in 1986.
I was fortunate to borrow a beautiful vinyl copy of "Tones for Joan's" from a fellow student when I was in NYC (as I recall we were at a party and someone put it on and it was immediately overruled by the partygoers). I wasn't able to give it back to the owner before he went back to Germany, so Sebi Vogler, if you're out there, I have your record and want to get it back to you!