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Royal Northern College of Music

The Legacy and Impact of

Chick Corea:
A Study of his Influence on Composition and
Improvisation within Jazz Fusion.

By Luke Keigher

MMUS
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Index
Introduction 3
A Brief History of Jazz and Chick Corea 3
Case Study: Spain 7
Conclusion: The Lasting of E ect of Chick Corea 11
Bibliography. 12
ff
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1.
Introduction
The late Chick Corea is revered and admired as an all time great of jazz music, his trail blazing career took
him to the heights of straight-ahead jazz, latin, bebop and fusion; playing with other titans of the scene such
as Miles Davis and Stan Getz and thereafter going on to win 27 Grammys through a life of achievement.
In this study we shall take a deeper look at Corea’s life, analysing what we can from the environmental
effects of his upbringing and early influences before moving on to how the prolific composer and performer
repeatedly pushed the boundaries of popular music, finally studying his improvisations and variations on a
case study of one of his most popular works.

A Brief History of Jazz and Chick Corea

Jazz music had been prevalent in the music scene for most of the 20th Century, with Jazz having been
recognised as a major medium for cultural expression in the 1920s. Swing was by far the most prominent
form of popular music at the time, it’s regular four to the floor rhythm made it perfect for dancing and
despite their reliance on written music they still managed to form melodies and weave improvisations
throughout these themes with grace1. However a shift was beginning from the most virtuosic players in the
swing bands as they were beginning to feel constricted by the setting and context of the music they were
playing, as a result many musicians began to break away into smaller bands hoping that the merit of their
improvisation and soloing could form a career.2 This is a very similar story to one of Miles Davis, who as a
perfect example, played in a number of big bands lead by pioneers such as Dizzy Gillespie and Billy
Eckstine, he later declined an offer to join Duke Ellington’s orchestra instead opting to form a nonet with
many close collaborators such as Gil Evans.3 To conclude I think we can assess the the attitude towards
music around the 40s and 50s as experimental and entrepreneurial, with styles such as Be-Bop giving the
musicians scope to push their ability as well as success stories like Davis spreading a culture of musicians
breaking off larger ensembles and building a career on their own merit.

On June 12th, 1941, in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea was born to his farther,
also named Armando, an active jazz trumpeter and band-leader in the area. Corea talks positively of his
environment in the early stages of his life, referencing that they lived on top of a grocery store on a busy
street, across from a bar room.4 Picking up an interest in music at a very early age from his father he was
then encouraged to take up playing the piano, and his first musical tuition came straight from father to son; it
was when Corea tuned 7 years old that his father decided it was time for him to get lessons from a pianist,
and so Chick started lessons with local concert pianist Salvatore Sullo where he’d be exposed to classical
music such as the works of Bach, Beethoven and Chopin,5 as well as introduced to many jazz composers
such as, Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock and Bill Evans, namely Corea often referenced a love of Horace
Silver’s work, having transcribed a number of his solo’s in his youth. It’s worth noting that some of his
earliest professional work was playing latin music with musicians such as Stan Getz, this percussive latin
feel is something that Corea has always kept fundamental in his playing.
After a brief spell at Juliard Music College, Corea had decided that rather than engaging further in academic
studies he would drop out of the school to pursue music full time.

1 Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux, Jazz (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009), 171-176.
2Marc Myers, Why Jazz Happened(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013), 13-15
3Masterclass, Learn About Miles Davis’s Life and In uence on Jazz Music. https://
www.masterclass.com/articles/miles-davis-life-and-
music#:~:text=Jazz%20musician%20and%20trumpeter%20Miles,musicians%20in%20many%2
0di erent%20genres. (MasterClass 2023)
4PrestigeVEVO, Chick Corea - Prestige 70 Podcast and Video Series: Chick Corea (Episode 6),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ltt1n_7qgI
5Len Lyons, The Great Jazz Pianists: Speaking of Their Lives and Music (New York: William
Morrow andCompany, 1983), 260.106
ff
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The next major event in Chick Corea’s rise to fame was to follow in the footsteps of two of his major
influences, Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock, taking up the position of piano for the already legendary Miles
Davis in 1968. Whilst taking the mantle from his hero’s may’ve seemed a daunting task, Chick was adamant
that entire process is extremely casual, stating that Miles only told him to “play what you hear.”6 As well as
this it’s worth noting that Davis insisted upon his use of the Fender Rhodes, an instrument which he didn’t
have much love for when it was first thrust upon him but would go on to use extensively in his career. This
was a major step forward in Chicks career, giving him international recognition as a virtuosic pianist.

After three years playing for Davis, Corea decided it was time to pursue a new direction and formed the
group Circle; this band pursued a more acoustic form of free jazz, focusing on communication between
performer and audience as much as communication on stage. The music they produced explored very
abstract rhythmic and harmonic themes that couldn’t be tied to much existing material, there was, “no
coherent physical rhythmic grooves.”7 Whilst Corea enjoyed the freedom of playing with Circle and the
complex improvisations they could explore, he felt there wasn’t a true connection with the audience, later
reflecting that “using his energies and technique to create a music way beyond the ability of people to
connect,” was a waste of energy.8 Seeking a greater connection with his audience, Corea released music
which was much more accessible, this was embodied in his next releases, Piano Improvisations Volume One
and Two.
This desire to communicate further with an audience came prominently form Corea’s conversation to
scientology, and his new found prospective he’d received from the writings of L Ron Hubbard, particularly
on the ideas of communication. Encapsulating his views on communicating with a listener Core said, “My
own particular code as a performer is this: it's up to me to do something for an audience.”9

As the sixties drew to a close it seemed the public desire for what Jazz had to offer was dwindling; even
examining all time greats like Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, you would find that record sales were far
below what distributers where expecting.10 11 All while this was happening, rock music was firmly taking
over popular culture, with America being enamoured with the Beatles and the sub-cultures of the time crying
out for more experimental music that they hadn’t experienced before.

From the very beginnings of Jazz, musicians have always played around with implementing elements of pop
culture into their music; going back to ragtime music a lot of the inspirations were taken from marches or
popular songs; or alternatively looking at bebop harvesting and reworking the harmony of broadways shows
as a medium for their improvisation:12 Constantly we find throughout history Jazz musicians have been
absorbing the culture of other genres and using this to inject excitement into their playing. However as with
every new innovation comes new critics as many Jazz musicians looked at rock music with disgust and
disdain as a lower form of music,13 and as a result many resisted the union of these two styles for as long as
possible. However after some time the inevitable happened and as the younger generation of musicians
began experimenting with genre and pushing the new wave of Jazz. The Beatles were certainly the first rock
band to be widely accepted and appreciated by the Jazz community with many early contributors such as;
Tony Williams, Larry Coryell, and John Handy, crediting them as major influences, as well as Miles Davis
and Herbie Hancock both saying that Sly, and the Family Stone where instrumental in the composition of

6PrestigeVEVO, Chick Corea - Prestige 70 Podcast and Video Series: Chick Corea (Episode 6),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ltt1n_7qgI
7lan Carr,Digby Fairweather, and Brian Priestly, Jazz: The Essential Companion (London: Grafton
Books, 1987), 111.
8 John Toner, "Chick Corea," Down Beat, 41/6 (June 1974).
9 Fred Bouchard, "Chick Corea: Akoustic Again," Down Beat, 58/2 (February 1991).
10 Lisa Dickey and Herbie Hancock, Possibilies (New York: Penguin Publishing Group, 2014), 181
11 George Grella Jr., Bitches Brew (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015), 36.
12Gunther Schuller, Early Jazz: It’s Roots and Musical Development (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1968) 182-184.
13 Stuart Nicholson, Jazz Rock: A History (New York: Schirmer Books, 1998), 7.
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Bitches’ Brew,14 and also in the formation of The Headhunters, Hancock’s hit fusion band. “It was that great
funky groove by Sly and the Family Stone ringing in my ears as I chanted! I kept going, but the song stayed
right where it was, playing over and over as if it had been planted in my head. Then suddenly I saw an image
of me sitting with Sly Stone’s band, playing this funky music with him. And I loved it!”15

After playing Miles Davis’s first two fusions records, In a Silent Way, and Bitches’ Brew, Core then went on
to form his own Jazz Fusion powerhouse known as Return to Forever in 1972; this band rotated personal
throughout most of the 70s with its initial members consisting of singer and percussionist, Flora Purim, her
husband Airto Moreira on Drums, Joe Farrell on saxophone and Stanley Clarke on bass.16 The band,
complete with Chick on a Fender Rhodes, they recorded their first studio album titled, Return to Forever,
under ECM Records in 1972, containing now famous compositions such as “Crystal Silence and “La Fiesta,”
the album was only originally released in Europe. It was their second album, Light as a Feather, released
under Polymer, that included the song “Spain.” This would arguably go on to become his most immortalised
work with versions still being produced of this all time standard.

The personnel in Return to Forever would switch up after the second album with Farrel, Purim and Moreira
all splintering off to form their own project. To fill these gaps many different musicians rotated in and out of
the band throughout the seventies. By the third album, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, the bands direction had
moved completely into Jazz Rock, similar to the like s of Weather Report and sharing many influences with
the progressive rock scene which was also forming at the time, Chick credited many things with this new
change in directions, stating, Miles is definitely a leader ... But there were other things that occurred that I
thought were equally as important. What John McLaughlin did with the electric guitar set the world on its
ear. No one ever heard an electric guitar played like that before, and it certainly inspired me, John's band,
more than my experience with Miles, led me to want to turn the volume up and write music that was more
dramatic and made your hair move.”

Chick Corea went on to perform and write with Return to Forever completing 7 studio albums with various
members, and achieving a grammy for best Jazz Instrumental Album. They recorded their last studio album
in 1977, titled Musicmagic, and decided to go their separate ways after that, however they would
continuously reunite with the core members of the band for concerts and tours for years to come.

After the break up of Return to Forever, Chick was involved in a wide variety of differing musical
endeavours, whether it be solo performances, duos, or larger ensembles. He regularly collaborated with
Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Frank Gamble, and Gary Burton. One of the most notable qualities from
Corea’s discography is the wide variety of musical styles he incorporated throughout his career all while
keeping a recognisable and autographic sound.17 The opinion of the majority of music scholars was summed
by Ian Carr saying, “Corea ranks with Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett as one of the leading keyboard
virtuosi and composer-bandleaders since the late 1960s. He is one of the most gifted and original composers
in Jazz”18 The diversity in Corea’s body of work is hardly surprising given the variety of influences, training
and opportunities that he endeavoured through in his life. Corea recalled one of his earliest musical
memories was his father teaching him "how to read and write music, which was all very important
groundwork. He'd often write out arrangements of popular tunes that he played with his own band, but he'd
write them for my level, so I learned notation in a very meaningful way.”19

Corea wasn’t only influenced by Jazz and Latin music, he also took inspiration and techniques from classical
pieces, additionally releasing Mozarts Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra as well as composing his own
three movement piano concerto.20 He is quoted when asked about his practice repertoire, "Alban Berg's

14 George Grella Jr., Bitches Brew (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015), 18.
15 Lisa Dickey and Herbie Hancock, Possibilies (New York: Penguin Publishing Group, 2014), 173.
16 Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books.
17 Lyons, 259.
18 Carr, 112.
19 Lyons, 259.
20 Carr, 112.
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Piano Sonata is one of my favorite piano works. I'll play anything by Bach, some of Chopin's etudes, Mozart
sonatas, or Messiaen's piano music.”21 Another areas of Corea’s unique style that we can analyse is the more
experimental ‘free jazz,’ from which we can conclude his inspiration is from other avant-garde composers
such as John Cage ;22 his use of quartile voicing’s could come from a hugely diverse range of sources, such
as Alban Berg, McCoy Tyler or Horace Silver.23 The indiscriminate nature of Corea’s discography is
reflected in his opinions; Corea believes that the genres and classifications we apply to music aren’t at all
based on musical content but are instead purely artificial constructs of society. When asked his opinion on
noted music counting as Jazz as it lacks improvisation he stated ,“You have one aspect of this backward, to
my way of thinking. The user is the one who creates the style. I don't ask myself, 'does this work as jazz?' I'll
create the music I need without thinking about style.”24 Corea goes in more depth in a later interview, “I'm
trying to break down the barriers, actually, between jazz music and classical music. There's such a rich
tradition and a rich aesthetic in both areas that I love to operate in. I see no barrier myself…”25

On the 9th of February 2021, after spending his life as musical icon, mentor and virtuoso, Armando Anthony
"Chick" Corea, died from a rare form of cancer at his home on Tampa Bay, Florida.

21 Lyons, 266.
22Mark C. Gridley, Jazz Styles: History and Analysis, 3rd ed., (Englewood Cli s, New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, 1988), 260.
23 Ibid. 259
24 Lyons, 265
25 Bouchard.
ff
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Case Study: Spain

I have chosen to pick out a single piece to analyse to further explore Corea’s insightful innovations to
composition and improvisation. ‘Spain,’ in particular is a perfect example of what we have grown to call
Fusion music. In order to compose this piece, the musician must understand elements of Hispanic cultural
music as well as his own musical perspective in order to combine them to create a work of Fusion.

The song is performed in common time and at a very fast pace, sometimes with an extended improvised
section at the start of the form in free time, at this time the Rhodes will improvise over the solo changes,
waiting for the cue to start the form. When the form does start its with a fast staccato run doubled by flute
and electric piano outlining the D major scale before three syncopated hits on the E minor 11 followed by
three syncopated hits on F#minor 11, due to the contrary motion of the harmony moving up while the
melody moves down from an A to an F# as we see in Ex.1. This is an excellent opportunity for voice leading
and the creation of tension.
Ex.1

Ex.2
The melodic section starts on bar 7 with beginning of the harmonic form, this
form will continue throughout the rest of the song, only stopping when the
band play the break, marked at B. The melody throughout this section sticks
within the confines of D major and B minor, very clearly marking out the key
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centre by travelling up and down the scales, ending on B with a D# underneath as we see in Ex.2, this D#
against the original key signature of D provides Phrygian Dominant feel, a scale very closely associated with
flamenco and Spanish music.

Next we come across the Spain ‘break’ for the first time; this extremely lyrical staccato riff jumps around the
D major scale, normally with the larger jumps, like we see at the start of Ex.3, in interval being added as
question and response within the line itself, for example; the starting note of B jumps up to an E, this is
quickly answered at the end of the two bar phrase with an E jumping further down to an A.

Ex.3

As the run continues, it once again exclusively uses D major scale up until we reach bar 8, where the melody
very effectively uses a descending sequence to work in an A# and a G#, these notes are also highlighted in
the run up in the next bar, implying an augmented harmony, over the D major home key. This is also a widely
used element of flamenco music, blended within the fast and virtuosic style of jazz to make this an ideal
fusion line.
Ex.4

After another repeat of the A and B section we get to the samba section, labeled C. Here the changes are
played double time, meaning that the rate of harmonic change is twice as long as in the A section. During this
section the melody takes on a new feel, with the use of crotchet and minim triplets, as seen in Ex.5. Also
assisting the contrast in this section is the greater deviation from the D may scale, once again highlighting an
A#, this time as the major third of the F#7, already providing much more harmonic tension than the prior
section. This contrast is added further aided in bar 17 when the melody highlights the #9 of C#7, being an E,
this implies the altered harmony travelling from the C#7 to the F#7.

Ex.5

The combination of a fast Brazilian samba groove with the polyrhythmic melody is a perfect example of how
Corea combined cultures in a unique way to form one of the early great fusion songs.
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Improvisation
To further aid this study I will now analyse a solo from Chick Corea’s original version of Spain, released
with Return to Forever in 1972. As you can see in Ex.6, Corea starts his solo running into bar 5, the F#7.
This run in particular allows a moment of establishing F# Mixolydian before the use of a #9 and a major 7
add tension implying the Super Locrian mode.

Ex.6

Corea answers this line by running back up the F# altered scale building tension which briefly resolves to the
Em before again melody starts descending chromatically from the 4th degree of the Em, being an A. This
descending line presents some interesting sounds against the Em as it passes the major 3rd, minor 9th and
major 7th on its way down. These highly dissonant tones are all immediately resolved by their following note
giving us a feeling of fast tension and release within the confines of one phrase. The line then runs into the
A7 chord, hitting a #9 and a major 7 on the down finally resolving to a G as seen in Ex.7.

Ex.7

See in Ex.8, the next point of interest is a high lick based on the repetition of the note D, being the tonic of D
major 7 and the fifth degree of G major 7, descending down to the major 7th, being a B. This is important as
it means in bar 17 of the solo when we reach the C#7 that Corea can repeat this line, now putting emphasis
on the b9 and b7 of the C# chords.

Corea builds on this idea by keeping the rhythmic intention and moving the line higher into a descending
motif, he can then carry that through to the B minor 7, and finish it off with a sequential run most down D
major but with elements of the altered scale at the end with a turn including the major 3rd, sharp and flat 9.
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Ex.8

What I can conclude form this brief written analysis and further reading is that, whilst Chick Corea was
actively seeking to push boundaries within music in a more general sense, is that within his improvisation he
isn’t attempting to think about different influences, techniques or references, and is simply following the
advice Miles Davis gave him. “Play what you hear.”
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Conclusion: The Lasting of Effect of Chick Corea

I believe having researched the prolific artist that is Chick Corea it is impossible to look at any amount of
evidence and not conclude that this man played a major role of the integration of popular music with jazz and
thus the creation of Jazz Fusion. Whilst looking at Corea’s playing within the context of analysis, you may
conclude that his use of melody in improvisations was common place by modern standards, however the
combination of these unique elements of Jazz, Latin, and Classical repertoire was unique at the time and
Corea paved the way for generations of musicians to come. In his early days he sat in with all time greats of
the genre and followed in the footsteps of Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock to take up the piano seat in Miles
Davis’ band. Corea tirelessly explored new concepts and themes in his work, especially centred around the
idea of communication, highlighted with his work in band Circles, and later his connection to scientology.
Once he had achieved a greater desire to connect with his audience Corea reigned in the abstractness of his
performances, releasing two volumes of improvised piano pieces which while technically brilliant could still
be appreciated by the listener. "When I see an artist using his energies and technique to create a music way
beyond the ability of people to connect with it, I see his abilities being wasted.”26
Perhaps Corea’s most significant contribution was his role in the development and birth of jazz fusion with
his band Return to Forever. With this band Corea went on to release material that would go onto create
compositions that have become iconic within their own rite in the field of Jazz, whether it be the Latin -
infused rhythms of ‘Spain’, the harmonically entrancing ‘Windows’ or the quiet Beaty of ‘Crystal Silence.’
As a musician Corea was viewed even among peers and those he admired as ranking “with Herbie Hancock
and Keith Jarrett as one of the leading keyboard virtuosi.” After his run with Return to Forever came to a
close in the late 1970s, he went on to pursue countless musical endeavours across, instilling and supporting
the culture he was brought up with into younger musicians; a culture of communication, scholarship, and
relentless musical exploration.

In the end it is clear that the reaches that Chick Corea had on the wider musical community is far too wide to
accurately judge. Someone who was at the very forefront of a birth of a genre, having not only his own band
as a historic monument with the Jazz world, but also being a stand out performer for the fusion albums from
the other greats such Miles Davis. Corea’s groundwork in combining genres paved the way for many future
generations of musicians, not only within the ideas of fusing rock and jazz but also to having an open
mindedness in the future to new possibilities, in this Corea not only fostered the beginnings of Jazz fusion
but also stood by an ethos of exploration in music to be followed by musicians for years to come.

26 John Toner, "Chick Corea," Down Beat, 41/6 (June 1974).

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Bibliography.
1. Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux, Jazz (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009)
2. Marc Myers, Why Jazz Happened(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013), 13-15
3. Masterclass, Learn About Miles Davis’s Life and In uence on Jazz Music. https://
www.masterclass.com/articles/miles-davis-life-and-
music#:~:text=Jazz%20musician%20and%20trumpeter%20Miles,musicians%20in%20many
%20di erent%20genres. (MasterClass 2023)
4. PrestigeVEVO, Chick Corea - Prestige 70 Podcast and Video Series: Chick Corea (Episode 6),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ltt1n_7qgI
5. Len Lyons, The Great Jazz Pianists: Speaking of Their Lives and Music (New York: William
Morrow andCompany, 1983), 260.106
1. lan Carr,Digby Fairweather, and Brian Priestly, Jazz: The Essential Companion (London:
Grafton Books, 1987), 111.
2. John Toner, "Chick Corea," Down Beat, 41/6 (June 1974).
3. Fred Bouchard, "Chick Corea: Akoustic Again," Down Beat, 58/2 (February 1991).
4. Lisa Dickey and Herbie Hancock, Possibilies (New York: Penguin Publishing Group, 2014),
181
5. George Grella Jr., Bitches Brew (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015), 36.
6. Gunther Schuller, Early Jazz: It’s Roots and Musical Development (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1968)
7. Stuart Nicholson, Jazz Rock: A History (New York: Schirmer Books, 1998), 7.
8. Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin
Books.
ff
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