# Chick Corea

Chick Corea (June 12, 1941 - February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist/keyboardist and composer known for his work during the 1970s in the genre of jazz fusion. He participated in the birth of the electric fusion movement as a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, and in the 1970s formed the band Return to Forever. He received multiple Grammy Awards.

## Quotes

* I believe that any "awareness" of life is "spiritual" since awareness can only be a quality of the spirit not of the material world or of matter and machines. Only a spiritual being has awareness. But if you mean "spiritual" in the sense of a kind of "celebration of Life", then yes, I write music to celebrate life. I think most artists do, no matter how they themselves describe it. It's the joy of creating. It's a way of life.
** "Answer #3" at his official website.
* The values that Scientology states are universal values. Values that any good mother or father or friend couldn't possibly disagree with. They're the values of health and improvement. It's not a belief system where you have to sign up and believe something particularly. People of all religions study Hubbard, and Hubbard himself encouraged religions to flourish because in our day and age, in our mechanized society, what is lacking is the humanities and people with faith and beliefs. So that's one of our operations. We encourage that. I require a certain amount of ethics from anybody I work with.
** Interview at All About Jazz (30 October 2004)
* It's a way of life for me. To me, Scientology is the very thing that artists need, in the sense that it's not a religion that you have to change the way that you pray or think about the Creator. What's incredible about Scientology is that this is the first time there's been a real technology on human relationships. To me, that's what's missing in the world. Like most of us, I grew up in a mechanical world. And when I got into music, it was mechanical in the sense of choosing notes and chords. Missing were the humanities. What ever happened to how you really live? How you feel? How you relate to people? How you reach out and help someone? I think that's one of the most basic, natural tendencies all people have—to help. Scientology gives you the necessary tools to be successful at helping someone.
** Response when asked "How has Scientology influenced your artistry?". BET Jazz (December 2004)

## Quotes about Corea

* The most prolific and versatile of any modern jazz musician
** Gary Burton
* You a motherfucker!
** Miles Davis, complementing Corea's talent.
* Jazz's most protean and unpredictable character.
** "DownBeat magazine" as quoted in "Chick Corea: The Chameleon" by Mike Zwerin in CultureKiosque (14 May 1998).
* Acoustic, electric, latin, free – Chick Corea’s career seems to have touched all the bases in today’s jazz scene. Yet that variety is firmly centred in some abiding principles: a passion for music, the piano, and performance. They were a kind of birthright. [...] Working with all kinds of bands, and absorbing all kinds of styles – with a special fondness for fiery Latin rhythms – Corea built a reputation as composer and player.
** Geoffrey Smith of BBC Music (December 3, 2024)

## External links

* Official website ChickCorea.com
* Profile at Jazzreview.com
* Profile at Verve Records
* Interview with Les Tomkins in Jazz Professional (1972)
* "An Interview with Chick Corea" by Bob Rosenbaum (July 1974) (PDF file)
* Chick Corea's Commencement Address at the Berklee College of Music (11 May 1997)
* Digital Interviews: Chick Corea (1999)
* Interview with Chick Corea by Michael J Stewart at Image and Music (2000)
* "Chick Corea - A Style Analysis" by Monika Herzig (October 1999)