Larry Coryell

Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist known as the "Godfather of Fusion".

Biography

Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He was raised by his stepfather Gene, a chemical engineer, and his mother Cora, who encouraged him to learn piano when he was four years old.

In his teens he switched to guitar. After his family moved to Richland, Washington, he took lessons from a teacher who lent him albums by Les Paul, Johnny Smith, Barney Kessel, and Tal Farlow. When asked what jazz guitar albums influenced him, Coryell cited On View at the Five Spot by Kenny Burrell, Red Norvo with Strings, and The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery. He liked blues and pop music and tried to play jazz when he was eighteen. He said that hearing Wes Montgomery changed his life.

Coryell graduated from Richland High School, where he played in local bands the Jailers, the Rumblers, the Royals, and the Flames. He also played with the Checkers from nearby Yakima. He then moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington.

In September 1965, Coryell moved to New York City, where he attended Mannes School of Music. After moving to New York, he listened to classical composers such as Bartok, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich.

He replaced guitarist Gábor Szabó in Chico Hamilton's quintet. In 1967–68, he recorded with Gary Burton. During the mid-1960s he played with the Free Spirits, his first recorded band. His music during the late-1960s and early-1970s combined rock, jazz, and eastern music.

In the early 1970s, he led a group called Foreplay with Mike Mandel, a childhood friend. He formed the group The Eleventh House in 1973. The albums sold well in college towns and the ensemble toured widely. Several of the group's albums featured drummer Alphonse Mouzon.

Following the breakup of this band, Coryell played mainly acoustic guitar but returned to electric guitar later in the 1970s. He released an album credited with Mouzon and an album with the Brubeck Brothers that was recorded direct-to-disc. He made several acoustic duet albums, two with Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine. Their album Twin House (1977), received favorable reviews.

In 1979, Coryell formed The Guitar Trio with fusion guitarist John McLaughlin and flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía. The group toured Europe and released a video recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in London entitled Meeting of the Spirits. In early 1980, Coryell's drug addiction led to his being replaced by Al Di Meola.

Death

Coryell died on February 19, 2017, of heart failure in New York City, at the age of 73. He was performing at the Iridium jazz club in Manhattan that weekend.

Critical reception

In his review of the concert at the Iridium, David Miller of All About Jazz wrote:

"This was jazz at its finest—complex and virtuosic yet easily accessible, at times intense, at others fun-filled, and always with the feeling of the unknown that comes with truly spontaneous and inspired improvisation. While the music was steeped in the bop tradition, the musicians continually found new ways to utilize the idiom. Few locations other than New York could host a powerhouse gathering of musical heavyweights of this order, and one can only hope that the shows have been recorded for a future release."

When NPR radio host Billy Taylor, on one of the editions of Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center, introduced Coryell, he said:

"Versatile virtuoso guitarist Larry Coryell proves to be more than an outstanding musician; he's also a particularly enlightening and affable conversationalist.

Discography

• Albums are listed by release date.

As leader

• Lady Coryell (Vanguard, 1969)
• Coryell (Vanguard, 1969)
• Spaces (Vanguard, 1970)
• Larry Coryell at the Village Gate (Vanguard, 1971)
• Fairyland (1971)
• Barefoot Boy (Flying Dutchman, 1971)
• Offering (Vanguard, 1972)
• The Real Great Escape (Vanguard, 1973)
• Introducing Eleventh House with Larry Coryell (Vanguard, 1974)
• Level One (Arista, 1975)
• The Restful Mind (Vanguard, 1975)
• Planet End (Vanguard, 1975)
• Aspects (Arista, 1976)
• The Lion and the Ram (Arista, 1976)
• Twin House with Philip Catherine (Elektra, 1977)
• Two for the Road with Steve Khan (Arista, 1977)
• Back Together Again with Alphonse Mouzon (Atlantic, 1977)
• At Montreaux (1978)
• Better than Live (Direct, 1978)
• Standing Ovation (Mood, 1978)
• European Impressions (Arista Novus, 1978)
• Splendid with Philip Catherine (Elektra, 1978)
• Difference (Egg, 1978)
• Tributaries with John Scofield, Joe Beck (Arista, 1979)
• Return (Vanguard, 1979)
• Boléro (String, 1981)
• L'Oiseau de Feu, Petrouchka (Philips, 1983)
• Le Sacre Du Printemps (Philips, 1983)
• Comin' Home (Muse, 1984)
• A Quiet Day in Spring with Michal Urbaniak (SteepleChase, 1984)
• Just Like Being Born (1984)
• Together with Emily Remler (Concord Jazz, 1985)
• Equipoise (Muse, 1986)
• Dedicated to Bill Evans and Scott LaFaro (Jazzpoint, 1987)
• Toku Do (Muse, 1987)
• Air Dancing (Jazzpoint, 1988)
• Dragon Gate (Shanachie, 1989)
• Coryell Plays Revel and Gershwin (1990)
• Shining Hour (Muse, 1989)
• Welcome My Darling (Arco, 1990)
• Larry Coryell and Don Lanphere (Hep, 1990)
• American Odyssey (DRG, 1990)
• Twelve Frets to One Octave (Shanachie, 1991)
• Live from Bahia (Rhino, 1992)
• Fallen Angel (CTI, 1993)
• I'll Be Over You (CTI, 1995)
• Sketches of Coryell (Shanachie, 1996)
• Spaces Revisited (Shanachie, 1997)
• Cause and Effect (Tone Center, 1998)
• Private Concert (Acoustic Music Records, 1998)
• Monk, Trane, Miles, and Me (HighNote, 1999)
• From the Ashes with L. Subramaniam (Water Lily Acoustics, 1999)
• Coryells (Chesky, 2000)
• New High (HighNote, 2000)
• Moonlight Whispers (Membran, 2001)
• Inner Urge (HighNote, 2001)
• Cedars of Avalon (HighNote, 2002)
• The Power Trio: Live in Chicago (HighNote, 2003)
• Three Guitars with Badi Assad and John Abercrombie (Chesky, 2003)
• Tricycles (In+Out, 2004)
• Electric (Chesky, 2005)
• Larry Coryell and the Miroslav Vitous Quartet (Jazzpoint, 2005)
• Traffic (Chesky, 2006)
• Laid Back and Blues (Rhombus, 2006)
• Impressions (Chesky, 2008)
• Earthquake at the Avalon (Iakustik, 2009)
• Prime Picks (HighNote, 2010)
• Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players (Wide Hive, 2011)
• Montgomery (Patuxent, 2011)
• Duality with Kenny Drew (Random Act, 2011)
• The Lift (Wide Hive, 2013)
• Larry Coryell & The Eleventh House January 1975 (2014)
• Heavy Feel (Wide Hive, 2015)
• The Funky Waltz (Jazz Workshop, Boston 1973) (2016)
• Larry Coryell's 11th House: Seven Secrets (Savoy, 2017)

As sideman

With Gary Burton

• Duster (RCA, 1967)
• Lofty Fake Anagram (RCA, 1967)
• Gary Burton Quartet in Concert (RCA, 1968)
• A Genuine Tong Funeral (RCA, 1968)

With Marcel Dadi

• Country Guitar Flavors (1996)
• Nashville Rendez-Vous (1996)
• Marcel Dadi (1997)

With Ithamara Koorax

• Ithamara Koorax & Luiz Bonfa (1996)
• Amor Sem Adeus (1998)
• Almost in Love (2002)
• Fusion Best (2012)

With Herbie Mann

• Memphis Underground (1969)
• Memphis Two-Step (1971)
• Mellow (1981)

With Steve Marcus

• Tomorrow Never Knows (Vortex, 1968)
• Count's Rock Band (Vortex, 1969)
• The Lord's Prayer (Vortex, 1969)

With Charles Mingus

• Three or Four Shades of Blues (Atlantic, 1977)
• Me Myself an Eye (Atlantic, 1979)
• Something Like a Bird (Atlantic, 1981)

With Don Sebesky

• Don Sebesky and the Jazz-Rock Syndrome (1968)
• Distant Galaxy (1968)
• I Remember Bill: Tribute to Bill Evans (1998)

With L. Subramaniam

• Blossom (1981)
• Spanish Wave (1983)
• Mani and Co. (1986)

With Kazumi Watanabe

• Dogatana (1981)
• One for All (1999)

With others

• Chico Hamilton, The Dealer (Impulse!, 1966)
• Chico O'Farrill, Nine Flags (Impulse!, 1966)
• The Appletree Theatre, Playback (Verve Forecast, 1967)
• The Free Spirits, Out of Sight and Sound (1968)
• Jazz Composer's Orchestra, The Jazz Composer's Orchestra (JCOA, 1968)
• Randy Brecker, Score (1969)
• Arnie Lawrence, Look Toward a Dream (1970)
• Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, You Can't Make Love Alone (1971)
• Jim Pepper, Pepper's Pow Wow (Embryo, 1971)
• Wolfgang Dauner, Knirsch (1972)
• Lenny White, Venusian Summer (1975)
• Michael Mantler, Movies (1977)
• Stu Goldberg, Solos Duos Trio (1978)
• Warren Bernhardt, Blue Montreux (1978)
• Warren Bernhardt, Blue Montreux 2 (1978)
• Stephane Grappelli, Young Django (1979)
• Chet Baker, Chet Baker / Wolfgang Lackerschmid (Sandra Music Productions, 1979)
• Simon & Bard, Musaic (1980)
• Paco de Lucia, Castro Marín (1981)
• The Larry Coryell/Michael Urbaniak Duo (1982)
• Ricky Ford, Future's Gold (Muse, 1983)
• Roland Hanna, Gershwin Carmichael Cats (1983)
• Three Guitars Three with Sharon Isbin and Laurindo Almeida (1985)
• Bireli Lagrene, And Special Guests (1986)
• All Strings Attached (1987)
• Mark Murphy, September Ballads (1988)
• Jack Walrath, Out of the Tradition (1992)
• Donald Harrison, The Power of Cool (1993)
• Return of the Great Guitars (1996)
• Bob Baldwin, Cool Breeze (1997)
• Billy Cobham, By Design (1999)
• Tim Eyermann, Karla's Fire (1999)
• Chick Corea, Les Incontournables (2000)
• Bob Moses, Love Animal (2003)
• Steve Adelson, The New Sticktet (2004)
• Royce Campbell, Six by Six (2004)
• Philip DeGruy, Just Duet (2005)
• Stefan Grossman, Friends Forever (2008)
• Murali Coryell, Sugar Lips (2009)
• The Fusion Syndicate, The Fusion Syndicate (2012)
• Joey DeFrancesco, Wonderful, Wonderful (2012)
• Roman Miroshnichenko, Surreal (2013)

Filmography

• L. Subramaniam Violin From the Heart (1999) – directed by Jean Henri Meunier (includes a scene of Coryell performing with L. Subramaniam)
• Meeting of the Spirits /1979 (2003) – live performance in London featuring Coryell, John McLaughlin, and Paco de Lucia
• Super Guitar Trio and Friends in Concert /1990 (2005) – live performance featuring Coryell, Al Di Meola, and Biréli Lagrène
• Super Guitar Trio: Live in Montreux /1989 (2007) – live performance featuring Coryell, Al Di Meola, and Biréli Lagrène
• Three Guitars: Paris Concert /2004 (2012) – live performance featuring Coryell, Badi Assad, and John Abercrombie
• Larry Coryell: Blues and Beyond (2017) - video series featuring Coryell

Bibliography

• Coryell, Larry (2007). Improvising: My Life in Music. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-0879308261.