30 Facts About Chick Corea

Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist.

Chick Corea continued to collaborate frequently while exploring different musical styles throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Armando Corea was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on June 12,1941, to parents Anna and Armando J Corea.

Chick Corea was of southern Italian descent, his father having been born to an immigrant from Albi, a commune in the Province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region.

Chick Corea came into possession of a drumset at age 11, and would occasionally play drums for the rest of his career.

Chick Corea developed his piano skills while exploring music on his own.

At first, his father taught him piano, but eventually, the elder Chick Corea thought it proper that his son receive instruction from a professional teacher.

Chick Corea enjoyed listening to Herb Pomeroy's band at the time and had a trio that played Horace Silver's music at a local jazz club.

Chick Corea eventually moved to New York City, where he studied music at Columbia University, then transferred to the Juilliard School.

Chick Corea later dropped out so he could spend more time playing gigs.

Chick Corea began his professional recording and touring career in the early 1960s with Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, Blue Mitchell, Herbie Mann, and Stan Getz.

Chick Corea appeared on later compilation albums Big Fun, Water Babies, and Circle in the Round.

Chick Corea left Davis' band shortly after its performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.

In 1974, Chick Corea collaborated with Richie Grasso on the latter's album Season of Grace, produced by Morris Levy's Tiger Lily Records.

In 1976, Chick Corea released My Spanish Heart, influenced by Hispanic music and featuring vocalist Gayle Moran and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty.

Chick Corea collaborated with flamenco guitarist Paco De Lucia years later on the Touchstone and Zyryab albums.

Towards the end of the 1970s, Chick Corea embarked on a series of concerts with fellow pianist Herbie Hancock.

In 1982, Chick Corea performed The Meeting, a live duet with the classical pianist Friedrich Gulda.

In December 2007, Chick Corea recorded a duet album, The Enchantment, with banjoist Bela Fleck.

Fleck and Chick Corea toured extensively for the album in 2007.

In 2008, Corea collaborated with Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara on the live album Duet.

Chick Corea signed a record deal with GRP Records in 1986 which led to the release of ten albums between 1986 and 1994, seven with the Elektric Band, two with the Akoustic Band, and a solo album, Expressions.

Chick Corea participated in 1998's Like Minds with old associates Gary Burton on vibraphone, Dave Holland on bass, Roy Haynes on drums, and Pat Metheny playing guitars.

Chick Corea continued recording fusion albums such as To the Stars and Ultimate Adventure.

Chick Corea worked on a collaboration CD with the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer.

The ensemble included John McLaughlin, whom Chick Corea had previously worked with in Miles Davis's late 1960s bands, including the group that recorded Davis's classic album Bitches Brew.

Chick Corea celebrated his 75th birthday in 2016 by playing with more than 20 different groups during a six-week stand at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village, New York City.

Chick Corea was excluded from a concert during the 1993 World Championships in Athletics in Stuttgart, Germany.

Chick Corea was not banned from performing in Germany and had several appearances at the government-supported International Jazz Festival in Burghausen; he was awarded a plaque on Burghausen's "Street of Fame" in 2011.

Chick Corea died at his home in Tampa, Florida, from a rare cancer on February 9,2021, shortly after his diagnosis.