ENDEIT
Chick Corea
Photo: Tore Sætre, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pianists · 1941–2021

Chick Corea

American jazz and fusion pianist, keyboardist, and composer (1941-2021)

Born
12 June 1941
Chelsea
Died
9 February 2021
Tampa Bay area
Country
United States
Active
1962–2020
Record labels
ECM Records, Stretch Records
Discography
104 albums

Biography

Chick Corea was a jazz musician who played piano, drum kit, musical keyboard and organ. Chick Corea was born on 12 June 1941 in Chelsea and died on 9 February 2021 in Tampa Bay area. The music is usually filed under jazz, post-bop and avant-garde jazz. Record labels: ECM Records and Stretch Records. The discography here lists 104 albums, from “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” (1968) to “Trilogy 3” (2025). Honours include Frankfurter Musikpreis (1990), honorary doctor of the Eastman School of Music (2017) and NEA Jazz Masters.

Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and "Windows" are considered jazz standards. As a member of the Miles Davis band in the late 1960s, Corea participated in the birth of jazz fusion. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever. Along with McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, Corea is considered one of the foremost pianists of the post-John Coltrane era. Corea continued to collaborate frequently while exploring different musical styles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He won 29 Grammy Awards and has been nominated for the award 79 times.

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Discography

Studio and live albums

Now He Sings, Now He Sobs 1968 · Solid State Records Tones for Joan's Bones 1968 · Vortex Records Is 1969 · Solid State Records A.R.C. 1971 · ECM Records Piano Improvisations, Volume 1 1971 · ECM Records Piano Improvisations, Volume 2 1971 · ECM Records The Song of Singing 1971 · Blue Note The Sun 1971 · EXPRESS Return to Forever 1972 · ECM Records Sundance 1972 · Groove Merchant Inner Space 1973 · Atlantic Light as a Feather 1973 · Polydor Piano Giants 1973 My Spanish Heart 1976 · Polydor The Leprechaun 1976 · Polydor Circulus 1978 · Blue Note Friends 1978 · Polydor Secret Agent 1978 · Polydor The Mad Hatter 1978 · Polydor An Evening with Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock 1979 · Live · Polydor Delphi I 1979 · Polydor In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979 1980 · Live · ECM Records
La Fiesta 1980 · Live
Tap Step 1980 · Warner Bros. Records Three Quartets 1981 · Warner Bros. Records Again and Again 1982 · Elektra Historia de la música rock - 54 1982 · Polydor Touchstone 1982 · Warner Bros. Records Trio Music 1982 · ECM Records The Meeting 1983 · Philips Children’s Songs 1984 · ECM Records Chick Corea & Bernie Wallace Trio 1985 · AMIGA Septet 1985 · ECM Records Voyage 1985 · ECM Records Trio Music, Live in Europe 1986 · Live · ECM Records Compact Jazz - The Seventies 1987 · Verve Reissues Chick Corea featuring Lionel Hampton 1988 · Bellaphon Fiesta 1988 · Live · Fortune Fiesta Piano Solo 1988 · Vogue Jazz for a Sunday Afternoon 1993 · Live · Blue Note
The John Coltrane Memorial Concert 1993 · Live
The Seventies 1993 · Verve Expressions 1994 · GRP Live in Montreux 1994 · Live · Stretch Records
Circle 2: Gathering 1996 · Stretch Records
From Nothing: Solo Piano 1996 · Stretch Records The Beginning 1996 · LaserLight Digital Waltz for Bill Evans 1996 · Musidisc Native Sense: The New Duets 1997 · Stretch Records Remembering Bud Powell 1997 · Stretch Records Village Vanguard Live Sessions 1997 · Live · LaserLight Digital Corea.Concerto 1999 · Sony Classical Corea: Spain & Piano Concerto No. 1 1999 · Sony Classical In Concert 2000 · TKO Magnum Music Lyric Suite for Sextet 2000 · ECM Records Seabreeze 2000 · Live · Past Perfect Silver Line Solo Piano, Part One: Originals 2000 · Live · Stretch Records Solo Piano, Part Two: Standards 2000 · Live · Stretch Records
A.R.C. / Children's Songs 2001
Converge 2002
Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz 2002 · Live · The Jazz Alliance A Very Special Concert 2003 · Live · Image Entertainment Rendezvous in New York 2003 · Live · Stretch Records House of Jazz 2004 Live in Molde 2005 · Live · MNJ Records Rhumba Flamenco 2005 · Live · Chick Corea Productions
Solo Improvisations From Japan 2005
Live at Montreux 1997 2006 · Live · Eagle Vision Super Trio 2006 · Live · Stretch Records The Ultimate Adventure 2006 · Stretch Records Chillin’ in Chelan 2007 · Live · Universal Classics Dr. Joe 2007 From Miles 2007 · Stretch Records The Enchantment 2007 · Concord Records Duet 2008 · Live · Stretch Records Electric Chick 2008 · Verve The New Crystal Silence 2008 · Live · Concord Records Five Peace Band Live 2009 · Live · Concord Records Forever 2010 · Live · Universal Classics Orvieto 2011 · Live · ECM Records Further Explorations 2012 · Concord Jazz Hot House 2012 On Two Pianos 2012 · Live · Deutsche Grammophon The Continents: Concerto for Jazz Quintet & Chamber Orchestra 2012 · Deutsche Grammophon The Vigil 2013 · Concord Jazz Trilogy 2013 · Live · Stretch Records Solo Piano - Portraits 2014 · Concord Jazz Two 2015 · Live · Stretch Records The Musician 2016 · Live · Concord Jazz Plays 2018 · Live · Stretch Records Trilogy 2 2018 · Live · Universal Music What Game Shall We Play Today 2018 · MNJ Records The Spanish Heart Band - Antidote 2019 · Concord Jazz Live Under the Sky, 1979 (Live) 2021 · Live · Equinox Resonance 2021 · Universal Classics & Jazz The Chick Corea Symphony Tribute. Ritmo 2023 · Live · Warner Music Spain Los Angeles 1981 2024 · Live · Top Note Remembrance 2024 · Thirty Tigers Brass Concertos 2025 · Naxos Forever Yours: The Farewell Performance 2025 · Live · Candid Trilogy 3 2025 · Live · Candid Acoustic · Rockin' Chair
Return To Tomorrow
The Legend & I

Also plays on

Albums where Chick Corea is credited as a sideman

1964 The Thing to Do — Blue Mitchell piano
1964 The Laws of Jazz — Hubert Laws piano
1965 The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd — Herbie Mann piano
1965 Standing Ovation at Newport — Herbie Mann piano
1966 Monday Night at the Village Gate — Herbie Mann piano
1966 Soul Burst — Cal Tjader piano
1967 Sweet Rain — Stan Getz piano
1967 Boss Horn — Blue Mitchell piano
1967 Along Comes Cal — Cal Tjader piano
1967 Turkish Women at the Bath — Pete La Roca piano
1968 Jazz for a Sunday Afternoon — Pepper Adams, Chick Corea, Richard Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Elvin Jones, Mel Lewis & Ray Nance piano
1968 Total Eclipse — Bobby Hutcherson piano
1969 In a Silent Way — Miles Davis electric piano
1969 Filles de Kilimanjaro — Miles Davis electric piano, piano
1969 Laws' Cause — Hubert Laws piano
1970 Bitches Brew — Miles Davis keyboard, electric piano
1970 Super Nova — Wayne Shorter keyboard
1970 Round Trip — Sadao Watanabe, Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitouš, Jack DeJohnette piano
1970 Spaces — Larry Coryell electric piano
1970 Afternoon of a Georgia Faun — Marion Brown bell, gong, percussion, piano
1971 Going to the Rainbow — Rolf Kühn, Chick Corea, Joachim Kühn electric piano
1972 On the Corner — Miles Davis Rhodes piano
1972 Merry-Go-Round — Elvin Jones piano, electric piano
1972 Free — Airto Moreira piano, electric piano
1972 Wild Flower — Hubert Laws piano
1973 Children of Forever — Stanley Clarke electric piano
1973 Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy — Return to Forever featuring Chick Corea harpsichord, organ, piano, electric piano, gong, arranger
1973 Crystal Silence — Gary Burton / Chick Corea piano
1974 Big Fun — Miles Davis electric piano
1974 Moto Grosso Feio — Wayne Shorter percussion, drums (drum set), marimba

Standards written by Chick Corea

TitleKeyFormGroove
Spain B minor A · 24 Latin
Windows B minor ABC · 48 Jazz waltz
La Fiesta A major AABBC · 55 Latin
Armando's Rhumba C minor AB · 20 Latin
Crystal Silence A minor AABA · 40 Ballad
500 Miles High E minor ABB · 26 Bossa nova
Humpty Dumpty C major AB · 18 Up-tempo swing
Tones For Joan's Bones D major ABA · 44 Medium swing
You're Everything A major ABCB · 59 Bossa nova
Bud Powell F major AABCA · 54 Medium-up swing
Captain Marvel C major BBA · 58 Samba
Mirror, Mirror C major AB · 32 Jazz waltz
Litha D major AB · 62 Up-tempo swing
The Loop F major AAB · 48 Jazz waltz
Sea Journey A minor AABAAC · 39 Latin
Got A Match? D minor A · 16 Up-tempo swing
Day Waves D minor AB · 25 Latin

Member of

Return to Forever 1972– · American jazz fusion group led by Chick Corea

Awards

Listen on Spotify

Frequently asked questions

What instrument did Chick Corea play?

Chick Corea is known for playing piano, drum kit, musical keyboard and organ.

When and where was Chick Corea born?

Chick Corea was born 12 June 1941 in Chelsea.

What are Chick Corea's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (1968), Tones for Joan's Bones (1968), Is (1969), A.R.C. (1971) and Piano Improvisations, Volume 1 (1971).

External links

Data compiled from open sources; see the source links below. Spotted an error? Let us know.