Larry Coryell  

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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".

Contents

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Biography

Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington, where he played in local bands the Jailers, the Rumblers, the Royals, and the Flames. He also played with the Checkers from nearby Yakima, Washington. He then moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington. He played in a number of popular Northwest bands, including the Dynamics, while living in Seattle.

In September 1965, Coryell moved to New York City, where he attended Mannes School of Music, and then became part of Chico Hamilton's quintet, replacing Gabor Szabo. In 1967 and 1968, he recorded with Gary Burton. Also during the mid-1960s he played with the Free Spirits, his first recorded band. His music during the late-1960s and early-1970s combined the influences of rock, jazz, and eastern music. He married Jewish writer-actress Julie Nathanson before the release of his first solo album, Lady Coryell, which like Coryell, At the Village Gate, and, The Lion and the Ram featured her photos on the cover (there is a 'ghost' nude of her descending a staircase on the Aspects album cover). Julie's poetry was featured on the back cover of Ram. She was an important part of his career, as inspiration, management, and appearance at recording sessions. She wrote a book based on interviews with jazz-rock musicians, including John Abercrombie, and Jaco Pastorius.

In the early 1970s, he led a group called Foreplay with Mike Mandel, a childhood friend, although the albums of this period—Barefoot Boy, Offering, and The Real Great Escape—were credited only to "Larry Coryell." He formed the group The Eleventh House in 1973. The album 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 Brecker Brothers that was recorded direct-to-disc, a recording method revived for a time. He made several acoustic duet albums, two with Belgian guitarist (and former Focus member) Philip Catherine. Their album Twin House (1977), which contained the song "Miss Julie", drew 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 Royal Albert Hall in London entitled Meeting of Spirits. In early 1980, Coryell's drug addiction led to him being replaced by Al Di Meola. Julie Coryell sang on one track of Comin' Home (1984). The couple divorced in 1986. She died in 2009. Coryell recorded an album with (and was briefly romantically involved with) Emily Remler before her death from a heroin overdose while on tour in Australia. His two sons, Julian Coryell and Murali Coryell, are also involved in the music business.

Coryell died of heart failure in New York City, at the age of 73.

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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.
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Discography

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As leader

With The Eleventh House

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As sideman

With The Appletree Theatre

With Jim Pepper

  • Pepper's Pow Wow (Embryo, 1971)

With Gary Burton

With Randy Brecker

  • Score (1969)

With the Jazz Composer's Orchestra

With Wolfgang Dauner

  • Knirsch (1972)

With The 5th Dimension

With The Free Spirits

  • Out of Sight and Sound (1967)

With Chico Hamilton

With Arnie Lawrence

  • Look Toward a Dream (1969)

With Herbie Mann

With Michael Mantler

  • Movies (1977)

With Steve Marcus

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

With Charles Mingus

With Bob Moses

  • Love Animal (1967–68)

With Chico O'Farrill

With The Arista All Stars

  • Blue Montreux (1978)

With Simon & Bard Group

With Joey DeFrancesco

  • Wonderful, Wonderful (2012)

With Dennis Haklar

  • Lizard's Tale (2012)

With The Fusion Syndicate

  • The Fusion Syndicate (2012)

With The Wide Hive Players

  • Players II Guitar (2010)
  • Larry Coryell with The Wide Hive Players (2011) With Dylan Taylor
  • One in Mind (2016)
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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 with 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
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See also


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