An Interview with Chick Corea

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHICK COREA

CORTLAND, NEW YORK July, 1974

Interview with pianist and composer Chick Corea Because if we say ‘rock’ it’s not that because we following a concert at the State University of New do so many other things. If we say ‘jazz’ it’s not York at Cortland, in July 1974. The concert that, because we do so many other things; and so featured Corea’s first all-electric ”Return to on and so forth, right? So we leave that thing Forever" group, consisting of Corea; bassist generally up to people like yourself who like to Stanley Clarke, guitarist Al Dimeola, and talk about the music, critics and writers, drummer Lenny White. The period of this musicologists, and the like. I just regard it as a interview was a very formative one musically for thing that I’m creating to create an experience both interviewee and interviewer. with people.

MAYBE THE POINT I'M TRYING TO GET TO, IS THAT, I THINK, YOU REALIZE YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT CROWD NOW THAN OVER A FEW YEARS AGO.YOUR CROWD HAS I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT CHANGED AND ITS EVIDENT FROM TONIGHT THAT ITS YOUR MUSICIANSHIP. I’VE FOLLOWED YOU, WELL, NOT THE ‘JAZZ’ THAT YOU USED TO PLAY. I GUESS I’M FROM THE BEGINNING. I GUESS I SHOULD START OFF BY ASKING HOW YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE. I KNOW YOU ASKING, WHAT KIND OF MUSIC WERE YOU PLAYING ENJOY PLAYING. DO YOU ENJOY YOUR ROLE NOW AS OUT THERE TONIGHT? WHAT KIND OF MUSIC IS THAT? MORE OF A ROCK-TYPE GROUP? IS THAT JAZZ, STILL, OR ROCK MUSIC? I think more the point of it is I enjoy my role We – neither myself nor the others in the band – now as a performer communicating to more make any sort of attempt to put a label on it. I people. Again, not labelling what we do. That’s think it’s basic artistic integrity of any artist the difference to me between what I’m doing who’s actually creating music. You create the now with the group and what I used to do. It’s music. We create our music with the single an intended effort to reach people. Not by intention of making people feel really good and changing musically what I like to do, because pleasurable and aesthetic and beautiful from what I like to do is what you hear, in the concert what we do. And we don’t limit it by categories. and on records. But doing it in such a way that makes it available to people, you see.

We create our music with OK. WHAT'S IN THE FUTURE RIGHT NOW FOR 'RETURN TO FOREVER?' the intention of making Well, we’ve got short-reaching plans and middle-reaching plans and long-reaching plans, people feel pleasurable and they all involve persistence and continuance, and also expansion of what we’re and beautiful from what we doing in terms of making music of a higher quality, still; reaching more people; making the do. form of what we do change and alter to continue to interest ourselves and the people that we’re playing with. I myself have interest in

For more information about this or similar interviews, or to obtain a copy of the original sound recording, contact Bob Rosenbaum at [email protected]. multimedia arts like film and dance, and being a DO YOU PLAN ANY SOLO PROJECTS WITH ANY OTHER composer, and writing for orchestras, and PEOPLE? I’M THINKING ABOUT THE ECM JAZZ CIRCLE. writing for movies. And all of these projects are Not with the ECM jazz circle, no. But I do plan sort of coming into the possibility of being able to do a solo record in December, my first in 4 to be realized by this pilot project – I consider years. And it will be released, probably, in the group to be a pilot project. February.

I HAD THE PLEASURE LAST WEEK OF TALKING WITH The world is about people GARY BURTON, WHO WAS AT THE STATE UNIVERSITY IN BINGHAMTON. I ASKED HIM WHERE ‘JAZZ’ WAS GOING. and about living to together HE TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT ‘JAZZ’ HAS GONE TO THE YOUNGER MUSICIANS NOW. IT HAS CHANGED and pooling energies to HANDS FROM THE OLDER GENERATION FROM THE EARLY ‘60S TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION. YOURS WAS reach a goal of some kind. ONE OF THE NAMES THAT CAME UP. THINKING OF THE TYPE OF MUSIC THAT YOU’RE PLAYING NOW AS ‘JAZZ,’ WHERE DO YOU THINK ITS GOING?

RIGHT. IT SEEMS TO BE A BRANCHING POINT. YOU Well, I think it’s going where everything will STARTED TALKING ABOUT EXPANSION AND I SEE THAT always go; it’s going to go where the artists take THERE HAS BEEN EXPANSION. ESPECIALLY AS FAR AS it. Right? And that’s going to be determined by STANLEY CLARK GOES. HE STARTED PRODUCING HIS how much intention, and what kind of intention, OWN ALBUMS. the artists continue to have. And how this intention changes. An ideal scene that I would Right. like to see happen is to have a world and a society of people where involvement in the arts AND THIS HAS GIVEN YOU AN OPPORTUNITY ALSO TO is one of the major interests which takes place in GET INTO HIS KIND OF MUSIC. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THAT everybody’s life, to varying degrees. Which, to IN DETERMINING WHERE THE GROUP IS GOING? me, would mean like more activity in creation. Well, that’s like a very valid thing. All of us in the group, and basically each artist, is an individual who has an individual creation to offer. That’s one aspect of life. There’s another An ideal scene that I would aspect of life which is called teamwork, and cooperation. Which is a thing that we value even like is to have a world and a higher than an individual concept; because one society where involvement individual can’t get too far alone. You know the world is about people and about living to in the arts is one of the together and, like, pooling energies to reach a goal of some kind. And that’s where our major interests which takes interests lie. So we have both things going on at the same time. Where each individual in the place in everybody’s life. group records solo projects and has his personal musical interests, and then we pool all these energies in the group, under the coordination of myself, to come up with a real team. Which is what you observed tonight in the concert.

2 An Interview with Chick Corea Getting people to realize their own dreams, society is into drugs and mysticism. So it’s really more and more. Which is where the artist is in an influence point. the vanguard, you see. And that is going to And if that artist recognizes his responsibility to entail having artists begin to, in some kind of put truth on that communication line, and give way, be more aware of how what they do people something that will help them, then influences the environment that they’re in. Like you’ve got like a cleaning up of society, and a some sort of consciousness of a society, not just way towards a rehabilitation of the arts and a of an art form. And art form in itself is just a rehabilitation of people’s goals and happiness in pedantic intellectual thing, you know? You put life. And to me, man, that’s where it’s at, you these notes together with those notes and you know? That’s my ideal scene; that’s where I come out with that sound, and isn’t it beautiful. would like to see it go. And if I have any power So what? What does it do to another person? to do that, then that’s where I’ll make it go. And What does it do to your neighborhood? What I just hope others will come along and do does it do to the society that we’re living in? something similar to that. Because it’s not just How does it relate to the relation between peace my goal, it’s everybody’s goal. and war and all of that kind of stuff.

RIGHT. DO YOU FEEL THAT YOUR MUSIC HAS CAUGHT ON? HAVE YOU BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN ACHIEVING YOUR You put these notes GOAL? For sure, man. We have a very stable, ethical together and you come out group of people with the musicians and our management, and all the people that work with with that sound, and isn’t it us. And we have like a very clean scene going. beautiful. So what? What And a very creative, enthusiastic scene. Alot of production and work, and enjoyment of what does it do to another we’re doing. And it’s expanding like crazy. person? What does it do to your neighborhood? What And if an artist recognizes does it do to the society that his responsibility to put truth we’re living in? on that communication line, and give people something And when those concepts start to get that will help them, then connected, and artists realize the influence that they potentially have, you see – because if you you’ve got a cleaning up of take a look at society and you look at ‘Who do masses of people look up to for evaluation?’ It society, and a way towards ain’t the government leaders, and it ain’t your educators; it’s celebrities and artists. Frank a rehabilitation of the arts Sinatra, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Barbara Streisand, Cary Grant, when he had it and of people’s goals and happening, and so forth and so on, you know. And when somebody from the Beatles wears his happiness in life. hair this way, it affects the whole society, you know. When someone from some well-known group or some well-known movie star shows an interest in drugs or mysticism, there you go, the

Cortland, New York 3 I NOTICE ON THE BACK OF EACH OF YOUR ALBUMS YOU DO HAVE YOUR ADDRESS, WHERE TO WRITE, WHERE TO CONTACT “RETURN TO FOREVER.” DO A LOT OF PEOPLE CONTACT YOU? We get like pounds and pounds of mail, and it’s really great. We keep really in touch with individuals who care to communicate with us by letter or by phone. And it’s our most precious line. Every letter is answered and taken care of, because that’s what we’re out here doing, you know.

Which, to me, is the most positive effect I can think of creating on a person.

WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO SAY? Oh, man, it’s like everything and anything. Mostly just “thank yous” in different kinds of ways, and also thank yous for getting them reinterested in their own goals and their own desire to create. Which, to me, is the most positive effect I can think of creating on a person, you know?

WELL, I THINK YOU DO A VERY FINE JOB IN TRANSMITTING YOUR THOUGHTS THROUGH YOUR MUSIC. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH YOU! Sure. A pleasure.

4 An Interview with Chick Corea