Larry Coryell: Riffin' on Spaces, Revisited
Musician magazine named him to its list of 100 greatest guitarists alive today, and after releasing more than 58 albums as a leader and playing on 37 more as a sideman in the last 30 years, Larry Coryell has definitely earned that honor.
Exploring the sound of the six-string in an extraordinary number of settings, he's done straight-ahead jazz, classical-influenced solo guitar, funk-rock fusion, light pop and guitar duos and trios with some of the top names in jazz.
He's probably best known for being one of the pioneers of the jazz-rock fusion days of the 1970s, but at 54, he certainly hasn't lost his appetite for exploring new directions. After a short stint in pop-jazz, he's back playing in an adventurous mainstream setting influenced by one of his first heroes, Wes Montgomery, and is in the process of writing a book about improvisational music.
"He's one of the pioneers of the jazz fusion and jazz rock fields, one of the ground-breakers," says bassist Brian Torff. "With Larry, you get a mix of mainstream jazz with standards and a youthful energy."
I had a chance to talk with Coryell on the phone a few days prior to his stop here Saturday as the headline act at the Great River Jazz Fest. My impression was that he was, like his music, open to exploring almost any topic with disarming candor and clarity. Here are some excerpts of that conversation.
Exploring the sound of the six-string in an extraordinary number of settings, he's done straight-ahead jazz, classical-influenced solo guitar, funk-rock fusion, light pop and guitar duos and trios with some of the top names in jazz.
He's probably best known for being one of the pioneers of the jazz-rock fusion days of the 1970s, but at 54, he certainly hasn't lost his appetite for exploring new directions. After a short stint in pop-jazz, he's back playing in an adventurous mainstream setting influenced by one of his first heroes, Wes Montgomery, and is in the process of writing a book about improvisational music.
"He's one of the pioneers of the jazz fusion and jazz rock fields, one of the ground-breakers," says bassist Brian Torff. "With Larry, you get a mix of mainstream jazz with standards and a youthful energy."
I had a chance to talk with Coryell on the phone a few days prior to his stop here Saturday as the headline act at the Great River Jazz Fest. My impression was that he was, like his music, open to exploring almost any topic with disarming candor and clarity. Here are some excerpts of that conversation.
The new album, Spaces Revisited, features you with bass, drums and a guitarist named Bireli Lagrene. I've noticed you've often played with another guitarist.
I really, really like working off another guitarist. I find it to be a very good way to instill fresh ideas. It's like having a horn player and a chording instrument to work with, especially when you've got somebody like Bireli.
In your upcoming show at the La Crosse Jazz Festival, you'll be playing with the piano-bass-drums trio of Laurence Hobgood, Brian Torff and Paul Wertico, who were a big hit at last year's fest. I understand you've played with all three in different situations, but never all at the same time.
It's actually good this way because we won't have anything too tightly worked out, which I hope will lead to surprises and freshness in approach. I really like Brian and Paul and Laurence. Laurence is especially a very exciting player. He's just very, very intelligent, talented young man and he's done great things as the musical director for Kurt Elling. I'm very impressed with his work there. And he's just a great guy, he's fun to play with and there's never a dull moment. I just can't wait to hit with these guys.
In the new CD's liner notes, you include a quote from Miles Davis about "never finishing a phrase."
Absolutely, absolutely. The $64 question always with music students is, you know, how do I continue to produce new ideas, and this particular suggestion from Miles to me is part of that solution.
What does that mean to you?
To be conscious of restraining yourself when you get into creating your solos, and as you start towards completion of an idea, catch yourself before you take it to its logical conclusion so you can come up with something different.
Describe for me what that whole original 1970s jazz-rock fusion era was like.
Oh man, I don't have time in an interview. Today, everybody loves straight-ahead jazz, but during that time, straight-ahead jazz was a little flat compared to all the exciting things that were going on in rock and pop music. I mean, barriers were being broken down right and left, icons were being smashed. I remember going into (a club) and hearing a very, very, very famous guy - I won't say who it was - play "Round Midnight" and it just sounded boring as hell to me. But that passed. After the exciting part of the fusion era died off, straight-ahead started sounding better again.
Is that a cyclical thing?
Well, as they say, it is what it is, baby. Or it was what it was. Keith Jarrett's most recent record is of standards, but look at all the different records he made where he's like been completely out, or even like folk music or classical. Musicians of that generation, myself, Jarrett, Corea, we play classical music, we're aware of folk and rock and pop music. It's a generational thing.
Which is obvious in your own catalog. Recently, you even did some light adult contemporary stuff with singers.
That era is over for me. That was just something I had to go through to get to Spaces Revisited. I'm really not that interested in that; it's just too limiting. The problem is when you're trying to get into that new adult contemporary thing, at least in my case, you lower your musical standards to such a degree that you could take Joe Schmo down the street and have him play my solo and it wouldn't matter. And I can't stand that! It was like a necessary evil to get into that new adult contemporary thing for awhile because you know, it's the only way to get your name out in front of the public sometimes. And granted, sometimes, some of that stuff by Grover Washington and (others) is interesting, but I just found that it was too bland to be the kind of fusion that I knew. It's all diatonic scale and a few blues ideas and the minute you'd go out of the scale, the producer in the booth would stop the take and say, "What are you doing? That's not gonna get on the radio!" So, with Spaces Revisited, I just said I gotta make something for myself.
I really, really like working off another guitarist. I find it to be a very good way to instill fresh ideas. It's like having a horn player and a chording instrument to work with, especially when you've got somebody like Bireli.
In your upcoming show at the La Crosse Jazz Festival, you'll be playing with the piano-bass-drums trio of Laurence Hobgood, Brian Torff and Paul Wertico, who were a big hit at last year's fest. I understand you've played with all three in different situations, but never all at the same time.
It's actually good this way because we won't have anything too tightly worked out, which I hope will lead to surprises and freshness in approach. I really like Brian and Paul and Laurence. Laurence is especially a very exciting player. He's just very, very intelligent, talented young man and he's done great things as the musical director for Kurt Elling. I'm very impressed with his work there. And he's just a great guy, he's fun to play with and there's never a dull moment. I just can't wait to hit with these guys.
In the new CD's liner notes, you include a quote from Miles Davis about "never finishing a phrase."
Absolutely, absolutely. The $64 question always with music students is, you know, how do I continue to produce new ideas, and this particular suggestion from Miles to me is part of that solution.
What does that mean to you?
To be conscious of restraining yourself when you get into creating your solos, and as you start towards completion of an idea, catch yourself before you take it to its logical conclusion so you can come up with something different.
Describe for me what that whole original 1970s jazz-rock fusion era was like.
Oh man, I don't have time in an interview. Today, everybody loves straight-ahead jazz, but during that time, straight-ahead jazz was a little flat compared to all the exciting things that were going on in rock and pop music. I mean, barriers were being broken down right and left, icons were being smashed. I remember going into (a club) and hearing a very, very, very famous guy - I won't say who it was - play "Round Midnight" and it just sounded boring as hell to me. But that passed. After the exciting part of the fusion era died off, straight-ahead started sounding better again.
Is that a cyclical thing?
Well, as they say, it is what it is, baby. Or it was what it was. Keith Jarrett's most recent record is of standards, but look at all the different records he made where he's like been completely out, or even like folk music or classical. Musicians of that generation, myself, Jarrett, Corea, we play classical music, we're aware of folk and rock and pop music. It's a generational thing.
Which is obvious in your own catalog. Recently, you even did some light adult contemporary stuff with singers.
That era is over for me. That was just something I had to go through to get to Spaces Revisited. I'm really not that interested in that; it's just too limiting. The problem is when you're trying to get into that new adult contemporary thing, at least in my case, you lower your musical standards to such a degree that you could take Joe Schmo down the street and have him play my solo and it wouldn't matter. And I can't stand that! It was like a necessary evil to get into that new adult contemporary thing for awhile because you know, it's the only way to get your name out in front of the public sometimes. And granted, sometimes, some of that stuff by Grover Washington and (others) is interesting, but I just found that it was too bland to be the kind of fusion that I knew. It's all diatonic scale and a few blues ideas and the minute you'd go out of the scale, the producer in the booth would stop the take and say, "What are you doing? That's not gonna get on the radio!" So, with Spaces Revisited, I just said I gotta make something for myself.
Is that the direction you'll keep heading?
Yes! It's all about the material and playing what's in your life. The pieces of Spaces Revisited, with the exception of "Hong Kong Breeze" and the title tune, which were composed for the session, were all things that I had been doing on stage while I was in my new adult contemporary phase. We'd play our "hit," some simple thing with a backbeat and just diatonic scale stuff, and then we'd play be-bop for the rest of the gig and the people loved it. So I said what the heck, let's just throw out the stuff that's too sweet and just get down to what we do best.
The jazz field right now – is it healthy?
Well, that's a generalization. Some cats are makin' $100,000 a concert and some guys have to pay to play, so what can I tell ya. It's according to one's karma. You make good causes, you get good effects. But it's a tough world out there. But you know, hey, if it wasn't tough, life would be very boring. And as an artist, you can interpret the suffering that you experience in life through your music... in a positive way.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Portions of the interview were incorporated into Coryell's biography at AllAboutJazz.com, where Starling was a contributing editor. Read Adam Bernstein's excellent look back at Coryell's life (1943-2017) at the Washington Post website.
Yes! It's all about the material and playing what's in your life. The pieces of Spaces Revisited, with the exception of "Hong Kong Breeze" and the title tune, which were composed for the session, were all things that I had been doing on stage while I was in my new adult contemporary phase. We'd play our "hit," some simple thing with a backbeat and just diatonic scale stuff, and then we'd play be-bop for the rest of the gig and the people loved it. So I said what the heck, let's just throw out the stuff that's too sweet and just get down to what we do best.
The jazz field right now – is it healthy?
Well, that's a generalization. Some cats are makin' $100,000 a concert and some guys have to pay to play, so what can I tell ya. It's according to one's karma. You make good causes, you get good effects. But it's a tough world out there. But you know, hey, if it wasn't tough, life would be very boring. And as an artist, you can interpret the suffering that you experience in life through your music... in a positive way.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Portions of the interview were incorporated into Coryell's biography at AllAboutJazz.com, where Starling was a contributing editor. Read Adam Bernstein's excellent look back at Coryell's life (1943-2017) at the Washington Post website.
Mike Starling's original music is heard on numerous recordings and soundtracks, and his stories and photos have been featured in books, films, mags and other media.
starlingarchive.weebly.com is the authorized website for samples of published work by the Wisconsin-based writer, artist and musician Mike Starling. Photo of Starling on assignment in Ireland by J. Winke. Coryell photo by Jarek Pepkowski, posted via a creative commons license from the Wikimedia Commons. Website developed and managed by Nine Volt Media. ©MMXX-MMXXIII. All rights reserved.