In his 40-year career, pianist, composer and bandleader Armando Anthony 'Chick' Corea has made so many records in as many styles, that it is hard to sketch his career briefly. Corea made his debut in the early sixties in Mongo Santemaria's and Willie Bobo's Latin bands. Joining trumpet player Blue Mitchell's group in '64 led to his switch to jazz. His own first record came out in '66: Tones for Joans's Bones, a successful, hardbop-inspired exercise. Two years later Corea joined Miles Davis' group to explore the possibilities of a fusion between jazz and rock. That event put his name on the jazz map permanently. In 1970 he devoted himself to playing free jazz in his group Circle. Latin, bop, fusion and free jazz remained the styles Corea would continue to play alternately or simultaneously over the next thirty years. After the success of Return to Forever's fusion in the seventies, he established the famous Chick Corea Elektric Band in the eighties. Fans have been waiting for years for a reunion of this virtuoso company and this year they will be rewarded for their patience.
