Chick Corea at Farthing Auditorium October 1

Jazz great Chick Corea performs at ASU on Thursday, October 1. Photo by Lynn Goldsmith

ASU’s 2009-10 Performing Arts Series welcomes jazz legend Chick Corea to the stage of Farthing Auditorium at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 1. Advance tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students and $18 for seniors and ASU faculty and staff.

At an age when most people have already quietly slipped into retirement, Chick Corea, who turned 68 in June, has no interest whatsoever in idly resting on his laurels. The master pianist-keyboardist-bandleader-composer has not only been a road warrior in recent years, but he has also revved up his lifelong prolific artistry a notch or two.

One of the most creatively restless and indefatigably imaginative jazz artists in the history of the music, Corea defies easy categorization—equally at home in acoustic and electric settings, eager to find new ways of expression with old friends and quick to explore new partnerships with youthful adventure-seekers.

“Nothing in my creative world has changed in a major way since the very beginning of my music making,” said Corea, who started his recording career as a leader in 1966 with Tones for Joan’s Bones, followed by the classic Now He Sings, Now He Sobs in 1968. “I still, as always, love pursuing something new and refreshing.”

Born Armando Anthony Corea in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1941, Corea began studying piano at age 4.  Classically trained, he drew early on from the works of Horace Silver and Bud Powell. In addition to numerous and eclectic solo recordings, he has collaborated with greats such as Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Mann, Stan Getz and Miles Davis, replacing Herbie Hancock in Davis’ band in 1968.

In 1971, Corea formed the band Return to Forever and recorded some of his best-known compositions, including La Fiesta, Spain and with Gary Burton, 500 Miles High. Over the years, the contributions of Lenny White, Bill Connors and Al DiMeola developed the band into a Grammy-winning rock and jazz sensation.

The late ‘70s saw Corea collaborating with Herbie Hancock in recordings and on tour; the ‘80s saw significant creative work, including the formation of Echoes of an Era with Chaka Khan. His work in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s was some of the best fusion of the era, including Elektric Band (1986), Eye of the Beholder (1988) and Beneath the Mask (1991). 

The current century has seen a revival of the Elektric Band, more symphonic compositions, recordings with Béla Fleck and notably, a reuniting of the classic Return to Forever (with Al DiMeola, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White) and the creation of the Five Peace Band group, a recent project with renowned jazz guitarist John McLaughlin. Corea continues to create abundantly. His performance at Appalachian on October 1 is a solo piano concert.

Performing Arts Series sponsors include McDonald’s of Boone, Goodnight Brothers Country Ham, Nationwide Insurance—the B. Park Terrell Agency, Inc., Charter Media, The Mountain Times, All About Women magazine, the Winston-Salem Journal, High Country Press, 100.7 Mac FM, Mix 102.3, Mountain Television Network, WDAV 89.9, WFDD 88.5, WETS 89.5, WNCW 88.7 and WASU Rocks 90.5 FM.

Hotel and restaurant sponsors include Westglow Resort and Spa and Rowland’s Restaurant, Chetola Resort, the Bob Timberlake Inn and the Manor House at Chetola, The Broyhill Inn and Appalachian Conference Center and the Jackson Dining Room, Appalachian Hospitality’s six award-winning properties, including the Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza, The Best Cellar, the Bistro, the Gamekeeper restaurant, Louisiana Purchase, Makoto’s Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar, Pepper’s and the Red Onion Café.

For tickets or more information, call 828-262-4046 or click to www.pas.appstate.edu.

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