Song of the Day 2/12: Chick Corea, “Hymn of the 7th Galaxy”

Guest post by Nathan Arizona

There were few more polarizing figures in jazz than Chick Corea, who died Tuesday from a rare form of cancer. But there was never any doubt that he was one of the best keyboard players in the business. He’s best known as the main force behind electrified jazz-rock fusion in the 1970s with Return to Forever, a group he founded and kept going through the decade.

For some rock fans discovering jazz, and some jazz fans looking for something new, fusion hit the sweet spot. It was his most popular work. But fusion missed the mark for a lot of jazz purists and hard-core rock fans. It was neither fish nor fowl.

Corea could play all kinds. He started as a mainstream hard-bop pianist influenced by Thelonius Monk and Bud Powell. He then moved into more abstract free jazz. Crucially, he also developed an interest in electric jazz when it began to make its mark the late ‘60s. He played on the two famous albums that began Mile Davis’ electric phase, “In a Silent Way” and “Bitch’s Brew,” before starting Return to Forever. Corea then went on to a long career playing mostly playing relatively mainstream acoustic and electric jazz.

Here’s a song that goes full-out on the fusion. That’s still what he’s best known for. The 1973 performance was by the second iteration of the band. Lenny White drums, Stanley Clark bass, Bill Connors guitar. It’s the title track from that year’s “Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy” album. Another song by the band follows on this video.

https://youtu.be/ppUpj90YAFU

But even as he moved into raucous fusion he maintained an interest in more low-key sounds. In fact, the first Return to Forever album (actually the second one to be released) featured a lot of relatively mellow Latin music. One of the high points of his career is the calmer 1972 album “Crystal Silence” with the great vibes player Gary Burton. Here’s a later performance by them of the title track.