A few weeks ago we lost the great Chick Corea. For those of you who don't know who Chick was, let me introduce you. He was the most prolific, creative, humble, and joyful pianist in the last sixty years. To his fans and his collaborators, we all just knew him and referred to him as Chick.

Chick started writing tunes in the 1950s, and began playing piano with Mongo Santamaria, Blue Mitchell, and Herbie Mann. He recorded his first album in 1967, and released Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, one the five best piano trios ever recorded. I first heard Chick in the mid-seventies, after he had finished playing on some of Miles Davis' consequential jazz fusion albums— In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, and A Tribute to Jack Johnson. It was on those seminal recordings that Chick joined with musicians who would become, with him, the most influential jazz players of their generation: John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, and Lenny White, all led by the indefatigable Davis. Whether acoustic or electric, Corea's sound and style was unmistakable—his sublime Fender Rhodes playing, singular mini-Moog sound, or his lyrical and percussive piano playing. You always knew it was Chick playing.

After leaving Davis he formed the great Return to Forever, one of the first fusion bands that dominated the seventies, starting with a title album with some of Corea's greatest melodies, and ending with a series of three albums featuring one of the greatest fusion quartets—Chick, Al DiMeola, Stanley Clark and Lenny White. Their final album Romantic Warrior is a classic combination of orchestral jazz rock, funk, and soaring white hot guitar licks.

Chick reveled in playing music with a diverse group of musicians. He spent decades playing music with the vibraphonist Gary Burton, their album Crystal Silence is a classic of the duo genre, along with his duo albums with pianist Herbie Hancock. His collaboration on the record Like Minds, with Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, Dave Holland and Roy Haynes is another benchmark in post-bop Jazz. There were a slew of acoustic band and electric band recordings with a range of musicians, always great, solo albums, orchestral experiments and a duo album with banjo player Bela Fleck called Two. All of these albums brought him acclaim, Grammy awards, and invitations for future collaborations.

Since we lost Chick, I have been playing a lot of his music. Here is a list of albums for those uninitiated to Chick to listen to. Kick back with a good bottle of wine and dig on the brilliance of Chick.

Now He Sings, Now He Sobs—Joined by bassist Miroslav Vitous and drummer Roy Haynes, the trio weaves an ambitious Post-Bop journey that serves as Chick's true debut to the Jazz scene. The debut of his standard Windows.

Light as a Feather/Return to Forever—I always consider these two albums as connected--same band, recording sessions close together. Chick is joined by Joe Farrell, Flora Purim, Stanley Clarke and Airto Moreira to play some of his most beloved tunes—Crystal Silence, Sometime Ago, La Fiesta, 500 Miles High, and Spain.

No Mystery—Rehearsed in his parent's basement outside of Boston, this album is the second outing with the Di Meola, Clark, White band. Highlights are Dayride, the wildly funky Jungle Waterfall, and his masterpiece No Mystery. Electric moments are offset by some good acoustical music, although Di Meola provides some guitar fire throughout. The critics didn't like this on, but it is one of my favorites, reflecting the era well--to me it is amazing, sublime jazz rock fusion.

Friends--After playing on Joe Farrell's neo fusion masterpiece, The Joe Farrell Quartet album in 1970, Chick brings Farrell back with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Steve Gadd for one of my favorite Chick albums. Despite the cheesy Smurf art on the cover, this album captures the essence of Chick's music--joyous, rhythmic, complex, and melodic. Gomez gives us one of his greatest performances on Samba Song; he is the perfect foil to Chick's keyboards. This one really cooks.

Five Peace Band Live—We saw this band play at the Stratford in 2008, and it was a joy to be there. Chick and guitarist John McLaughlin were together on the three Miles Davis recordings, and this new ensemble allowed them to jump back into this style, with saxophonist Kenny Garrett, also a Davis alumni, playing sole horn. Christian McBride's electric bass is white hot alongside drummer Vinnie Colaiuta. To hear them play In a Silent Way/It's About That Time shows how timeless this music is to those who admire it. Breathtaking 21rst century fusion from the best of the best.

Trilogy 2--Released in 2019, this latest trio record features Chick, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Brian Blade give us a musical anthology of standards and Chick's music over the decades. The music is freewheeling and vibrant, these guys have fun playing every tune, and their synergistic playing is unmatched. It won the Grammy for best instrumental Jazz in 2019.

Chick died of a rare, quick acting form of cancer, but he had time to pen a humble and inspiring message to his collaborators and fans:

"I want to thank all of those along my journey who have helped keep the music fires burning bright. It is my hope that those who have an inkling to play, write, perform or otherwise, do so. If not for yourself then for the rest of us. It's not only that the world needs more artists, it's also just a lot of fun. And to my amazing musician friends who have been like family to me as long as I've known you: It has been a blessing and an honor learning from and playing with all of you. My mission has always been to bring the joy of creating anywhere I could, and to have done so with all the artists that I admire so dearly—this has been the richness of my life."

Listen to my Chick playlist at: https://tinyurl.com/zwzws893

Steve Chase is in Unison listening to Chick.