All About Larry Coryell, pt.3.
Notes on a select few recordings
Splendid (album)
Larry Coryell & Philip Catherine 1978
I have to say that this is one of the greatest albums ever made, certainly in the category of instrumental jazz & blues. Every track is exquisite and alive with ideas and beauty and sentiment and excitement. It is truly a magnificent collaboration between two genius guitar players/composers. I did hear their first album, Twin House, years and years ago, but I wasn’t quite so grabbed by it as I was by this. This is the one I had the vinyl of and which lived on into my own music consciousness. Strangely, it is almost impossible to get now. I could only secure my CD version via eBay, in a nail-biting auction that went down to the wire. The CD was put out by ‘Wounded Bird’ label, which only does CD re-issues of hard-to-get albums. It currently has some Larry Coryell titles available on its lists, but not this one. You have to go to YouTube to hear it. The tragedy of this is that not only does this album make no money, it is also simply not there for music lovers to hear. And yet, it is sublime. It is as good as anything created by the super trio of John, Paco & Al. The melodies endure and the interaction between Larry & Philip is uncanny and immediately engaging. It is a studio album, but it is very ‘happening’, as in the final track, ‘The Train and the River’ by Jimmy Guiffre, in which the two play off against each other in the most rumbustious and breath-taking fashion.
Oh, for this album to be re-released!
Oh, for this album to be re-released!
‘Convite (rumba)’ (song) 1981
from Paco de Lucia’s Castro Marin
Regarding the super trio, Larry, of course, was one of the original members, and appeared with John and Paco in the famous Meeting of the Spirits concert at the Albert Hall in 1979. It was a video I have managed to watch about fifty times over the years. No… more! In the subsequent albums Al di Meola replaced Larry and that worked very well, too. As Larry explains in his autobio, he kind of screwed things up for himself around that time, with too much indulgence in drugs and drink and couldn’t keep things together. It was sadly inevitable that he would have to be replaced, but he could still take credit for being one of the founders of the idea of powerhouse ‘fusion-jazz’ acoustic guitar only collaborations. Things really took off for John, Paco and Al, but I believe that Larry and Philip’s work broke the ground for such. In 1981, Paco released Castro Marin, which, in the final track, ‘Palenque’, features precisely that original trio of himself and John and Larry. It is compelling and exciting, if a little serious and intense. The true highlight of the album is Larry and Paco’s work on the song ‘Convite’, which is described as ‘rumba’. Paco released a different version of this same song in the same year on his Solo Quiero Caminar, but with flute and electric bass backing. The version with Larry is, I believe, better, and it’s better because it is what a guitar collaboration should be, a dance between masters of the same instrument. It is muscular and ballsy and yet exquisitely timed and shaped. Larry plays at equal strength and in equal measure, stamping his jazzy-bluesy character right into the fabric of the song, and Paco loves every moment of that. They combine and contrast and make for pure excitement in their wonderfully rich battle of runs and tracings of the melody.
Young Django (album) 1979
Stephane Grappelli Larry Coryell
Philip Catherine Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
This album is also a gem, imprinted with the genius of its players and graced with the presence of one of jazz’s all-time legends -none other than swing violinist Stephane Grappelli. The title derives from Charles Mingus’ description of Philip Catherine, but widens that out to encompass the music of the album, made famous by Django Reinhardt and Stephane G. The great Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen plays bass and the musicians create a festival of music. All but the final track are Reinhardt/Grappelli originals. The final track is by Larry and is magnificently celebratory, with Stephane at one point taking to the piano and entertaining everyone. His piano work is so amazing! This album celebrates and invigorates the legacy of the Quintette de Hot Club de France. It also illustrates something about why Larry Coryell creates the music he creates -because he knew the importance of joy and love in music and always keeps that front and centre.
TV show live performances on YouTube
on Channel Four in the UK 1983
If one needed a visual/audio confirmation of that statement, two videos on YouTube might be just the thing -Larry’s appearance on NHØP’s television show called Jazz on Four, as it ran on Channel Four in the UK. Philip Catherine provides rhythm accompaniment but is largely out of picture, ceding the stage to Larry, and to NHØP. It is interesting, and a little bit sad, to note that this particular show went out at the ungodly hour of 12.15 to 12.55 a.m., making it likely that its audience was miniscule. But isn’t that the way with jazz, even fantastic, earth-shattering jazz music like this? Meanwhile, on the same day and channel in a primetime slot ‘singing star’ David Essex was interviewed, and of course every Thursday society could enjoy Top of the Pops at the optimum prime time slot of 6.50 to 7.25 p.m.! Who needs jazz? Thankfully, we taped it and could re-watch it again and again on our VHS. And what a sight -and sound- it was to behold! What with the passage of years and this and that, the tape or the VHS became redundant and it was only with the posting of these two tracks again in recent on YouTube that we could re-discover just how good the music was. I think of all music videos I have ever seen on YouTube by any artist, these two excerpts from NHØP’s show with Larry Coryell are the most compelling, exciting and joyful.
‘Good Citizen Swallow’
I believe ‘Good Citizen Swallow’ was composed by Gary Burton and features in his 1967 album Lofty Fake Anagram, with Steve Swallow on bass and Larry Coryell on guitar, but some sites appear to attribute it to Larry. He certainly makes it his own in this interpretation with NHØP and Gordon Beck on piano, but it is important to note where it comes from, as Gary Burton’s group was hugely important in jazz and in Larry’s early career. I have heard other versions, and one by Larry on his 2003 Tricycles, but what Larry does on this video outstrips them all. It is masterful, sweet and incredibly exciting.
Click here to see on YouTube.
Click here to see on YouTube.
'Blues in the Closet'
‘Blues in the Closet’ is a lovely little tune composed the great bassist Oscar Pettiford. Larry’s interpretation involves great interaction with Niels, making it feel like a celebration of bass players. Larry once told me that he considers bass players to be some of his best teachers. The interpretation of this song is joyful; the way Larry and Niels come together as the song develops is about as compelling, engaging and hilarious a viewing of musicians playing their hearts out as you can get. Philip Catherine provides marvellous vamping chordal play to allow the magic to happen. We see a look of bliss on Larry’s face from the outset, and by the end both he and Niels are smiling like Cheshire cats. Likely Philip, too, who is just out of shot. This is what live music is all about. We note the hugely complex runs that Larry and Niels play and applaud the ease with which they accomplish these -for they are masters of what they do, creating elegant and dashing strokes of sonic brilliance.
Click here to see on YouTube.
Click here to see on YouTube.
Just imagine -all this was broadcast in the UK between midnight and one a.m. when the vast majority of people were in the land of nod. Such is the way jazz is so often obscured by all the diurnal stuff.
Long live musical magic!
Long live musical magic!
.... oh, and talking of musical magic, one has to include this....
The Meeting of the Spirits:
John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucia, Larry Coryell - Live at the Royal Albert Hall 1979
Click HERE for the YouTube link. I watched this on VHS growing up, again and again and again. It is magic.
'Bag's Groove' (song) In Memory of Jim 2014 (live at Blue Note Tokyo)
This song is great. And it was played marvellously by Ron, Larry & Peter. It is Larry's solo, which is second, which I wish to talk about.... It starts at about 3.38 into the piece, and is very quiet. It is as though Larry is wondering what to say after Peter's fantastic opening statement. That is a totally natural way to behave and the space that this slow moment creates is beautifully intriguing. What will he, can he, say? He then warms up. With Ron's help. Then the groove starts. Larry throws out a bit of a wild note... Has something changed? Has the player woken up? Certainly he has! He starts into a flurry of notes and a following of the melody that would leave any normal listener compelled to hear what comes next. OK, the listener says, let it flow. And flow it does! According to the dictates of the melody, and then some... something happens unforeseen by listener... Larry starts to go off on a tangent! Is he remembering all his history of funky jazz-fusion? You bet, he is! He doesn't stray too far from the idiom he's in, mind, but he lets the audience into the kind of out-there amazing time-space-continuum he has secretly become master of... He wows us! And makes this 'blues' into something both blues and beyond blues. Man, is it good?! Wow x 100 !
Larry Coryell's Last Swing with Ireland
(album) 2021
This just out! And it is wonderful. He plays softly, he plays boldly, in a variety of genres. Get this.... at the end of one track, Larry puts in a reference to a Beatles song. It's quite amazing, because it recalls his appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test when he similarly throws in a passing reference to another Beatles song. See this. The point being -Larry Coryell is referencing his own philosophy of drawing upon 'happening' music, whatever the genre.
It's wonderful also because this album shows Larry's love for Ireland. He played there many times and made many musical collaborations, with the likes of Melanie O’Reilly and Philip Donnelly, a.k.a. 'The Clontarf Cowboy'! Here, he teams up with Kevin Brady on drums and Dave Redmond on bass. It is a beautiful album and a beautiful love letter to Ireland.
It's wonderful also because this album shows Larry's love for Ireland. He played there many times and made many musical collaborations, with the likes of Melanie O’Reilly and Philip Donnelly, a.k.a. 'The Clontarf Cowboy'! Here, he teams up with Kevin Brady on drums and Dave Redmond on bass. It is a beautiful album and a beautiful love letter to Ireland.
Oh, talking of Ireland.... I just found this picture.... Larry Coryell on stage with ..... RORY Gallagher! 💚