Description
Larry Coryell, along with the likes of John McLaughlin and Larry Carlton, was one of the leading jazz-fusion guitarists of the seventies. Indeed, such was Coryell’s influence, that he was dubbed ‘the godfather of fusion.’ He formed a superb jazz-fusion band, The Eleventh House, which included trumpeter Randy Brecker and drummer Alphonse Mouzon. He played with Charles Mingus, Kenny Barron, Chet Baker, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Sonny Rollins and Gary Burton, to name but a few.
In March 1978, Miles Davis came briefly out of retirement to record a tune (‘Miss Last Summer’) with a band that included Coryell (the guitarist said that Miles recorded the track as a means of helping Coryell get a record contract with Columbia Records). With a track record like that, it’s easy to see why Coryell’s playing was held in such high esteem.
This recording is a special one, because it was recorded in May 2016, less than a year before Coryell’s death (he died in February 2017, aged 73.). It’s ironic, because not only was Coryell playing at the top of his game, but he sounded so happy; so full of life and energy, and was clearly in love with his wife Tracey, who appears on this record.
