Larry Coryell at Jazz Showcase in Chicago

check out 'fairyland', 'barefoot boy', 'live at the village gate', 'the real great escape', 'lady coryell'....all inspired, no cliches

I saw him at the Dakota in Minneapolis a couple of years ago, accompanied by one of my favorite fusion drummers, Lenny White. Compared to an appearance there a few years before that, there was more of a connection with the audience and heart-felt, patient/thoughtful playing that came through. I suspect, as Chashmal said, he may have been dealt with some demons of his own.

I saw him a few years back at the Detroit Jazz fest with a bass player and drummer from Pat Metheny's band. They were excellent. As tight as I have ever heard. They had us rocking with an infectious rythm that kept progressing to cresendos, much like Metheny in concert.

Afterwards they talked to the audience. One guy reached out to shake Larry's hand and he went to hand him his guitar! Talk about friendly!

Chashmal

What a horrible and judgmental post. Larry has been mostly acoustic for a long time. Has been doing his nice arrangement of Bolero for a long time. Some of the fusion was good and a lot of it sucked. His son is a great player too. The thing is you don't get to decide what we like......Thank God for that!

ET

Some of Coryell's best work has actually been recorded over the past eight years. He did a few albums for CTI to try and get some radio airplay as part of the "smooth jazz" genre in the 1990's. Ultimately decided to be true to himself and pursue the straight ahead and fusion jazz that he really wanted to play, regardless of the economic consequences.

I think he is a better straight ahead jazz player than his friends McLaughlin and Di Meola. This is a guy who ultimately has made very few creative sacrifices in the name of wealth and recognition. In one interview he explained that a lot of the fusion movement was the result of young players trying to bring something new to the table at that time.

The performance at the Jazz Showcase was very dynamic, and passionate. He played a number of straight ahead jazz numbers in tribute to Wes Montgomery but also played a solo acoustic rendition of Ravel's Bolero with an "Indian" twist and a number of pieces from his 2004 Tricyles album.

It was a blast for a guitar enthusiast like myself. He is a guitar player's guitar player. A perfect blend of virtuosity, blues rock guitar tendencies, and respect for the art form of traditional straight ahead jazz.

It is amazing to me that such exceptional talents are so accessible. After the show Larry and the group was just milling around with the audience, signing autographs and CDs.