Larry Coryell - Spaces

One of the Pioneers of Jazz Rock! Guitar Blow-Out! Includes John McLaughlin, Miroslav Vitous, Billy Cobham & Chick Corea! As one of the pioneers of jazz-rock -- perhaps the pioneer in the ears of some -- Larry Coryell deserves a special place in the history books. He brought what amounted to a nearly alien sensibility to jazz electric guitar playing in the 1960s, a hard-edged, cutting tone, phrasing and note-bending that owed as much to blues, rock and even country as it did to earlier, smoother bop influences. Yet as a true eclectic, armed with a brilliant technique, he is comfortable in almost every style, covering almost every base from the most decibel-heavy, distortion-laden electric work to the most delicate, soothing, intricate lines on acoustic guitar. Although citing Chet Atkins and Chuck Berry as early influences he also took cues from jazzmen such as John Coltrane and Wes Montgomery. He was also inspired by the popular music of the day by the Beatles, The Byrds and Bob Dylan and worked diligently to meld both rock and jazz stylings into his technique. This was reflected on his debut recording performance on drummer Chico Hamilton's album " The Dealer" where he sounded like chuck Berry at times with his almost distorted "fat" tone. Also in 1966 he formed a psychedelic band called The Free Spirits on which he also sang vocals, played the sitar and did most of the composing. Although conceptually the band's music conformed to the psychedelic formula with titles like "Bad News Cat" and" I'm Gonna Be Free" it foreshadowed jazz rock with more complex soloing by Coryell and Sax/flute player Jim Pepper. However, it wasn't until three years later after apprenticing on albums by Vibraphonist Gary Burton and flutist Herbie Mann and gigging with the likes of Jack Bruce and others that Coryell established his multifarious musical voice, releasing two solo albums which mixed jazz, classical and rock ingredients. In late 1969 he recorded "Spaces", the album for which he is most noted. It is a guitar blow-out which also includes John McLaughlin who was also sitting on the fence between rock and jazz at the time and the cogitative result forms what many aficionados consider to be the embryo from which the fusion jazz movement of the 1970s emerged. It contains insane tempos and fiery guitar exchanges which are often beyond category not to mention some innovating acoustic bass work by Miroslav Vitous and power drumming by Billy Cobham both of whom were to make contributions to Jazz rock throughout the '70s. "Overall, the music has its energetic moments, but also contains some lyricism... In addition, all of the musicians already had their own original voices, making Spaces a stimulating album worth searching for." - Scott Yanow, allmusic.com Features: • Vinyl LP Musicians: Larry Coryell, guitar John McLaughlin, guitar Miroslav Vitous, bass Billy Cobham, drums Chick Corea, electric piano Selections: Side One: 1. Spaces (Infinite) 2. Rene's Theme 3. Gloria's Step Side Two: 1. Wrong Is Right 2. Chris 3. New Year's Day in Los Angeles - 1968