The richly-talented guitarist Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas in 1943 but his family relocated to the Seattle, Washington area when he was very young. His mother introduced him to piano playing at the tender age of four, but by his teens had switched to guitar, having been bitten by the rock and roll bug, and he soon mastered the rudiments of Chuck Berry guitar licks. At the same time, other musical influences worked their way into Coryell’s expanding musical palette, with the diverse likes of Tal Farlow and Chet Atkins making their playing presence felt.
Having graduated from Richland High School in Richland, Washington, he cut his guitar-playing teeth playing in a succession of local bands in the Richland area, rejoicing in such names as The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals and The Flames. He then moved to Seattle, to attend the University of Washington, and played in more nascent combos in the city’s environs. Interestingly enough, at the time he didn’t consider himself a good enough player to pursue a full-time career in music, and it was Journalism he studied at Washington University, and took private guitar lessons whilst a student.
By September 1965, he had relocated to New York City, attending the Mannes School of Music, and he took further lessons studying classical guitar. Back then, NYC was the crucible of all that was innovative in contemporary Jazz, and the likes of John Coltrane and Wes Montgomery were a great influence on him, but he was also soaking up other musical influences from the likes of The Byrds, Bob Dylan and The Beatles, of course, and these various influential strands overlapped and Coryell blended them smoothly into his own distinct style. These rock influences were prominent on his very first recordings with drummer Chico Hamilton’s band, on the album The Dealer, in 1966; his fat guitar tone was a new harmonic intervention in the Jazz genre. In the same year, Coryell formed a proto-Psychedelic outfit called The Free Spirits, in which he also sang – and even played sitar!
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 flautist 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 was a guitar blow-out which also included John McLaughlin who was similarly straddling the boundaries between rock and jazz at the time, and the cogitative result formed what many aficionados consider to be the embryo from which the fusion jazz movement of the 1970s emerged. It contained insane tempos and fiery guitar exchanges which were 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.
Contemporary audiences were hungry for the new music and Coryell convened the band Foreplay in the early 70s, with childhood friend Mike Mandel on keyboards – they cut the albums Barefoot Boy, Offering, and The Real Great Escape (although they were credited to Coryell), and the band toured frequently, building a considerable following in college towns.
After disbanding Foreplay, Coryell put together his Eleventh House project in 1973, alongside Randy Brecker (trumpet), Mike Mandel (from Foreplay - keyboards), Danny Trifan (bass) and drummer Alphonse Mouzon. They debuted on record with the album Introducing Eleventh House with Larry Coryell in 1973, on the Vanguard record label, and followed it with Level One in 1975, after the band’s signing to Arista Records.
After Level One the band released the album Aspects in 1976 with Coryell on guitar and bassist John Lee. Drummer Gerry Brown replaced the great Alphonse Mouzon from the previous Level One album, and he was joined by keyboard player Mike Mandel, and Terumasa Hino on trumpet and flugelhorn, replacing Michael Lawrence. The album is billed as being by The Eleventh House Featuring Larry Coryell, clearly pushing Coryell as the focal point of the combo. A point of information: In astrology, aspects to the 11th house can indicate how challenges and goals related to friendships, groups, and future aspirations are expressed and navigated.
This was to be their third and final album. The following year Coryell recorded Two For The Road with Steve Khan who had played guitar on Aspects. Recorded live on tour, it’s a simple recording; Coryell is featured on the right channel of the recording, with Khan on the left – Khan is also credited as ‘Producer’, as well as writing the original liner notes. ‘Two For The Road’ was an absorbing set from two seriously accomplished musicians, creative sparks flying throughout.
Then in 1978 Coryell released the solo recording European Impressions. The first three tracks were recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival by the Mountain Studio, and the remaining four tracks were recorded at Soundmixers, New York City.
Coryell struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse during the 80s but continued recording and performing with a variety of renowned collaborators. The Eleventh House reunited in 1998 and toured all over the world until the end of 1999. There was a further reunion in 2015 for some live concerts and a studio album Seven Secrets which was released in 2017. Coryell passed away that same year.
Although his death may not have made the same kind of headlines as the likes of David Bowie, Prince or Tom Petty, in his chosen field of innovative improvisation and inspired synthesis of musical styles, he stands as a real colossus, and his presence is much-missed.
With thanks to Alan Robinson