| Chick Corea Elektric Band | |
| Genre: | Jazz fusion |
| Years Active: | 1986–2017 |
| Label: | Stretch, GRP |
| Current Members: | |
| Past Members: |
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Chick Corea Elektric Band was a jazz fusion band, led by keyboardist and pianist Chick Corea and founded in 1986 in New York City. The band was nominated twice at the Grammy Awards.[1] The sixth band album, a tribute one named Chick Corea Elektric Band II - Paint the World and released in 1993, received an additional nomination the next year.[2] The group reunited in 2003, and Corea died in 2021.
The bands first line up formed in 1985 and consisted of Dave Weckl (drums) and John Pattituci (bass) alongside Corea.[3] The band recorded and released their eponymous first album in 1986 which included Carlos Rios and Scott Henderson on guitars.
The band’s typical line-up was cemented in 1987's Light Years, with Frank Gambale replacing Scott Henderson as a full time member, and saxophonist Eric Marienthal joining the group.[4]
The third album was Eye of the Beholder, released in 1988.[5] The material for the fourth album, Inside Out, released in 1990, was Corea originals.[6] The last album featuring the band's traditional line-up was Beneath the Mask, released in 1991.[7]
For the next album, Elektric Band II: Paint the World released in 1993, only Corea and Marienthal returned from the original line-up.[8] Gary Novak became the new drummer, Jimmy Earl took the bass, and Mike Miller played guitar. The album's style is jazz-oriented.
In 1996, the band recorded a version of "Rumble" from West Side Story for the tribute album The Songs of West Side Story; this saw Weckl and Gambale returning. John Patitucci returned in 2004, restoring the band to its original lineup for To the Stars.[9]
The band’s last tour took place in 2018.
Corea died of cancer at his home in the Tampa Bay area of Florida on February 9, 2021, at age 79; he had only recently been diagnosed.[10]