Of southern Italian and Spanish descent, Corea began studying piano at age four. At eight he took up drums. Over his career, he became one of the most prolific and acclaimed jazz artists from the second half of the 20th century, with contributions to most forms of modern music, including straight-ahead jazz, electric fusion, avant-garde and orchestral music. In 2010 he entered the DownBeat Magazine Hall of Fame and was named Artist of the Year.
As a member of Miles Davis's band in the 1960s, and later as founder of Return to Forever, he participated in the birth of the electric fusion movement. In the 1980s he helped expand jazz with the Chick Corea Elektric Band and the Chick Corea Akoustic Band.
In 2008, the third version of Return to Forever (Corea, keyboards; Stanley Clarke, bass; Lenny White, drums; Al Di Meola, guitar) reunited for a worldwide tour.
A new group, the Five Peace Band, began a world tour in October 2008.
Chick Corea's 75th birthday, Corea and John McLaughlin, Blue Note Jazz Club, New York City, 10 December 2016
A new group, the Five Peace Band, began a world tour in October 2008. Corea had worked with McLaughlin in Davis's late 1960s bands, including the group that recorded Davis's album Bitches Brew. Joining Corea and McLaughlin were saxophonist Kenny Garrett and bassist Christian McBride. Drummer Vinnie Colaiuta played with the band in Europe and on select North American dates; Brian Blade played all dates in Asia and Australia, and most dates in North America. The variety of Corea's music was celebrated in a 2011 retrospective with Corea playing with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; a New York Times reviewer had high praise for the occasion: "Mr. Corea was masterly with the other musicians, absorbing the rhythm and feeding the soloists. It sounded like a band, and Mr. Corea had no need to dominate; his authority was clear without raising volume."[20]
A new band for 2013, Chick Corea & The Vigil, featured Corea with bassist Hadrien Feraud, Marcus Gilmore on drums (carrying on from his grandfather, Roy Haynes), saxes, flute, and bass clarinet from Tim Garland, and guitarist Charles Altura.
Corea celebrated his 75th birthday in 2016 by playing with more than 20 different groups during a six-week stand at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village,
Eleanor Rigby
Chick Corea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ah look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
In the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face
That she keeps in a jar by the door
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie, writing the words
Of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks
In the night when there's nobody there
What does he care
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Ah look at all the lonely people
Ah look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby, died in the church
And was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt
From his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Chick Corea's "Eleanor Rigby" is a rendition of the original song by the Beatles, released in 1966. The song's lyrics depict the stories of two lonely individuals, Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie. Eleanor Rigby is described as a woman who picks up the rice after a wedding ceremony at a church and lives in a dream. She waits at the window, wearing the face she keeps in a jar by the door, which makes one wonder who it is for. Meanwhile, Father McKenzie is writing a sermon that no one will hear, and he darns his socks alone at night while nobody is with him.
The chorus of the song repeats the line, "All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people, where do they all belong?" This line is significant because it emphasizes the theme of loneliness and isolation present in the lives of not only Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie but also many other people in society. The song suggests that no one knows where these people come from or where they belong, and they seem to slip through the cracks of society unnoticed.
The song's message is a call for us to pay attention to the lonely people around us, to acknowledge their existence, and strive to make them feel belonged. The song's use of vivid imagery and storytelling style creates a picture of the loneliness epidemic that plagues modern society.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah look at all the lonely people
Observing the many isolated individuals around us
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
Eleanor Rigby collects the rice thrown at weddings in the church
In the church where a wedding has been
The setting of the ceremony has not yet faded
Lives in a dream
She escapes from reality
Waits at the window, wearing the face
Eleanor Rigby hopes to see her dreams come true, wearing a mask to fit in with social requirements
That she keeps in a jar by the door
She hides her true emotions from the society that rejected her
Who is it for
Who is the mask for?
All the lonely people
All those feeling alone in the crowd
Where do they all come from?
What causes people to feel lonely?
Father McKenzie, writing the words
Father McKenzie creates the sermon on the page
Of a sermon that no one will hear
The sermon is ignored by the congregation
No one comes near
Nobody approaches Father McKenzie
Look at him working, darning his socks
The priest is busy mending his own socks
In the night when there's nobody there
Father McKenzie is alone, working late at night
What does he care
He feels no one cares for him and his work
Eleanor Rigby, died in the church
Eleanor Rigby passed away inside the same church
And was buried along with her name
She died with only her name as recognition
Nobody came
There were no visitors at her passing
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt
Father McKenzie cleans his hands after the burial
From his hands as he walks from the grave
He leaves her alone in her final resting place
No one was saved
No one was saved from loneliness in this story
All the lonely people
The overarching theme of the song
Where do they all belong?
The universal question this song raises
Lyrics © editionPlus Verlags GmbH, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Whateverworks.
Thanks for all of your wonderful music Chick. Rest in peace.
soultaker1083
This interpretation of Eleanor Rigby is amazing. Wonder what Paul McCartney thinks of it. Chick can take any tune and just make it his own.
gmanjam
never heard this piece before, but I love Chick's unique approach to this. brought a very NEW flavor to this. at some points this reminded me of Keith Jarrett's playing (and that wouldn't be surprising since the two of them played together in one of Miles Davis' bands back in the 70's). - very cool version... thanks for posting!!!
groovinwalrus
One of my favorite Beatle selections... nice to hear it done by the master Chick Corea! I am working on "my beatle song book." I am doing some jazz vocal things...
Juan Manuel Fernández
que buena versión! gracias!
Nozdroviczky Sándor
ten stars!!! Great Chick Corea again. A master.
King of Fear
mt bom a imitaçao
Darrell Mack
Sweet !!! Real nice have to put that on repeat !
muzo56281721
I've not heard any fingerprints in technique, touch, rhythmic prowess, or harmonic flair suggesting Chick Corea. If this is chick, then the maestro has developed another dimension to his artistic progression - to play like an average clone of himself! QUITE IMPRESSIVE!
Hermes 4400
great song great version