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The Checkout: Steve Gadd Remembers When Chick Corea Gave Him a Lesson On the Drums

courtesy of artist
Steve Gadd and Chick Corea

 
We are all blindsided and deeply saddened by the passing of Chick Corea. One of his longtime collaborators, from his early fusion years up until the very end, is drummer Steve Gadd.  He pays tribute to his friend on The Checkout podcast.


 
Back in 2019 at the Montreal Jazz Festival, I briefly interviewed Gadd about the time he briefly played in Return to Forever.  We listen to that bootleg, along with his reflection on Corea not as a pianist, but as a drummer. He says hearing Chick play the drums in the late 1960s unlocked his own playing on one particular night. “His approach and what he did was so free.  Here’s a piano player playing the drums in a way that I never thought of. My playing changed that night. Overnight. It sort of cleared some things up for me.”

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For more than 15 years, Simon Rentner has worked as a host, producer, broadcaster, web journalist, and music presenter in New York City. His career gives him the opportunity to cover a wide spectrum of topics including, history, culture, and, most importantly, his true passion of music from faraway places such as Europe, South America, and Africa.