Chick Corea To Have Street Named In His Honor

Chelsea, Massachusetts native son, Armando 'Chick' Corea will be honored on Sunday, May 20, at an outdoor 3:30 PM street naming dedication, between Walnut & Arlington Street on Everett Avenue in Chelsea, a nearby suburb of Boston. There will be a live band playing Corea originals at the post reception to follow, at the New Williams School, where Corea attended K through 9th grade.

Corea was born in Chelsea in 1941 and lived on 149 Chestnut Street until 1958. He was 9th grade class president in 1956, and according to the school year book, was listed “most likely to succeed", “most cooperative" and “most musical." His ambition at the times was to be a jazz musician and “songwriter." A long-time friend and classmate, Minna Karas-Marino says, “Chick is as humble today as he was then. His father had a band that played all of our socials. This was unheard of at the time to have live music at school events as the other schools in the area had DJ's. Chick also played trumpet and accompanied our glee club on piano."

Even today, Corea is in constant motion. His latest endeavors bear this out: from his recent Grammy award for “Best Instrumental Arrangement" for “Spain for Sextet and Orchestra" from his classical release, Corea.Concerto to critically acclaimed tours and albums with his acoustic ensemble Origin, and the stunning solo piano releases, Originals and Standards, Corea has been busy thrilling new listeners and long-time fans alike.

For his new Stretch Records release, Past, Present & Futures, the innovative pianist has formed The Chick Corea New Trio. It is his first trio recording in 10 years. “The piano, bass and drums trio is the heart and soul of the jazz sound," Corea offers. Working with long-time Origin rhythm mates bassist Avishai Cohen and drummer Jeff Ballard, Corea and company provide a canvas on which the essence of the jazz trio is drawn. “Each of us brings what he sees and feels to each composition. In that sense, the renditions are a real group creation."

While most of the compositions were composed for the New Trio, the album brings together emotions and inspirations from Corea