Larry Coryell

Ages: All Ages

LARRY CORYELL, the pioneering fusion guitarist, is one of the world's acknowledged masters, virtually inventing jazz-rock in the 60s and early 70s. He has recorded more than 75 albums over the past 40 years as a bandleader, soloist and 'featured accompanist'. Hailed by his legion of fans as one of "the guitar gods" in the late ‘70s and as a "truly Renaissance musician who excels at all styles of playing", he has also been christened as "a true pioneer of rock-jazz fusion" by the New York Times, and dubbed "the Godfather of Fusion" by Dan Ouellette of Down Beat Magazine. He credits Chet Atkins, Chuck Berry and Wes Montgomery, as his prime influences. National recognition first came during his tenure with the Gary Burton Quartet in 1967. The late 60s and 70s saw Larry as one of the most in-demand guitarists in Rock, Jazz and all musical genres. During that time Larry was part of Rock's experimentation phase. He toured with Jack Bruce and was featured in sessions with Jimmy Webb, the 5th Dimension, Charles Mingus, Billy Cobham, Chick Corea and John McLaughlin, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Pat Metheny, Elvin Jones and many, many more. In 1974 Larry formed The 11th House, the most popular and successful Fusion band of its time, which included his friend and colleague Randy Brecker. After The 11th House disbanded, Larry was signed by Clive Davis for Arista Records, where he made a series of solo albums, followed by a direct-to-disc recording with the Brecker Brothers. In 2007 The Hal Leonard Corporation released Larry’s Autobiography “Improvising, My Life In Music” and a retrospective print folio of Larry's own compositions, with works representing the full span of his 40 years-and-counting as a professional musician, composer and innovator.