Larry Coryell (April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist, known as the "Godfather of Fusion." The versatile guitarist recorded or appeared on more than 100 albums during a jazz career that spanned more than 50 years with such jazz legends as Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Chico Hamilton, Gary Burton, Chet Baker, Stéphane Grappelli and such fellow guitar greats as John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucía, Al DiMeola, John Abercrombie, Charlie Byrd, Sharon Isbin, Laurindo Almeida and Philip Catherine.
Larry Coryell was born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He was raised by his stepfather Gene, a chemical engineer, and his mother Cora, who encouraged him to learn piano when he was four years old.
In his teens he switched to guitar. After his family moved to Richland, Washington, he took lessons from a teacher who lent him albums by Les Paul, Johnny Smith, Barney Kessel, and Tal Farlow. When asked what jazz guitar albums influenced him, Coryell cited On View at the Five Spot Cafe by Kenny Burrell, Red Norvo with Strings, and The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery. He liked blues and pop music and tried to play jazz when he was eighteen. He said that hearing Wes Montgomery changed his life.
Coryell graduated from Richland High School, where he played in local bands the Jailers, the Rumblers, the Royals, and the Flames. He also played with the Checkers from Yakima. He then moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington.
He replaced guitarist Gábor Szabó in Chico Hamilton's quintet. In 1967–68, he recorded with Gary Burton. During the mid-1960s he played with the Free Spirits, his first recorded band. It was while playing with Hamilton and Burton in the 1960s that Coryell rose to prominence. His stunning combination of virtuosity, sophistication and youthful daring had a big effect on other guitarists, including the young Pat Metheny. His music during the late-1960s and early-1970s combined rock, jazz, and eastern music.
Coryell’s highly influential album “Spaces,” recorded in 1969, has long been considered one of the pillars of the jazz-rock fusion movement that soon followed. He stood out whether performing fusion, bebop and post-bop, or any number of jazz styles in between. In the 1970s, he led the group Foreplay with Mike Mandel, a friend since childhood, although the albums of this period, Barefoot Boy, Offering, and The Real Great Escape, were credited only to Larry Coryell. He formed The Eleventh House in 1973. Several of the group's albums included drummer Alphonse Mouzon. In 1975, he sat in with Eric Clapton at a concert in London’s Hyde Park and promptly stole the show.
He recorded two guitar duet albums with Philip Catherine. In 1979, he formed The Guitar Trio with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia. The group toured Europe briefly, releasing a video recorded at Royal Albert Hall in London entitled Meeting of Spirits. In early 1980, Coryell's drug addiction led to his being replaced by Al Di Meola.
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He recorded Together with guitarist Emily Remler, who died in 1990. Starting from 2010, Coryell toured and recorded intermittently with a trio that included pianist John Colianni, as well as bassists Daryl Johns and Jim Cammack. Since 2011, formerly, Coryell played in a duo with fusion guitarist Roman Miroshnichenko.
After surmounting his alcohol and heroin addictions, Coryell practiced Nichiren Buddhism. He also attempted to introduce Remler (who struggled with opioid addiction until her death) to a more healthful lifestyle, as exemplified by jogging and taking vitamins.
Coryell was first married to writer-actress Julie Nathanson (c. 1948-2009), daughter of actress Carol Bruce. She appeared on the covers of several of his albums (including Lady Coryell, Larry Coryell at the Village Gate and The Lion and the Ram) and later wrote the book Jazz-Rock Fusion, which was based on interviews with many of Coryell's peers. The couple had two sons before divorcing in 1985. Thereafter, he had a brief romance with fellow jazz guitarist and artistic collaborator Emily Remler. In 1988, he remarried to Connecticut native Mary (Molly) Schuler; they divorced in 2005. His last wife was Tracey Coryell. They were married in Orlando, Florida (where he resided later in life) in 2007.
Coryell died of heart failure on Sunday, February 19, 2017, in a New York City hotel room at the age of 73. He had performed at the Iridium Jazz Club in Manhattan on the preceding two days.
(Edited from Wikipedia & The L.A.Times)