Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist known as the "godfather of fusion." He worked with Gábor Szabó to combine jazz, country, and rock music. Coryell also taught music and wrote, including a monthly column for Guitar Player magazine from 1977 to 1989. He performed with many well-known musicians, such as John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitouš, Billy Cobham, Lenny White, Emily Remler, Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucía, Steve Morse, and others.

Early life

Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He did not know his biological father, who was a musician. His stepfather, Gene, a chemical engineer, and his mother, Cora, raised him. Cora encouraged him to learn piano when he was four years old.

During his teenage years, Coryell switched to playing the 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 about jazz guitar albums that influenced him, Coryell mentioned On View at the Five Spot Cafe by Kenny Burrell, Red Norvo with Strings, and The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery. He enjoyed blues and pop music and began trying to play jazz when he was eighteen. He said that hearing Wes Montgomery’s music changed his life.

Coryell graduated from Richland High School, where he played in local bands called the Jailers, the Rumblers, the Royals, and the Flames. He also played with the Checkers from Yakima. After high school, Coryell moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington.

Career

In September 1965, Coryell moved to New York City, where he attended the Mannes School of Music. After moving to New York, he listened to classical composers such as Bartók, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich.

Coryell replaced guitarist Gábor Szabó in Chico Hamilton’s quintet. His challenge at the time was to combine the bluesy, psychedelic rock and roll of Cream (especially Eric Clapton’s guitar style) and The Jimi Hendrix Experience with his jazz training. Coryell first saw The Jimi Hendrix Experience live in 1967 at the Manhattan nightclub The Scene and was "very impressed" by them. His continued visits to The Scene exposed him to music by other artists, including Frank Zappa, Buddy Guy, The Velvet Underground, Stevie Winwood, The Doors, and others.

In 1969, former Miles Davis Quintet drummer Tony Williams invited Coryell to join his new band, The Tony Williams Lifetime. Although flattered by the invitation, Coryell politely declined and suggested his British friend and New York newcomer John McLaughlin, then known as "Johnny Mac." This decision helped McLaughlin begin his career. Because of his time with the Lifetime, McLaughlin was invited to join Davis’s electric band, recording In a Silent Way (1969), the Bitches Brew (1970) double-album, and Jack Johnson (1971).

In the 1970s, Coryell led the group Foreplay with Mike Mandel, a childhood friend. However, the albums from this period—Barefoot Boy, Offering, and The Real Great Escape—were credited only to Larry Coryell.

After the success of John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, Coryell formed The Eleventh House in 1973, with drummer Alphonse Mouzon. Their debut album, Introducing Eleventh House with Larry Coryell (1974), reached No. 163 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the charts for 11 weeks. It was considered unfocused and overly indulgent compared to the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Coryell admitted the record was a "search party," a product of a group still finding its identity.

Larry Coryell recorded with Al Di Meola on Return to Forever drummer Lenny White’s solo debut, Venusian Summer (1975). Coryell and Di Meola traded solos on the album’s final track, "Prince of the Sea." This pairing caused excitement in the fusion community, as fans were unsure who played each solo. Coryell noted this was the only time he and Di Meola performed together using electric guitars.

Although Coryell admired his contemporaries—Bill Connors, Allan Holdsworth, Di Meola, and McLaughlin—he later described mid-1970s fusion as losing momentum. When fusion declined, Coryell turned to the acoustic guitar, recording duet albums with Steve Khan and Philip Catherine. Philip Catherine introduced Coryell to the Django Reinhardt song "Nuages" in 1976, which changed his career direction. At the same time, Coryell strengthened his role as a music educator by giving private lessons and writing a monthly column for Guitar Player magazine.

In 1978, Larry Coryell began working with Miles Davis. Davis had hip surgery and stayed at Elena Steinberg’s house in Connecticut, a friend of Julie, Coryell’s wife. They worked on several pieces, including an unnamed "adagio" and a James Brown-style vamp in a 12/8 meter.

Coryell recalls that his time with Miles Davis in the late 1970s happened as his alcoholism worsened. Davis noticed Coryell’s vulnerability. While Davis kept beer on the porch during his recovery, he handed Coryell a nearly empty bottle and said, “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.” Coryell found the comment both perceptive and unsettling. These moments were not joyful but showed mutual awareness of their struggles, which included cocaine use, erratic behavior, and physical decline. Coryell describes Davis as sharp, ironic, and honest about addiction, using humor and provocation rather than sympathy.

A year later, Coryell formed The Guitar Trio with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia. The group toured Europe briefly, releasing a video recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall called Meeting of the Spirits.

Coryell and John McLaughlin participated in the making of Paco de Lucía’s Castro Marín (1981). The album was named after the hometown of Paco’s Portuguese mother, Luzia. Recorded in Tokyo in December 1980, Castro Marín is one of the least known titles in Paco’s catalogue. Coryell and Paco played as a duo on the fifth track, "Convite (Rumba

Artistry

Coryell describes his first experience with Indian raga music when he listened to a record by Ravi Shankar in 1962. He was immediately impressed by how the strings were bent, a technique that reminded him of styles he had heard from musicians like Chuck Berry. He was also drawn to the continuous sound of the drone and the emotional feeling in the music, which made him feel a strong connection to it. Coryell believes his connection to Indian music comes from shared roots in folk traditions. He noticed similar elements of the blues in raga, such as a sad or longing sound, a twang, and a sudden sound or cry that adds emotional depth to the music.

Personal life

Coryell first married writer-actress Julie Nathanson (1947–2009), the 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. Later, she wrote the book Jazz-Rock Fusion, which was based on interviews with many of Coryell’s peers, such as Chick Corea and John McLaughlin. She also sang with Coryell sometimes, including one song on the 1984 album Comin' Home. The couple had two sons, Murali Coryell (born 1969) and Julian Coryell (born 1973), both professional guitarists, before divorcing in 1985. Afterward, Coryell had a short romantic relationship with fellow jazz guitarist and artistic partner Emily Remler.

In 1988, Coryell remarried to Mary Schuler, a native of Connecticut. They divorced in 2005. Two years later, he married his final wife, Tracey Lynn Piergross, in Orlando, Florida, where he lived until his death in 2017.

After stopping his use of alcohol and heroin in 1981, Coryell began practicing Nichiren Buddhism. In November 2016, Coryell criticized Donald Trump after Trump was elected president of the United States. “This is an unacceptable situation,” Coryell said to Bill Milkowski of DownBeat.

Shortly after these comments were published, Coryell wrote to DownBeat to apologize and take back his statements.

Death

Coryell died from heart failure on February 19, 2017, in a hotel room in New York City at the age of 73. He had performed at the Iridium Jazz Club in Manhattan on the two days before his death.

Coryell's final opera, inspired by Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina, was shown at the opening event of the 2017 World of Guitar. The performance included the Moscow Symphony, along with musicians Roman Miroshnichenko, Serbian classical guitarist Nenad Stephanovich, and Slovenian opera soloists. The premiere of the opera was dedicated to Coryell, who was known as the "godfather of fusion." After Coryell's death, Miroshnichenko and Stephanovich completed the opera.

Discography

• Lady Coryell (Vanguard Apostolic, 1969)
• Coryell (Vanguard Apostolic, 1969)
• Spaces (Vanguard Apostolic, 1970)
• Barefoot Boy (Flying Dutchman, 1971)
• Fairyland (Mega, 1971)
• Larry Coryell at the Village Gate (Vanguard, 1971)
• Offering (Vanguard, 1972)
• The Real Great Escape (Vanguard, 1973)
• Introducing Eleventh House with Larry Coryell (Vanguard, 1974)
• Planet End (Vanguard, 1975)
• Level One (Arista, 1975)
• The Restful Mind (Vanguard, 1975)
• The Lion and the Ram (Arista, 1976)
• Basics (Vanguard, 1976)
• Aspects (Arista, 1976)
• Back Together Again with Alphonse Mouzon (Atlantic, 1977)
• Two for the Road with Steve Khan (Arista, 1977)
• Twin House with Philip Catherine (Elektra, 1977)
• At Montreux with Eleventh House (Vanguard, 1978)
• European Impressions (Arista Novus, 1978)
• Better Than Live with the Brubeck Brothers (Direct-Disk Labs, 1978)
• Standing Ovation: Solo (Mood, 1978)
• Difference (Egg, 1978)
• Splendid with Philip Catherine (Elektra, 1978)
• Return (Vanguard, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Metheny (Arista, 1979)
• Tributaries with John Scofield and Pat Meth

Videography

• L. Subramaniam Violin From the Heart (1999) – directed by Jean Henri Meunier (features Coryell playing with L. Subramaniam)
• Meeting of the Spirits /1979 (2003) – a live concert in London with Coryell, John McLaughlin, and Paco de Lucia
• Super Guitar Trio and Friends in Concert /1990 (2005) – a live performance with Coryell, Al Di Meola, and Biréli Lagrène
• Super Guitar Trio: Live in Montreux /1989 (2007) – a live concert with Coryell, Al Di Meola, and Biréli Lagrène
• Three Guitars: Paris Concert /2004 (2012) – a live performance with Coryell, Badi Assad, and John Abercrombie