With his shock of white hair and broad, friendly face,
master guitarist Larry Coryell looks a bit like Harry Caray by way of Saturday Night Live’s master
impressionist Darrell Hammond. A pioneer of rock-jazz fusion, Coryell has, over
the course of a long and lucrative career, recorded as a bandleader, soloist
and featured player, while also cultivating a reputation as one heck of a nice
guy — a virtuoso craftsman with the disposition of an amiable and knowledgeable
guitar shop veteran.
Recorded at The Avalon Club in
on
two-disc, simply titled A Retrospective
provides an alluring overview of his canon. Given Coryell’s ample output — more
than 70 albums over the past three-plus decades, from his groundbreaking work
with The 11th House to a string of solo albums for Arista Records in the late 1970s
— any sort of whittling down is bound to produce debate centered as much around
the exclusions as the songs that made the final cut. Believe it or not, I’d
never heard of Coryell until his fine interpretations of Ravel and Gershwin in
the 1990s — music not included here. Based on the alternately electrifying and
evocative nature of what is here,
though, it’s hard to argue too much with the final track listing.
work of Jimi Hendrix, Coryell is a monster on guitar throughout the show, and frequent
collaborator Bernard “Pretty” Purdie sits in on drums, to nice effect. Several
special guests, including Maroon 5’s James Valentine and Los Lobos’ David
Hidalgo, also drop by and lend their talents in homage to Coryell. A fairly simple
introduction gives way to “After Later,” and the two-fer of “Souls Meeting” and
“Souls Dirge” is surely something in which modern-day Arcade Fire fans could find
purchase. The rest of the track listing is as follows: “Hidalgo Rehearsal,”
“Slow Blues,” “Half a Heart,” “Valentine Rehearsal,” “Beautiful Woman,” “Stiff
Neck,” “Morning Sickness,” “Beyond This Chilling Wind,” “Spaces (Infinite)” and
“Dragon Gate.”
enhanced for 16×9 televisions, A
Retrospective comes anchored by a somewhat desultory stereo PCM audio track, and
packaged in a standard Amray case with snap-tray insert. While a straightforward
biography would have been a nice inclusion for neophyte jazz fans, special
features consist of additional rehearsal footage of tunes not featured in
concert, as well as an interview with the humble Coryell, who hints at a bout
with drug addiction that cost him some of his best years. B (Concert) B (Disc)