Comparison of Choro Music and the Music of Chick Corea

1. Presentation by: Sean Conrad Comparison of Choro Music and the Music of Chick Corea

2. Demographics of Rio de Janeiro • Country: Brazil • Population : 6.3 Million • Life Expectancy: 73 • 6% unemployed, 88.6% literate • Religion: Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% • Languages: : Portuguese; less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages

3. Rio de Janeiro

4. Rio de Janeiro History • The city of Rio de Janeiro proper was founded by the Portuguese on March 1, 1565 and was named São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro • In 1819, a large influx of African slaves arrived Rio de Janeiro, totaling 220,000 by 1840 • Rio continued as the capital of Brazil after 1889, when the monarchy was replaced by a republic • Between 1960 and 1975 Rio was a city-state under the name State of Guanabara

5. Rio De Janeiro Culture • People of Portuguese ancestry predominate in most of the state • Rio brings together the main production centers of Brazilian television • The National Library of Brazil ranks as the eighth largest library in the world. It is also the largest library in all of Latin America • Music and dancing are obviously popular in Brazil • Choro’s origins are in 19th century Rio de Janeiro • The Choro genre resulted in the creation of samba, bossa nova and many other musical genres. • Rio has become a tourist hot spot, During Carnaval, which begins the Friday before Ash Wednesday, it is a huge party

6. Language & Music • Rio was popularized by the hit song "Garota de Ipanema • The music of Brazil encompasses various regional music styles influenced by African, European • Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as samba, choro, bossa nova, funk carioca, RAP, tropicalia, axé, brega, and others  •  Instrumental music is also largely practiced in Brazil, with styles ranging from classical to popular and jazz influenced forms • The Portuguese language is the official and national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools.

7. Choro Instruments • Originally choro was played by a trio of flute, guitar and cavaquinho • Other instruments commonly played in choro are the mandolin, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, and trombone. • rhythm section consists of guitar, 7-string guitar(playing bass lines) and light percussion, such as a pandeiro.

8. Choro Instruments

9. TicoTico No Fuba • Recorded on The album entitled “ChoroDemocratico”

10. Song Introduction •  the Choro style often has a fast and happy rhythm, characterized by virtuosity, improvisation, subtile modulations and full of syncopation and counterpoint • Notice the Harmonies between the flute and the guitar • The drums are simple and repetitive • The melody is repetitive

11. Listen! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r54Gqaxe3nU

12. Chick Corea

13. Chick Corea Background • Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (born June 12, 1941)  is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer. • Corea was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. • He is of Sicilian and Spanish descent • His father, a jazz trumpet player who had led a Dixieland band in the Boston area in the 1930s and 1940s, introduced him to the piano at the age of four • A notable influence was concert pianist Salvatore Sullo from whom Corea started taking lessons at age eight and who introduced him to classical music, helping spark his interest in musical composition • a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s • participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement

14. Chick Corea’s Music • Corea started his professional career in the 1960s playing with trumpeter Blue Mitchell and Latin greats such as Herbie Mann, Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaría • From 1968 to 1971 Corea had associations with avantgarde players and his solo style revealed a dissonant, avantgarde orientation. His avantgarde playing can be heard on his solo works of the period, his solos in live recordings under the leadership of Miles Davis • In the early 1970s Corea took a profound stylistic turn from avantgarde playing to a crossover jazz fusion style that incorporated Latin jazz elements. • He founded Return to Forever in 1971. This band had a fusion sound and even though it relied on electronic instrumentation it drew more on Brazilian and Spanish-American musical styles than on rock music • Corea's composition "Spain" first appeared on the 1972 Return to Forever album Light as a Feather. This was his most popular piece.

15. Corea’s Influences • Growing up surrounded by jazz music, he was influenced at an early age by bebop and stars such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Horace Silver, and Lester Young. • At eight Corea also took up drums, which would later influence his use of the piano as a percussion instrument. • concert pianist Salvatore Sullo • spent several years as a performer and soloist for the Knights of St. Rose, a drum and bugle corps based in Chelsea.

16. Chick Corea’s Spain • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOFs40ekTV0 • 1:35-1:43

17. Music Theory • Chord Progression: |GM7| |F#7| |Em7| |A7| |DM7| |GM7| |C#7| |F#7| |Bm| |B7| • In the Key of D Major; 2 Sharps • Tempo: 144 • Time Signature: Cut Time • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsBsq0Qeeus

18. This Excerpt focuses on the syncopated rhythms as well as the harmonies between the bass and treble.

19. This Excerpt focuses on the syncopated rhythms as well as the harmonies between the bass and treble.

20. Music Excerpt • 0:00-1:21; there is a long slow drawn out piano intro, contrasts the fast paced accented rhythms ahead

21. Very Technical… Diminished Scale over F#7, then A Major Penatonic Scale.

22. Comparison • Both selections of music contain: • repetitive rhythms • syncopation • Harmonies • Allegro tempos • Happy Rhythms • Latin Roots

23. Contrast • Choro music has a simple drum beat with limited percussion • Chick Corea has an extensive rhythm section • Spain contains vocals as well as piano solos • Solos throughout “Spain” • In “TicoTico No Fuba” the soloist sticks more to the main melody, but makes changes in the solo rhythmic division and even introduces ornaments, such as trills, mordents, glissandos and flutter-tonguings

24. Bottom Line • While the music of Chick Corea and Rio De Janeiro come from different backgrounds and utilize different instruments, both embrace their cultures and provide new music which led to different avenues of music making.

25. Works Cited • Almeida, Alex. "Ushing at Boundaries: The Path of a Brazilian Instrumentalist." Critical Improv. Canada, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. <http://www.criticalimprov.com/>. • "Brazil." The World Bank. The World Bank Group, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2012. <http://data.worldbank.org/>. • "The Choro Fake Book." Music Is Healing. BSH Enterprises, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. <http://musicishealing.com/>. • Chinen, Nate (August 3, 2008). "The Return of Return to Forever". The New York Times. Retrieved April 1, 2010. • "Health Inequalities in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21233437>. • Heckman, Don (August 18, 2001). "Playing in His Key". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 7, 2011. • ""Spain" Chick Corea, Return to Forever." People.Virginia.EDU. University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. <http://people.virginia.edu/>. • "What Is Choro Music?" Saint Paul Sunday. American Public Media, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://saintpaulsunday.publicradio.org>. • Yanow, Scott (June 12, 1941). "Chick Corea". AllMusic. Retrieved July 1, 2011.