Chick Corea,

The coronavirus pandemic brought the careers of countless musicians to a standstill, including keyboard legend Chick Corea, whose European concert tour ended abruptly with the mid-march global shutdown. But that standstill was brief for Corea, who in January earned his 23rd Grammy Award and has collaborated over the years with everyone from Miles Davis, Alicia Keys and flamenco guitar master Paco de Lucia to Foo Fighters and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The Massachusetts native sprang back into action soon after returning from Europe to the Florida home he shares with his wife and periodic musical partner, singer Gayle Moran.

“We’re all anxious to go back on the road. But I’m unable to predict the way the restrictions will go, or when they will be lifted, so I’m creating as much as I can,” said Corea, whose splendid new live double-album, “Plays,” was released Friday by Concord Jazz. Recorded on tour in 2018, it features his singular solo piano renditions of music by everyone from Mozart, Chopin and Gershwin to Thelonious Monk, Stevie Wonder and Corea himself.

“The lockdown happened, and I realized how easy it is to go on Facebook to make music,” he recalled. “So I did.”

Using his new Apple iphone 11, Corea sat down at one of the multiple keyboards in his home music studio and began practicing on Facebook Live. He continued to do so for the next 30-plus days in a row, for up to nearly two hours at a time. His livestreams, which also found him answering questions from viewers, struck an immediate chord.

Inspired by the enthusiastic response these impromptu live practice sessions garnered from fans around the world, he then assembled a multi-camera setup in his home studio. On May 14, he launched his online Chick Corea Academy.

The enterprising subscription website, which costs $29 a month, bills itself as “a global association for the advancement of Music and Art — with special instruction in music theory and performance.” Its four-point focus is on creativity, knowledge, imagination and improvisation.

In addition to weekly Sunday workshops with its famous namesake,

virtual academy members receive a PDF copy of his book, “A Work in Progress ... On Being a Musician.” Other offerings include from-the-vault releases of recordings by Corea that were not previously available to the public, augmented by his commentary about those releases. There’s also a community forum and a message board.

‘A sharing of ideas’

“It’s not like a school where there are tests or criticism,” Corea explained. “It’s more a sharing of ideas.”

“Basically, the academy is a platform where I answer questions in my own way. I let everyone know I’m not giving them rules. I’m sharing actions, practices and methods I’ve created that work for me. I encourage them to use them, if it works for them, and to find their own methods, ways, theories and harmonies in order to find their own individual expressions.

“The idea is to think for yourself, judge for yourself and show your own imagination to the world. We discuss technical things as well, and people tune in from all over the world.”

Corea has shared his musical approaches with students in the past, in both formal and informal settings. But his virtual academy is at least partially a response to the pandemic, which — at least for now — has brought to a halt concerts and live events.

Corea acknowledged as much during his 31st Facebook Live session on May 8, when he introduced his soon-to-debut academy and previewed part of his ambitious new composition, “Future

Sweet.” The genre-leaping piece teams him with his wife, Moran, on vocals, banjo innovator Béla Fleck, drum marvel Vinnie Colaiuta and Cuban-born bassist Carlitos Del Puerto.

“With all of the chaos and hysteria, I’d like to promote creativity into the future, just create our future in a positive way,” Corea told his online academy audience.

Always eager to explore new vistas, the eclectic keyboardist, composer and band leader has been busy crafting new music to share through his academy and for upcoming releases. His partners during the pandemic have included such esteemed artists as flutist Hubert Laws, drummer/ keyboardist Gary Husband and bass greats Stanley Clarke and John Patitucci, both of whom have played pivotal roles in Corea’s previous bands.

However, rather than work face to face, in real time, Corea and his collaborators have been doing so entirely online. It’s not an ideal scenario, especially for musicians who specialize in improvisation and in-the-moment reciprocity. But it enables them to safely interact and exchange ideas from a distance. They do so by trading sound files they make on Logic, the digital audio work station used by many professional musicians and studio engineers.

“Usually, I’ll initiate something. Sometimes, my friends will initiate,” said Corea, who in the early 1970s was one of the first jazz musicians to wholeheartedly embrace synthesizers. He subsequently began using various other cuttingedge electronic keyboard instruments and new technology.

An appetite for aural adventure has long been a trademark of Corea, who turned 79 on June 12 and swims laps every day, whether at home or on the road. His embrace of technology as a vehicle for engaging creativity, not a final destination, is a welcome attribute.

Accordingly, he is better suited to make music online than virtually any other jazz legend of his generation, apart from fellow keyboard maverick Herbie Hancock, who Corea replaced in the fabled Miles Davis Quintet in 1968. The two have since recorded and performed together, including a transcendent 2015 San Diego concert at Copley Symphony Hall.

New percussion concerto

Elaborating on his online music-making approach with his friends, Corea said: “One great game is that I’ll initiate and they’ll overdub and add something. Then I’ll add a third thing. It will go back and forth two or three times, until we have a finished piece of music, which I’ll mix.

Chick Corea

george.varga@sduniontribune.com