Re Imagined: Chick Corea – Pastime Paradise (Stevie Wonder)

Jazz pianist Chick Corea has died on 9th of February 2021 at the age of 79. 

Chick Corea left his farewell message:  “I want to thank all of those along my journey who have helped keep the music fires burning bright. It is my hope that those who have an inkling to play, write, perform or otherwise, do so. If not only that the world needs more artists, it’s also just a lot of fun.”

Corea performed with Blue Mitchell, Willie Bobo, Cal Tjader, and Herbie Mann in the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s, he performed with Stan Getz and Miles Davis. As a member of Miles Davis's band in the late 1960s, he participated in the birth of jazz fusion. He became a role model for many young jazz pianists of the 1970s when he formed Return to Forever. His compositions Spain, 500 Miles High, La Fiesta, Armando's Rhumba and Windows are widely considered jazz standards.  Along with Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans, he is considered one of the foremost jazz pianists of the post-John Coltrane era. Chick Corea was the fourth-most nominated artist in Grammy history and received a total of 23 awards. Corea’s most recent Grammy award was for his 2019 album Antidote with the Spanish Heart Band, which won Best Latin Jazz Album in 2020.

Pastime Paradise is a song written and recorded by Stevie Wonder, on his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. Chick Corea made his version of the song a few years back and he’s since performed the tune around the world. Corea's reimagined version of the song ended up on his last live album from 2020 Plays.

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Watch the video of Chick Corea reinterpreting Stevie Wonder's song Pastime Paradise during Monterey Jazz Festival: