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Chick Corea played one of the most consequential concerts of my life. With the Akoustic Band, Nov. 26, 1990, Neil Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. I was 14, and mainly there because Dave Weckl was a drum-nerd hero. My core listening at the time? Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe, Skid Row 
I was young and dumb, disinclined to be psyched about an acoustic piano trio. I figured I'd suffer through the boring stuff in order to get to the drum solos. (I'm overstating my youthful ignorance, but there's a kernel of truth there.) Anyway, my Dad and I were in the fifth row.
So what happens? Chick walks out, alone, takes a little bow, sits at the piano. Begins playing a freeform introduction to a song I didn't know yet, "On Green Dolphin Street." Within 20 seconds, I'm transfixed. It went down something like this (but longer)
And so it went: Corea played stuff at the piano that blew my head wide open. John Patitucci did the same on bass, a superhero. Weckl was Weckl; if anything, less impressive because I knew his style so well. What was happening here?!? I sat at the edge of my seat for 90 minutes.
When the concert ended, I felt like I was floating back to the car. We went home and I couldn't go to sleep; I felt insatiable for more music. So, lacking other options, I put on Aerosmith's Pump. It sounded like total garbage. (Sorry, Boston.) Argh!
The next day I went to school with a bundle of CDs in my backpack: all my hard-rock and hair metal (except Living Colour's Vivid, which I was just smart enough to keep). I handed out the CDs to my friends, who were like "What's the matter with you? I thought you liked Warrant."
Next album I bought was the Chick Corea Akoustic Band's self-titled effort from '89. Not as good as the concert, but a start. The Elektric Band came next, whoa. Then on to older stuff, including Now He Sings, Now He Sobs — my first Roy Haynes. Total gateway.
Long story short, I got deeper and deeper into this music. Followed the trail back to Miles, to Coltrane, and further on to Ellington, Armstrong, Ella, Billie. Eventually I became a jazz critic; inevitably I ended up writing a good deal about Chick Corea.
One of my favorite assignments for the NYT was an Arts & Leisure piece about the Return to Forever reunion in 2008. I embedded with the band at the Paramount Theater in Austin for a few days, sitting through rehearsals, chatting with Chick's longtime keyboard tech. Here's my lede
The following year, I caught The Five Peace Band at Jazz at Lincoln Center, writing a mixed review https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/arts/music/25core.html
And in 2010, one of the first shows by his trio with Christian McBride and Brian Blade. This is the band that's up for a couple of Grammys in 2021, for 'Trilogy 2' (which you should absolutely hear, if you haven't yet) https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/02/arts/music/02chick.html
When Chick was about to celebrate his 70th birthday with a marathon at the Blue Note, I wrote this Critic's Notebook about the restless yet earnest nature of his collaborations https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/arts/music/chick-corea-jazz-chameleon-in-all-his-colors.html
