# Guitarist Larry Coryell has died at 73; Jazz Great **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2017, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarist-larry-coryell-has-died-at-73-jazz-great/780386 "2017-02-21T12:11:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarist-larry-coryell-has-died-at-73-jazz-great/780386/1 "2017-02-21T12:11:37Z")
Link here: [Larry Coryell Dies: Legendary Jazz Guitarist Known as ‘Godfather of Fusion’ | Billboard – Billboard](http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7694346/larry-coryell-dies-obituary-legendary-jazz-guitarist-godfather-of-fusion) He played with everyone from the '50’s on. A big influence on a lot of jazz players who ventured towards fusion and out-there Jazz genres. Thanks, Mr Coryell. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarist-larry-coryell-has-died-at-73-jazz-great/780386/2 "2017-02-21T12:16:56Z")
RIP Mr. Coryell. I saw him twice; fantastic shows. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarist-larry-coryell-has-died-at-73-jazz-great/780386/3 "2017-02-21T16:52:32Z")
I was just watching an old video of him on YouTube, a couple days ago. He was never a household name, but he was well known to readers of the various guitar magazines as a great player who took a lot of chances. They think he died of natural causes. RIP, Larry. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarist-larry-coryell-has-died-at-73-jazz-great/780386/4 "2017-02-21T17:13:35Z")
Ah, man - big fan when I was in my teens. He was my personal entry into the world of jazz fusion, via a used record store owner who was a fan of Coryell and who liked me enough as a regular to suggest him. I’ve since kinda grown out of the genre, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Coryell in particular. He could play just about everything, from introspective acoustic to some pretty searing rock. [Ever heard him sing?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzNnhp31hWM) Not a voice for the ages :p, but interesting to hear him in a psychodelic mood. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarist-larry-coryell-has-died-at-73-jazz-great/780386/5 "2017-02-21T18:12:28Z")
No better time than the present to check out my favorite Larry Coryell out: > [@](#): > > Spaces is Larry Coryell’s third album as a leader. The album was released 1970 on the Vanguard label featuring John McLaughlin on guitar, Chick Corea on electric piano, Miroslav Vitouš on bass and Billy Cobham on drums. > The album is sometimes considered to have started the jazz fusion genre. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarist-larry-coryell-has-died-at-73-jazz-great/780386/6 "2017-02-21T18:33:38Z")
Heard him at a live show when I was a teenager in Cleveland; may have been by first ever trip to a jazz club. Great show. I knew his niece, slightly. She told me the guy was as poor as a churchmouse, was never able to make a decent living ever with all the recordings and club dates. I always hate hearing these stories about the great jazz players who never achieved much fame, even in the small world of jazz. Pianist Jaki Byard (74 years old) was shot in the head while he was asleep in bed in Queens, NY…unsolved homicide case. Trumpeter Woody Shaw (44), nearly blind from a degenerative eye disease, fell onto the subway tracks in Brooklyn and had his arm severed by the train; never recovered. Saxophonist Wardell Gray (34) was found dead of a broken neck in the desert wastes outside of Las Vegas. Pianist Hilton Ruiz (54) was found unconscious and in a coma on Bourbon Street in New Orleans; never recovered; police ruled it an “accidental fall.” ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarist-larry-coryell-has-died-at-73-jazz-great/780386/7 "2017-02-21T18:41:49Z")
…didn’t mean to equate Coryell with these horror tales. As least the poor guy died of “natural causes” in his hotel room.