Circle was an American

avant garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

ensemble, active in 1970 and 1971. The group arose from pianist

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain (instrumental), Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" ...

's early 1970s trio with

Dave Holland Dave Holland or David Holland may refer to: *Dave Holland (bassist) David Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English double bassist, bass guitarist, cellist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has ...

on bass and

Barry Altschul Barry Altschul (born January 6, 1943, in New York City) is a free jazz and hard bop drummer who first came to notice in the late 1960s for performing with pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea. Biography Altschul is of Russian Jewish heritage, ...

on drums and percussion with the addition of

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...

in a leading role on several reed instruments. The group's earliest (and only studio) recordings were made in 1970 for the

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

label but not released until 1975 under Corea's name. A live double album appeared on the

ECM ECM may refer to the following: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Lenstra's Elliptic curve method for factor ...

label in 1972. These recordings document a period in which Corea's work was steeped in the jazz 'avant garde,' prior to his complete shift to the

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

orientation. Corea, Holland and Altschul also recorded the album, '' A.R.C.'' for ECM in 1971, but it was not released under the band name Circle.

Discography

* '' Circle 1: Live in Germany Concert'' (CBS/Sony Japan, 1971) – recorded in 1970. Originally released under Circle's name, CD reissue released under Chick Corea's name * '' Circle 2: Gathering'' (CBS/Sony Japan, 1971) – originally released under Circle's name, CD reissue released under Chick Corea's name. * '' Paris-Concert'' (

, 1972) – recorded in 1971 * '' Circling In'' (

, 1975) – recorded in 1970. originally released under Chick Corea's name with additional tracks from Corea's earlier recordings. The Circle tracks were also released as ''Early Circle'' (1992). * '' Circulus'' (Blue Note, 1978) – recorded in 1970. originally released under Chick Corea's name.

References

External links

Circle discographyChick Corea looks back on Circle in an interview on ArtistInterviews.eu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Circle 1970 establishments in the United States 1971 disestablishments in the United States American jazz ensembles ECM Records artists Musical groups established in 1970 Musical groups disestablished in 1971