Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943[1] – February 19, 2017)[2] was an American jazz guitarist, widely considered the "godfather of fusion".

He collaborated with a number of other high-profile musicians, including John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitouš, Billy Cobham, Lenny White, Emily Remler, Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucía, Steve Morse and others.

After his family moved to Richland, Washington, he took lessons from a teacher who lent him albums by Les Paul, Johnny Smith, Barney Kessel, and Tal Farlow.

[4] Coryell graduated from Richland High School, where he played in local bands the Jailers, the Rumblers, the Royals, and the Flames.

[1] His challenge, at the time, was to combine the bluesy, psychedelic rock 'n' roll of Cream (especially Eric Clapton's guitar style) and The Jimi Hendrix Experience with his jazz training.

[7] Coryell's continued attendance to The Scene exposed him to further music of a similar ilk, catching the performances of Frank Zappa, Buddy Guy, The Velvet Underground, Stevie Winwood, The Doors and others.

While flattered by the invitation, he politely declined and suggested, in his place, his British friend and NY newcomer John McLaughlin, then known as "Johnny Mac."

Because of his tenure with the Lifetime he got the invite to join Davis's electric band, recording In a Silent Way (1969), the Bitches Brew (1970) double-album and Jack Johnson (1971).

[9] In the 1970s, he led the group Foreplay with Mike Mandel, a friend since childhood,[10] although the albums of this period, Barefoot Boy, Offering, and The Real Great Escape, were credited only to Larry Coryell.

[11] Their debut album, Introducing Eleventh House with Larry Coryell (1974), peaked at #163 in Billboard 200 and stayed 11 weeks in the charts.

[12] Larry Coryell recorded with Al Di Meola on Return to Forever drummer Lenny White's solo debut, Venusian Summer (1975).

[13] Although enthusiastic about his contemporaries - namely Bill Connors, Allan Holdsworth, Di Meola and McLaughlin[14] - in retrospect Coryell he offered the following of mid-1970s fusion: What happened, in my opinion, was that guitar playing just got too fast, [...] and it also got highly competitive.

[11]By the end of their brief, 4-year existence The Eleventh House had played with some of the leading artists of the period, including fellow Americans Kiss, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention and British prog rockers Renaissance, Gentle Giant and Yes keyboard player Rick Wakeman.

[15] When fusion started losing steam he turned to the acoustic guitar, recording duet albums with Steve Khan and Philip Catherine.

[1] The group toured Europe briefly, releasing a video recorded at Royal Albert Hall in London entitled Meeting of the Spirits.

[11]When he overcame his self-exile and his bout with alcoholism, he took on his most challenging project yet: solo versions of three Igor Stravinsky ballets, namely Scheherazade (1982), L'Oiseau de Feu, Petrouchka (1983) and Le Sacre Du Printemps (1983).

[26]Shortly after these comments were published, Coryell wrote to Downbeat to apologize and retract: I am no longer angry about the election; I accept it.

I have no place implying, as I did in the article, that their votes were insincere or illegitimate... Also—and this is very important—I believe that I have a responsibility to transcend politics, focusing instead on finding ways to touch people's hearts through music.

I never want to forget all the great players who mentored me in the art of demonstrating restraint regarding hot-button issues; these men and women advised me to exercise discretion, and to behave with exemplary humanity.

[29] The Free Spirits Fuse One With Gary Burton With Paco de Lucia With Teo Macero With Leslie Mándoki With Herbie Mann With Steve Marcus With Charles Mingus With Don Sebesky With L. Subramaniam With Leon Thomas With Michal Urbaniak With Kazumi Watanabe With others