Circle (American band)
| Company type | Music group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Avant garde jazz |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Defunct | 1971 |
Key people | Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Barry Altschul, Anthony Braxton |
| Products | Studio and live jazz recordings |
Circle was a pioneering American avant garde jazz group active during 1970 and 1971. The ensemble evolved from pianist Chick Corea's early 1970s trio, which included bassist Dave Holland and drummer/percussionist Barry Altschul, with the addition of reed player Anthony Braxton as a prominent instrumentalist. Their sole studio sessions took place in 1970 for Blue Note, though these recordings were eventually released under Corea's name in 1975. In 1972, a live double album capturing Corea's experimental period prior to his transition into jazz fusion was issued by ECM. While Corea, Holland, and Altschul also produced the album A.R.C. for ECM in 1971, it was not attributed to Circle.
Discography
- Circle 1: Live in Germany Concert (CBS/Sony Japan, 1971) – recorded in 1970; initially released under Circle's name, with later CD reissues credited to Chick Corea
- Circle 2: Gathering (CBS/Sony Japan, 1971) – originally issued as Circle, subsequently reissued on CD under Chick Corea's name
- Paris-Concert (ECM, 1972) – recorded live in 1971
- Circling In (Blue Note, 1975) – recorded in 1970; released under Corea’s name including additional earlier material; Circle compositions also appeared as Early Circle (1992)
- Circulus (Blue Note, 1978) – recorded in 1970; issued under Chick Corea’s name