"I feel very great being a musician, being part of a team," said Chick Corea as he accepted a Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo this year for his 2012 album Hot House, describing musicians as a team whose intention is "to bring pleasure and beauty to people around the world."

The ceremony also saw the pianist-composer add a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition to his collection of the awards, which now totals 20, with 61 nominations over the past 40 years.

With around 100 albums under his belt, the jazz stalwart shows no sign of slowing down, despite turning 72 next month - when he will also be performing in Shanghai.

Sound fusion

Born in Massachusetts, Corea started playing piano aged 4, and later immersed himself in the music of Lester Young, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, to name a few.

In the 1960s he began making a name for himself as a sideman for musicians such as flutist Herbie Mann and saxophonist Stan Getz. He released his first album as band leader in 1966, while his avant-garde leanings led to important collaborations with Miles Davis, starting with the trumpeter's Filles de Kilimanjaro album, then playing on recordings such as In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, landmark albums in the emergence of the jazz fusion sound. Corea pushed this sound further with his band Return to Forever, formed in 1971, with such remarkable records like Where Have I Known You Before, Romantic Warrior and No Mystery, which won him his first Grammy in 1975.

His work since has seen him collaborate with many distinguished musicians covering various jazz genres. "It's true that not all of his music works are perfect, but it seems that he never cares about what the public think of him. When you begin  to suspect his capability, he will always surprise you with his unprecedented perfect performances," Shanghai-based music critic Sun Mengjin commented in 2007 when Corea made his first visit to the city.

Corea's appearance next month will be a solo piano performance, and will launch the JZ Festival 2013.

"I'm looking forward to playing in Shanghai. It's also my first time working with JZ Music, and I think it will be a very good start. I hope to meet some Chinese musicians there and learn what the Shanghai music scene is like," said Corea in an exclusive e-mail interview with the Global Times.

Global Times (GT): What inspires you to make music? 

Chick Corea (CC): Almost anything can inspire me - but my own genuine interest is the best inspiration. I feel happiest when I'm making music. And I like to try a lot of different approaches. It's challenging and makes for some pretty interesting adventures.

GT: You've done duets, trios, quartets as well as sextets with other distinguished musicians, and also released several solo records. Which do you like better, solo or group work?

CC: I enjoy a variety of settings for making music. The group setting is my favorite - I like the communication and association with my partner musicians a lot. Solo gives me a chance to experiment more spontaneously.

GT: What's your knowledge of Chinese jazz musicians? What advice do you have for younger jazz musicians in China?

CC: I have no knowledge of Chinese jazz musicians but would like to meet them and hear them play. My advice is that all advice is cheap advice, because the person receiving the advice is the one who ultimately has to decide for himself which path he will take. I think that making music for people is a valuable thing because it brings such pleasure, so I encourage young musicians to stick with it and spread the good news.

GT: Are you preparing a new album, and if so how would you describe its sound?

CC: It's called Chick Corea & The Vigil. It's new music I've written for a group of very creative young musicians. Each musician is an original you might say. Tim Garland is an old friend from my 1990s band Origin, who is both a brilliant saxophone player and innovative orchestral composer. Marcus Gilmore on the drums has a completely unique approach but also can interpret any style of music easily. Charles Altura is an unusually gifted young guitarist - plays both electric and acoustic beautifully and has a sensitive approach on the guitar that is very refreshing. There are two bassists for Vigil right now. Hadrien Feraud is a young Frenchman who has mastered the electric bass in the lineage of Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius. Christian McBride is an amazingly accomplished bassist who is at home with any form of music, and an old music mate of mine since our Remembering Bud Powell project back in the 1990s.

Date: June 21, 8 pm to 9:30 pm

Venue: Shanghai Centre Theatre

上海商城剧院

Address: 1376 Nanjing Road West

南京西路1376号

Tickets: 280 to 880 yuan

Call 6279-7132 for details