So much I want to say, but words escape me, at least words with meaning. But briefly:I loved the man and his music, and so did Phil Freeman of Burning Ambulance, so I hope other fans won't take offense at the title or the substance of his blog post, below. But even if he's being deliberately provocative, I think Freeman makes some fair points about the occasional well-meaning missteps of "one of jazz's great populists." And what he has to say about 80s production values in general really resonates with me. (And, of course, marks me as the hypocritical fist-shaking oldster I am.)
https://burningambulance.substack.com/p/chick-corea-man-without-taste
As the old essay exam prompt used to say: Discuss.
Chick, to me, could be sometimes boring beyond belief.
Chick, to me, especially with the right combo and well written and/or improvised tunes, could be like a God of Jazz.
He was only a Man. Men (and Women) often fail in their pursuits. But I think Chick got it right more than wrong overall. Live did not always translate well to the studio. One could find many reasons for that, as the author of the story did.
Bless Chick Corea. My (musical) life is better for him having been here.
Shout out to @humprof for providing the link.