Blame Miles Davis. Sure, other musicians may have technically gotten there first, but with the one-two punch of “In A Silent Way,” and “Bitches Brew,” Fusion was born. And keyboardist Chick Corea was there to stand witness.

“I was with Miles from ‘68-’71 and I was playing a Fender Rhodes mostly, but I was already putting attachements on to the keyboard (like the) EchoPlex and some other kinds of processing.”

After hearing Jan Hammer experimenting with the Minimoog with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Corea became more intrigued with the idea of pushing sonic boundaries. Fast forward to 1974 and he has fully embraced electronics inside the landmark Fusion quartet called Return To Forever.

““I liked it right away. (The Minimoog) was the instrument that seemed to fulfill the idea I had of a soaring electronic voice that could do duets with guitars, leads, and because of the way it was laid out I found it easy to manipulate and get sounds quickly. It was a rich sound that I could do a lot of things with.”

For the last song on the first side of the band’s “Where Have I Known You Before,” Corea thoroughly gives his Model D a thorough workout. Playing precise matching synth lines with newly arrived guitarist Al Dimeola, the band comes up with intensely colorful and modern textures that step in and out of jazz and rock almost simultaneously. The album became the band’s biggest chart success.

Over the years, Corea became very friendly with Bob Moog and remembered him as a man, like himself, who was constantly pushing the envelope.

“I would always get him to tell me what his new ideas were. He was always researching…always had some idea that he was going for. He was a real scientist in that way, a real artist.”