The Eleventh House

Formed in New York City, New York in 1973, the Eleventh House was a jazz fusion band led by guitarist Larry Coryell. A Texas native, Larry Coryell had moved to New York to complete his formal musical education at the city's Mannes School of Music. Larry Coryell went on to play with drummer Chico Hamilton's quintet before starting his recording career with legendary vibe player Gary Burton. This early exposure to outstanding musicianship was an important grounding in the world of top-level modern jazz and ultimately led to him playing with musicians of the caliber of Alphonse Mouzon, Billy Cobham, and Chick Corea. In 1973, he formed the jazz fusion band the Eleventh House. This supergroup’s line-up would change with each release but the members on their 1973 debut album, Introducing the Eleventh House, featured Larry Coryell joined by Alphonse Mouzon (percussion), Mike Mandel (keyboards), Danny Trifan (bass), and Randy Brecker (trumpet). Their second album, Level One (1975), featured Larry Coryell joined by Mouzon and Mandel and several new members. Only Larry Coryell and keyboardist Mike Mandel remained on the 1976 album Aspects, but they were joined by several big names including James Mtume (percussion), David Sanborn (alto saxophone), Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone) and the return of Randy Brecker (trumpet), who produced the album. The band split up after the release of Aspects although an earlier live performance was released in 1978 as At Montreux. The group – featuring Larry Coryell, Alphonse Mouzon, Randy Brecker, and a new set of members – reunited in 2012 and recorded the album Seven Secrets. Larry Coryell died of heart failure on February 19, 2017, at the age of 75. Seven Secrets, the final studio album by the Eleventh House was released four months later in June 2017.