Pianist and jazz legend Chick Corea has died at 79
Chick Corea, at the La Défense Jazz Festival, in 2013 © RFI / Edmond Sadaka
Text by: Henrique Valadares
4 min
American jazz legend musician and songwriter Chick Corea died of a rare form of cancer on February 9 at the age of 79, according to a statement posted on his Facebook page.
One of the founders of the jazz fusion movement in the 1960s and 1970s, the composer had also performed with Stan Getz and Miles Davis before forming his own group.
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"
I want to thank all those who, throughout the trip, helped to shine the fires of music,
" he said in a message written before his death, according to the statement prepared by his team.
“
I have the hope that those who feel the urge to play, to write, to perform in spectacle, can do so.
If not for themselves, then for us.
Not just because the world needs more artists, but because it's more fun,
”he added.
The musician's cancer "
was only discovered very recently,
" the statement said.
Founding father of jazz fusion, propelling Miles Davis into the genre
A pioneer of electronic keyboards, Chick Corea was - along with his contemporaries
Herbie Hancock
and Keith Jarrett - one of the most influential pianists of the 20th century.
Also a composer, his songs like the standard
Spain
, or
500 Miles High
and
La Fiesta
, have become classics of the genre.
He also
defined the genre of jazz fusion
in the 1960s, opening up the traditional style to rock, other styles, and experimentation.
After playing with Blue Mitchell or Herbie Mann in the mid-1960s,
he joined Miles Davis' group
at the end of the decade and recorded with them legendary albums like
In a Silent Way
(1969) and
Bitches Brew
(1970), propelling the passage of the
trumpeter
towards jazz fusion.
"
Throughout her life and career, Chick has been delighted with the freedom and joy to create something new, to play the games artists play
," the statement added.
"
My mission has always been to bring the joy of creating wherever I could, and to have done this with all the artists that I admire so much will have been the richness of my life
", added the musician in his message .
Chick Corea during a concert on September 13, 2014, in Cali, Colombia LUIS ROBAYO AFP / Archivos
Tireless experimenter
Born June 12, 1941 in Boston to an Italian trumpeter father, he learned to play the piano at the age of 4, before learning the drums at the age of 8.
A tireless experimenter, he also became influenced by Latin music during his career, notably with his album
My Spanish Heart
(1976) and the
Spain
standard
, which began with the theme of
Concierto de Aranjuez
by Joaquin Rodrigo.
A title released in 1971 on
Light As A Feather,
with his group Return to Forever
and covered by many artists, including Tito Puente, Paco de Lucía or John McLaughlin.
►
Also to listen: The epic of black music: Return to Forever
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