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New York (AP) - The US jazz pianist Chick Corea is dead. The more than 20-time Grammy winner died on Tuesday at the age of 79 from a rare cancer.
This was announced on Corea's official Facebook page as well as its website.
The US radio station NPR also reported, citing a source in Corea's production company.
“He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather, and a great mentor and friend to so many.
Through his work and the decades he has spent traveling the world, he has touched and inspired the lives of millions of people, ”it said.
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In the statement, a final message from Corea was conveyed: The world needs more artists, he was quoted in it.
He thanked his companions.
And further: "My mission has always been to bring the joy of design wherever I could, and to do this with all the artists I admire so much - that was the richness of my life."
After the son of a trumpeter and bassist, who was born as Armando Anthony Corea, sat at the piano at the age of four and enjoyed early lessons, he played with saxophone legend Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie at a young age.
He was influenced by Herbie Hancock and Thelonious Monk as well as by Latin American rhythms.
Star trumpeter Miles Davis recognized Corea's talent and took him on tour instead of Hancock - with whom Corea would later go on a world tour.
As if all these names weren't enough, Corea also began exploring other musical genres, for example on the Brazilian-inspired album “Light as a Feather”, on which he shone with “500 Miles High” and “Spain”.
Whether with electric guitarist Bill Connors, flamenco sounds on the album “My Spanish Heart” or his rocking electro jazz of the 80s and 90s: while Corea's fingers hovered over the keys, his jazz turned into a musical kaleidoscope.
It was not for nothing that he named his label “Stretch Records”, founded in 1992, which was supposed to stretch boundaries and place creativity instead of genres.
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Audiences and critics alike were fascinated by the fact that even the versatile and changeable music genre of jazz did not leave enough room for the curly hair.
In addition, there was an unmistakable love for the game over five decades, during which Corea released more than 100 albums as a band leader and soloist.
How connected he was to the music was shown by the fact that after a successful concert he often continued playing for hours on his own instead of mingling with the crowd at a bar.
Corea often reversed the popular contrast between classical music and jazz with his playing, for example with his album "The Mozart Sessions", which he recorded with Bobby McFerrin and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra from Minnesota.
The performance of his second piano concerto “The Continents” in the Vienna Mozart Year 2006 will remain unforgettable.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210211-99-405922 / 2