Sad news for jazz lovers

[DaveW]

Jazz great, 23-time Grammy winner Chick Corea dead from 'rare form of cancer' at 79

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jazz-great-23-time-grammy-winner-chick-corea-dead-from-rare-form-of-cancer-at-79-231227677.html

Chick Corea, an architect of the jazz fusion genre as a member of Miles Davis's first electric ensemble, one of the most important pianists of the post-John Coltrane era, and the composer of such jazz standards as "Spain," "500 Miles High," "La Fiesta," "Armando's Rhumba," and "Windows," has died. His death from "a rare form of cancer which was only discovered very recently" occurred on Feb. 9, and was announced via a post on his official Facebook page on Thursday afternoon. Corea was 79 years old.

Armando "Chick" Corea was born June 12, 1941 in Chelsea, Mass., and was introduced to the piano and drums at a young age by his father, a Dixieland trumpet player. He took piano lessons from concert pianist Salvatore Sullo at age 8 and started playing professionally while still in high school, later moving to New York City to study music at Columbia University and the Juilliard School. While his formal undergrad education lasted less than a year, Corea remained in New York and started learning on the job as an in-demand keyboardist and bandleader, playing with the likes of Willie Bobo, Herbie Mann, Stan Getz, and Sarah Vaughan.

[dpr]

Yeah, used to listen to him a lot back in the '80's, along with Al Di Meola.