Chick Corea

June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021

The virtuoso jazz fusion keyboard player who was a member of Miles Davis’ band during the late 1960s and went on to form Return To Forever has died of a rare form of recently discovered cancer at the age of 79.

Born Armando Anthony Corea (the nickname came from an aunt who pinched his cheeks and called him ‘Cheeky’ in childhood days), he grew up near Boston. During the 1960s Corea worked with jazz musicians such as Stan Getz and Herbie Mann before joining Miles Davis. His 1972 album Return To Forever morphed into the band of the same name. Their classic line-up was reunited for a world tour in 2008.

Known for his ability to improvise, Corea was the fourth most nominated musician in Grammy history, having been shortlisted 63 times and picked up 23 awards.

Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess was among those to pay tribute on Twitter, describing Corea as a “legendary pianist, master of technique and composition whose melodies reached down and grabbed our collective souls.”

Geoffrey Downes of Yes added: “Sad to hear we’ve lost another iconic keyboard legend. I saw Return To Forever at Leeds University as a student in the early 1970s with that amazing line-up of Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola and Lenny White. What an absolutely mind-blowing gig that was.”