On 27^th June, Eugen Ciceu-Cicero, one of the greatest jazz piano virtuosos, would have been 75 years old. A musician of classical background, Ciceu-Cicero was charmed by the possibilities of expression that jazz improvisation offers. He chose to combine his two greatest passions, the most extended part of his whole work being adaptations in jazz tonalities of one of the greatest themes in the classical repertoire.

Under his touch, Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky's works naturally turn into jazz music, as well as Gershwin's or Cole Porter's. Ciceu-Cicero distinguished himself not only through elegance and finesse, but also through a relaxed attitude and a playful spirit, details which turned his performances into extremely agreeable auditions.

Born in Cluj, Eugen Ciceu-Cicero surprised with his precocious talent. He began playing the piano at four and two years later he performed his first concert. He studied with the renowned teacher Aurelia Cionca, the one who also modeled Dinu Lipatti and Dan Mizrahi. Later on, the artist from Cluj became student of the National University of Music in Bucharest where he had colleagues, such as, Vladimir Cosma and Richard Oschanitzky.

At that time, he became more and more interested in jazz, impressed by the performances of such pianists as Erroll Garner and Oscar Peterson. As in Oschanitzky's case, this passion brought him the temporary expulsion from the University of Music. Perhaps touched by these events, the young pianist decided to sneak beyond the "iron curtain", to the free world. A concert he performed in East Berlin in 1962, offered him the chance of his long-dreamt-of escape.

He lived in Switzerland until 1970, and then he established in Munich. His talent was rapidly recognized in the German world. His debut LP, Rokoko Jazz, was launched in 1965, consisting mainly of adaptations after great composers of the Baroque era. Rokoko Jazz was issued at the MPS record label, where works bearing the signature of Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, Bill Evans and Jancsi Kőrössy were edited.

The pianist adopted cognomen Eugen Cicero because it was much easier for the German public to pronounce it rather than his real name would have been. His discography continued to extend in the following decades, first with a series of albums under the MPS label, and then, under other prestigious labels, such as, the Intercord, Columbia, Barclay or Denon (Japan). Throughout his career, Ciceu-Cicero worked with several of the most valuable German, Swiss and Austrian instrumentists, but also with Americans Billy Higgins and John Clayton, or with another great Romanian expat, Decebal Bădilă.

At the beginning of the nineties, Eugen Ciceu-Cicero performed several concerts at the Romanian Radio Hall, an ocasion when he was eventually discovered by the Romanian public, too, in his native country. At the same time, Electrecord issued Cicero Jazz album, the first and unfortunately the only album available of the artist on the Romanian market.

Eugen Cicero-Ciceu left us prematurely in 1997, but left an impressive artistic heritage which is waiting to be explored by jazz and generally good music enthusiasts.

The Jazz Planet on 27^th June, at 18:00, will offer you the chance of exploring the creation of this remarkable pianist.