A Tribute to Roger Cicero

BERLIN- The music world lost a soul much too soon. Roger Cicero, son of famous Romanian pianist Eugene Cicero has died as a result of a massive stroke. His passing occurred on Gründonnerstag, the Thursday before Easter, with his family by his side, living only 45 years of life on this planet, but 45 years as an actor but most importantly, a key contributor to the jazz and pop music scene. Born on 6 July, 1970 in Berlin, Roger Cicero’s career started early at the age of 16, playing alongside his father and members of his music group, before warning his way towards a career as a soloist. After founding a jazz quartet in 2003, he released his first two albums in 2006- one with jazz pianist Julia Hülsmann and a solo with the title Männersachen (Things Typical of Men). He would release eight more solo albums before his untimely passing, the latest, Cicero Sings Sinatra, was released last year and was dedicated to Frank Sinatra, whom he used as a role model all his years. Counting the years with his jazz group and his father, Cicero had 16 albums in all.

Cicero became a household name when he represented Germany in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest with this song:

Cicero was also a successful actor, having starred alongside Heidi Makasch in the film Hilde in 2009, before dubbing the voice as the frog and Prince Naveen in The Princess and the Frog and lastly, starring alongside American actor Robert Davi in In the Night With (…), shooting scenes in New York City’s Little Italy section.

Cicero had been experiencing health problems in the last year, having cancelled his remaining 2015 tour in November after experiencing fatigue and collapsing on stage. The tour was set to go on this year, according to various resources on the German side. Unfortunately, those looking forward to seeing him live are now in mourning, as his passing was way too soon. We have lost way too many greats so far this year, including many over here in Germany, plus many musicians, like Glen Frey, David Bowie and Natalie Cole. Cicero’s loss is in the eyes of many, too big to swallow. All we can do is honor him for his work in hopes that others will use him as a reference and continue on in the jazz music scene, where Cicero had left off.

And so without further ado, in Dankbarkeit…..