George “le colonel” Corette died at the age of 58 on the 21st of August 2010 after a battle against cancer that lasted for months. However he leaves a long lasting legacy on the Mauritian music scene. He was a demanding character when it comes to his music and as he confirmed himself, he was never a person that could take any type of criticism, as he was confident in his choices which attributes is also characteristic of his regimented character that earned him the nickname “le Colonel”.
He always trusted his own instinct when it comes to the artists he worked with which would immediately recognised his unique talent. Many of those artist he worked with rose to stardom such as Otantik Street Brothers (OSB), Blakkayo and many more.
He was a man that was always researching for the perfect sound. Not happy of the musical development in the country he left Mauritius at the age of 42 with the group Blue Star to venture new musical and cultural horizons which led him to France where he would join the musical school of Saint Ouen and where he also joined the army. Still eager to contribute his knowledge and experience acquired to the local scene he travelled back to Mauritius. At that time their was a buzz in all the citée about Kaya who was the new local sensation fusing the local sega with reggae delivering lyrics of peace and unity. George thought he could work with him to develop the sound in terms of the recording, mixing and production and he proposed Kaya to work together which led him him to arrange and produce the album L' Experience, which was a re-mastering and re-recording of some of Kaya's hits. Despite this effort L’Experince lost some of its originality that had gained Kaya and Racin Tatan their fame on the island. However George would continue to work with young artists and helped to shape the Reggae and Seggae sound on the island that influences can still be heard in today's music.
Check George Corette on percussions on the Ras Ricky performance
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