Results for "Tete Montoliu"

Tete Montoliu

Born: March 28, 1933

Vicente Montoliu Massana, was born in Barcelona Spain in 1933.The son of a Barcelona

symphony woodwinds player, he was born sightless. When he was seven, there were two events that shaped his life: he learned to read music in Braille and he heard recordings by Duke Ellington. Montoliu studied classical piano at the Barcelona Conservatory, and was known as a local piano sensation. His early interest in jazz was further stimulated when the great saxophonist Don Byas lived for a time in the Montoliu home. By age 17, Montoliu was leading jam sessions at a Barcelona theater.

He made his international debut when he was invited on a European tour by Lionel Hampton in 1955, and in 1956 he recorded with the band. The possessor of astonishing technique, Montoliu exhibited warmth, deep feeling, and humor in his playing. In the 1960s and '70s, he worked with an array of leading jazzmen including Roland Kirk, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Dorham, Archie Shepp, and Ben Webster.

The Discreet Charm of Tete Montoliu

by Con Chapman
September 9, 2026

In 1947 tenor saxophonist Don Byas, a transplant from America following a tour of Europe, joined a society orchestra--complete with strings--to play dates in Spain.  After their ballroom engagement was over, Byas and the band's rhythm section would jam until the early morning hours when they would be forced to quit “either because the police burst ...

Zlatko Kaučič: The Discipline of Freedom

by Neri Pollastri
October 7, 2025

Fresh from the release of the four-CD box set Inklings (Fundacja Sluchaj, 2024) and on the eve of the 15th edition of the Brda Contemporary Music Festival--which he founded and still directs--drummer, percussionist, composer and educator Zlatko Kaučič continues a career spanning over four decades, marked by collaborations with many of Europe's greatest improvisers. A passionate ...

A Farewell to Madrid's Café Central

by Artur Moral
September 24, 2025

It happened to Chicago with The London House and The Velvet Lounge; it happened to San Francisco with the Black Hawk Club and the Keystone Corner; and, of course, it happened to New York City with Cafe Society, Sweet Basil, Village Gate and Jazz Standard. It has also happened in many other places and cities around ...

Zlatko Kaučič: il rigore della libertà

by Neri Pollastri
August 25, 2025

Reduce dall'uscita del cofanetto di quattro CD Inklings (Fundacja Słuchaj) e alla vigilia della quindicesima edizione del Brda Contemporary Music Festival, da lui fondato e diretto, il batterista, percussionista, compositore e didatta Zlatko Kaučič continua una carriera ultraquarantennale che l'ha visto collaborare con i più grandi improvvisatori europei. Musicista appassionato e persona schietta, sensibile ai temi ...

Gravity and Resurgence: The Many Dimensions of Dexter Gordon

by Arthur R George
February 6, 2025

Long Tall Dexter; swinger, bebopper, saxophone balladeer; acting the dissipated genius expatriate who was not unlike himself in the movie Round Midnight; his dressed-up persona “Society Red;" the laconic elder statesman of his later years. Dexter Gordon is all those things, but more than a kaleidoscope of caricatures. Those who trace their lineages through ...

Natalie Tenenbaum, Eitan Kenner: Duets/Solos

by Richard J Salvucci
January 21, 2024

The late Abbey Simon, an outstanding classical pianist of the twentieth century, could play jazz. At least he said he did, although one searches in vain for a recorded example (other than a snatch on You Tube). A listener might think, “Well, Simon was of the old school, and Curtis-trained, so it would require some imagination." ...

Eric Ineke 75: Swinging, Boppin' and Burnin'

By Eric Ineke

Label: Daybreak
Released: 2022
Track listing: Hershey Bar; I Thought About You; Ornithology; Easy Living; Thou Swell; Tangerine; Eric's Blues; The Theme; Jotosco.

Coltrane's Progeny: Giant Steps for Late Beginners

by Richard J Salvucci
January 16, 2022

For many listeners, the name John Coltrane is synonymous with the tune “Giant Steps." Whether or not you happen to agree with the proposition that this was the “greatest" or most important composition Coltrane ever recorded—for some, it would be “My Favorite Things," and for still others, “A Love Supreme." This is not an attempt, largely ...

Adam Nolan: Prim and Primal

by Richard J Salvucci
October 1, 2021

Tell you what. A lot of listeners have never been particularly big fans of free jazz. “It is difficult to understand." Really? “Formalism," said Sergei Prokofiev, “is the name given to music not understood on first hearing." This, recall, was a statement made in defense of Dmitri Shostakovich and his Fourth Symphony. This is not to ...