Tete Montoliou

Blind Catalan pianist Tete Montoliou (1933-1997) was a virtuoso performer, born in Barcelona in Catalonia. He began to learn the piano from an early age. He first had the opportunity to play with jazz musicians while studying at the Conservatori Superior de Musica de Barcelona in the late 1940s. His first inspiration was Art Tatum, but he was quick to develop an independent style.

After graduating in 1953, Montoliou became a fixture of the local music scene. In March 1956, Montoliou was heard by Lionel Hampton, who was in Spain as part of a six-month European tour. Hampton was so impressed that he took Montoliou with his big band for the remainder of the tour. In June, they recorded Jazz Flamenco with the full 17-piece orchestra augmented by Spanish percussionists, castanets player Maria Angelica, and Montoliou, who was heavily featured on the album, including in a duet with Hampton on ‘Tenderly’.

Montoliou became a first call accompanist for visiting Americans in the early 1960s, and recorded with Roland Kirk (1963), Dexter Gordon (1964) and Booker Ervin (1965). He made his debut album A Tot Jazz on a Spanish label, Concentric, in 1965. In 1967, Montoliou appeared at the Village Gate in New York leading a trio with Richard Davis on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. Though the album was recorded for potential release by Impulse, it remains unissued.

In the 1980s, Danish label Steeplechase recorded some fine solo recordings made by Montoliou in Munich in 1971. The label had first worked with him in 1974 on a couple of records with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass and Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath on drums. The same group also recorded a curious album of jazz standards with avant gardist, Anthony Braxton, In The Tradition. Supposedly, Dexter Gordon had been lined up to record, but became ill, and Braxton agreed to step in at the last minute. Montoliou, NHØP and Heath were reunited for two more albums in 1976.

In 1977, he toured and recorded a duo album with saxophonist George Coleman. By this time, he had become a popular performer at European jazz clubs and festivals. In 1979-80, Montoliou worked in USA, recording a solo album that included one duet with Chick Corea. Throughout the 1980s, he would appear often in solo settings, but also in duos with guitarist Mundell Lowe and with NHØP again. Montoliou was reunited with Corea for a festival appearance in 1995. His 50-year career was marked by a concert in Madrid in 1996 with guests Gary Bartz and Tom Harrell. He died the following year of lung cancer.

Key Recordings:
Tete (Steeplechase 1974)
Meditation (Timeless 1977) with George Coleman
The Music I Like To Play, 4 Volumes (Soul Note 1986)