1. Vicenc Montoliu i Massana, better known as Tete Montoliu was a Spanish jazz pianist from Catalonia, Spain.
12 Facts About Tete Montoliu
1. 2.
Tete Montoliu recorded with Lionel Hampton in 1956 and played with saxophonist Roland Kirk in 1963.
3.
Tete Montoliu worked with leading American jazz musicians who toured in, or relocated to Europe including Kenny Dorham, Dexter Gordon, Ben Webster, Lucky Thompson, and Anthony Braxton.
4.
Tete Montoliu recorded two albums in the US, and recorded for Enja, SteepleChase Records, and Soul Note in Europe.
5.
Tete Montoliu was the only son of Vicenc Montoliu and Angela Massana, a jazz enthusiast, who encouraged her son to study piano.
6.
In 1944, Tete Montoliu's mother arranged for Petri Palou to provide him with formal piano lessons.
7.
From 1946 to 1953, Tete Montoliu studied music at the Conservatori Superior de Musica del Liceu in Barcelona, where he met jazz musicians and became familiar with the idiom in jam sessions.
8.
Tete Montoliu began playing professionally at pubs in Barcelona, where he was noticed by Lionel Hampton on 13 March 1956.
9.
Tete Montoliu toured with Hampton through Spain and France and recorded Jazz Flamenco.
10.
In 1967, Tete Montoliu performed in New York City with bassist Richard Davis and drummer Elvin Jones.
11.
Tete Montoliu frequently appeared in Madrid during the 1960s at the Whiskey Jazz Club with musicians Pedro Iturralde and singer Donna Hightower.
12.
Tete Montoliu died in August 1997 from lung cancer, at the age of 64.