Tete Montoliu
b. Vincente Montoliu, 28 March 1933, Barcelona, Spain. Blind from birth, pianist Montoliu studied classical music as a child, but at the start of his teens was already listening to jazz and later played with Don Byas. In the mid-50s he regularly sat in with visiting American artists, including Lionel Hampton. By the end of the decade he had ventured north to play at a number of important European jazz festivals and had also played in Scandinavia. In the late '60s he played in New York, thereafter establishing an international reputation as a gifted soloist with enormous technical gifts which never obstruct his ability to generate a powerful swing. Among the musicians with whom he has worked are Ben Webster, Anthony Braxton, Roland Kirk and Dexter Gordon.