Michel Petrucciani

Michel Petrucciani rose above the limitations imposed by osteogenensis imperfecta, the bone disease that severely restricted his physical stature, and emerged as a formidable pianist. Early on he drew primary inspiration from Bill Evans, with a secondary nod to Keith Jarrett, yet soon forged a distinctive personal style. His initial professional steps occurred inside the family ensemble alongside his guitarist father and bassist brother. By age fifteen he shared stages with Kenny Clarke and Clark Terry, then cut his debut recording at seventeen. In 1980 he paired with Lee Konitz for a duo tour across France before relocating to the United States in 1982. There he persuaded Charles Lloyd to resume performing and joined the saxophonist’s quartet, an arrangement that proved advantageous to both musicians. Petrucciani quickly became a compelling draw on American stages, appearing most often in a quartet—occasionally augmented by Adam Holzman’s synthesizer—or in solo settings. During 1986 he documented a Montreux performance with Jim Hall and Wayne Shorter. While his triumph over physical hardship remained noteworthy, the strength of his musicianship required no such context; he succumbed to a pulmonary infection on January 6, 1999.