Tete Montoliu

Born blind in Spain, the veteran pianist Tete Montoliu mastered music notation in Braille at the age of seven and cultivated a commanding keyboard technique. A 1956 session with Lionel Hampton preceded his first date as a leader in 1958, while 1963 found him performing with Roland Kirk on tour. In later years he also collaborated with an array of visiting Americans that included Kenny Dorham, Dexter Gordon, Ben Webster, Lucky Thompson, and Anthony Braxton. Although Montoliu rarely traveled to the United States, his SteepleChase recordings, which commenced in 1971, have remained broadly obtainable; he additionally made one date for Contemporary in 1979 and documented sessions for Enja and Soul Note.