Tete Montoliu

Tete Montoliu was a Catalan Jazz pianist, whose real name was Vicenç Montoliu i Massana.

He was born blind on March 28, 1933 in the Eixample district of Barcelona. He was the only son of Vicenç Montoliu (a profesional musician) and Àngela Massana, a Jazz enthusiast, who encouraged her son to study piano and 1944 engaged his piano teacher, Petri Palou. Before that, Montoliu had his first piano lessons with Enric Mas at the private school for blind children he attended from 1939-1944.

From 1946 till 1953 he studies music at the Conservatori Superior de Música de Barcelona, were he meets his first jam session fellows.

Don Byas arrives to Barcelona 1947 and introduces Tete to the Bebop style.

March 13, 1956 he meets the vibraphonist Lionel Hampton in a jam session in Barcelona. Montoliu will tour with Hampton through Spain and France and record Jazz flamenco.

[... to be continued ...]

He died August 24th 1997 in Barcelona.