Piano for Nuria (Remastered) Tete Montoliu

• 1Blues for Nuria06:00
• 2Tranquillogy05:02
• 3Alone Together05:40
• 4Speak Low04:18
• 5Visca L'ampurda05:46
• 6I Surrender Dear05:13
• 7Stable Mates04:22
• Total Runtime36:21

Info for Piano for Nuria (Remastered)

The blind Spanish pianist Tete Montoliu was an international star; an original stylist with prodigious technique, he was one of the foremost hard bop pianists. Montoliu worked Lionel Hampton, Roland Kirk, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin and Elvin Jones. Here Tete teams up with Peter Trunk, “The best German bassist” (J.E. Berendt) who “belongs among the greats of the instrument” (jazz-toccata), and Afro-American drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath who has played and recorded with virtually every major player of the last 50 years. The album is something of a lucky accident – the trio was the rhythm section for an album featuring tenor sax giants Ben Webster and Don Byas. MPS owner was so taken by the trio that he insisted they stay and record – our good luck! Dedicated to Tete’s daughter, Blues for Nuria is a stunning original that mixes a taste of Monk, freewheeling dissonance, and the Catalonian’s turbulent hard bop style. Trunk’s bluesy waltz Tranquillogy features exhilarating piano and bass solos, and his Visca l’Ampurda twists and turns as a driving medium tempo underpins virtuoso solos. The trio swings hard on the medium-up standards Alone Together, and Speak Low, while Tete technically and emotionally astounds on his solo rendition of I Surrender, Dear. The album rides home with the Benny Golson jazz classic Stable Mates. If you’re not hip to Tete Montoliu, then this is a good album to get informed; if you’re already a fan, it’s a must! Great piano trio jazz.

„Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer didn't waste time in the studio when he had a rhythm section the likes of pianist Tete Montoliu, bassist Peter Trunk, and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath. The three musicians, who were playing for a recorded studio meeting between tenor sax giants Ben Webster and Don Byas over two days in 1968, were simultaneously working on their own record date for Saba. The opening track is a startling original blues by Montoliu that mixes the flavor of Monk's dissonance with the Catalonian's own furious hard bop technique. Trunk contributed both the bluesy waltz "Tranquillogy" and the unpredictable "Visca l'Ampurda," which must have been a challenge to learn. Montoliu's approach to standards like "Alone Together" and "Speak Low" is more typical, while he tackles "I Surrender, Dear" as a solo. Unlike most recordings issued by Brunner-Schwer, the piano on this CD seems out of tune and slightly overmodulated, giving it a somewhat brittle sound. But Montoliu's breathtaking performances are able to overcome these minor blemishes.“ (Ken Dryden, AMG)

Tete Montoliu, piano
Peter Trunk, bass
Al "Tootie" Heath, drums

Produced by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer

Digitally remastered

Tete Montoliu
was born blind, in the Eixample district of Barcelona, and died in the same city. He was the only son of Vicenç Montoliu (a professional musician) and Àngela Massana, a jazz enthusiast, who encouraged her son to study piano. Montoliu's first experimenting with the piano took place under the tuition of Enric Mas at the private school for blind children that he attended from 1939 to 1944. In 1944, Montoliu's mother arranged for Petri Palou to provide him with formal piano lessons.

From 1946 to 1953 Montoliu studied music at the Conservatori Superior de Música de Barcelona, where he also met jazz musicians and became familiar with the idiom in jam sessions. During the early stages of his career, Montoliu was particularly influenced by the music of U.S. jazz pianist Art Tatum, although he soon developed a distinctive style. Montoliu began playing professionally at pubs in Barcelona, where he was noticed by Lionel Hampton on 13 March 1956. Montoliu toured with Hampton through Spain and France and recorded Jazz Flamenco, setting off a prolific international career.

In the 1960s, Montoliu played in various concerts at New York and established collaborations with drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Richard Davis. During the 1970s, Montoliu travelled extensively throughout Europe, consolidating his reputation as a main referent in the hard bopmovement.

During the 1980s, he played in numerous concerts, collaborating with jazz players such as Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Joe Henderson, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Hank Jones, Roy Hargrove, and Jesse Davis, among others.

This album contains no booklet.