Blind from birth, pianist Tete Montoliu studied classical music as a child, but in his early-teens started listening to the American jazz records issued by the La Vos de su Amo label, in particular artists such as Art Tatum, Earl Hines and Bud Powell. He began playing with the American tenor Don Byas, a family houseguest, when he was 13. By the mid-1950s he was sitting in with visiting American artists, notably Lionel Hampton. In the late-'60s he played in New York, establishing an international reputation as a gifted soloist, and would continue to work with such jazz luminaries as Ben Webster, Anthony Braxton, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Dexter Gordon. He led a series of talented trios from the mid-'70s onwards, and remained active until his death in 1997.