Médiathèque René-Cassin

Né le 16 mars 1930 à Detroit, Michigan Mort le 16 novembre 2001 à New York Tommy Flanagan was as lucid, refined and swinging a pianist as any in the history of jazz. Influenced initially by the light touch and fluent execution of Teddy Wilson and the relentless virtuosity of Art Tatum, he added the harmonic and rhythmic punch of bebop musicians like Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk to his armoury, and emerged as one of the most elegant and fully rounded interpreters in jazz. He spent a large part of his career working as an accompanist to Ella Fitzgerald, a distinction in itself, but one which perhaps served to obscure his own qualities. As he said himself, no one watched the pianist when Ella commanded the stage, but he went on to establish himself as a leader in his own right after leaving the singer in 1978. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.