Beyond Sketches of Spain: Tete Montoliu and the Construction of Iberian Jazz

Vicenç Tete Montoliu i Massana (1933-97) was a pianist who shaped Iberian jazz by blending lyricism and dissonance, creating original compositions and performing with notable jazz luminaries. His life, musical production, and international reception are explored in Beyond Sketches of Spain: Tete Montoliu and the Construction of Iberian Jazz, challenging conventional scholarly narratives and recovering links between the United States, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and Europe.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 28 December 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Few musicians shaped Iberian jazz more than pianist Vicenç Tete Montoliu i Massana (1933-97). Fascinated by the modernist aesthetics of mid-century jazz,Montoliu was known for a carefully crafted mix of lyricism and dissonance,a penchant for discordant crashes,and a development of highly original compositions. Over the course of his career,he boasted some 100 recordings spanning Denmark,Germany,Holland,Spain,and the United States,and performed with the most notable jazz luminaries including Lionel Hampton,Rahsaan Roland Kirk,Dexter Gordon,and Archie Shepp. In drawing from the Black American jazz form,Montoliu fashioned an adjacent critical space shaped by his experiences as a Catalan and a person with congenital visual impairment living under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

Beyond Sketches of Spain: Tete Montoliu and the Construction of Iberian Jazz explores the artist's life, musical production, and international reception within a cultural studies framework, invoking Fumi Okiji's notion of gathering in difference. In its investigation of this impressive and often overlooked transnational jazz legend, the book moves beyond mere sketches of Spanish nationhood, challenges conventional scholarly narratives, and recovers links between the United States, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and Europe.

Few musicians shaped Iberian jazz more than pianist Vicenç Tete Montoliu i Massana (1933-97). Fascinated by the modernist aesthetics of mid-century jazz,Montoliu was known for a carefully crafted mix of lyricism and dissonance,a penchant for discordant crashes,and a development of highly original compositions. Over the course of his career,he boasted some 100 recordings spanning Denmark,Germany,Holland,Spain,and the United States,and performed with the most notable jazz luminaries including Lionel Hampton,Rahsaan Roland Kirk,Dexter Gordon,and Archie Shepp. In drawing from the Black American jazz form,Montoliu fashioned an adjacent critical space shaped by his experiences as a Catalan and a person with congenital visual impairment living under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

Beyond Sketches of Spain: Tete Montoliu and the Construction of Iberian Jazz explores the artist's life, musical production, and international reception within a cultural studies framework, invoking Fumi Okiji's notion of gathering in difference. In its investigation of this impressive and often overlooked transnational jazz legend, the book moves beyond mere sketches of Spanish nationhood, challenges conventional scholarly narratives, and recovers links between the United States, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and Europe.

Weight: 482g
Dimension: 162 x 244 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197549285