Earl "Fatha" Hines
Born
"The greatest piano player in the world" – Count Basie
"When you talk about greatness, you talk about Art Tatum and Earl Hines". – Erroll Garner
“He has a completely unique style. No one can get that sound, no other pianist" – Horace Silver
Earl Hines was the first modern jazz pianist. He redefined the role of piano in jazz freeing it from a limited role as a rhythm instrument. He originated the "trumpet style" of jazz piano, playing hornlike solo lines in octaves with his right hand and rich chords with his left hand. Using his classical training he added depth to jazz with rich dissonant chords. Hines defined for generations of jazz pianists the role of each hand in jazz piano and added richness to it chord structures. Playing with Louis Armstrong he expanded the role of piano in jazz with improvisational solos. Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, Nate King Cole and other pianist where inspired by Earl listening to him play live on the radio while growing up. Hines is credited by music historians as being the first of the Pittsburgh School of piano jazz that includes Mary Lou Williams, Erroll Garner, Ahmad Jamal and others.
Source: Pittsburgh Music Story
More: https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/jazz/jazz---early-years/earl-fatha-hines