Michew Petrucciani

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Michew Petrucciani
Michel Petrucciani.jpg
Petrucciani performing in 1991
Background information
Born (1962-12-28)28 December 1962
Orange, Vaucwuse, France
New York City, U.S.
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Piano
Years active 1975–99
Labews Oww, Bwue Note, Dreyfus

Michew Petrucciani (French pronunciation: ​[miʃɛw petʁutʃani]; Itawian: [petrutˈtʃaːni]; 28 December 1962, Orange, Vaucwuse, France – 6 January 1999, New York City, U.S.) was a French jazz pianist. From birf he had osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease dat causes brittwe bones and, in his case, short stature. He became one of de most accompwished jazz pianists of his generation despite having arms dat caused him pain, uh-hah-hah-hah.


Earwy years[edit]

Michew Petrucciani came from an Itawo-French famiwy (his grandfader was from Napwes)[1] wif a musicaw background. His fader Tony pwayed guitar, his broder Louis pwayed bass, and his broder Phiwippe awso pways de guitar. Michew was born wif osteogenesis imperfecta, which is a genetic disease dat causes brittwe bones and, in his case, short stature. It is awso often winked to puwmonary aiwments. The disease caused his bones to fracture over 100 times before he reached adowescence and kept him in pain droughout his entire wife. "I have pain aww de time. I'm used to having hurt arms," he said.[2] In Michew's earwy career, his fader and broder occasionawwy carried him because he couwd not wawk far on his own unaided. In certain respects he considered his disabiwity an advantage, as he got rid of distractions wike sports dat oder boys tended to become invowved in, uh-hah-hah-hah.[3] And he hints dat his disabiwity was hewpfuw in oder parts of his wife. He said: "Sometimes I dink someone upstairs saved me from being ordinary."[4]

At an earwy age, Michew saw Duke Ewwington on tewevision and wished to become a pianist wike him. When Michew was four, his fader bought him a toy piano of his own, but Michew smashed de piano wif a toy hammer. "When I was young, I dought de keyboard wooked wike teef," he said. "It was as dough it was waughing at me. You had to be strong enough to make de piano feew wittwe. That took a wot of work."[4] Soon after dis, Michew's fader bought him a reaw piano.

From de beginning, Petrucciani had awways been musicaw, reportedwy humming Wes Montgomery sowos by de time he wearned to speak. He began wearning cwassicaw piano at de age of four, and was making music wif his famiwy by de age of nine.[5] The musician dat wouwd prove most infwuentiaw to Petrucciani was Biww Evans, whom he began wistening to at around de age of ten, uh-hah-hah-hah. Petrucciani's wayered harmonies, wyricaw stywe, and articuwation of mewody have awways been winked most strongwy to dis earwy exposure to Evans.[6]

Music career in Paris[edit]

Petrucciani gave his first professionaw concert at de age of 13. At dis point of his wife, he was stiww qwite fragiwe and had to be carried to and from de piano. His hands were average in wengf, but his size meant dat he reqwired aids to reach de piano's pedaws.

Petrucciani fewt he needed to travew to Paris to begin his musicaw career, but he found it difficuwt to weave home. His fader was protective, constantwy concerned for his son's weww-being and rewuctant to put him in any danger. Petrucciani's drummer Awdo Romano said of Michew's fader: "[He] was an idiot. He didn't trust anybody. He wanted to keep Petrucciani as a partner, to pway music wif. He was very jeawous. So I had to fight to take him to Paris, because his fader didn't want me to, because he wanted to keep him, wike you wouwd cage a monster."[2]

Petrucciani made it to Paris at de age of fifteen, uh-hah-hah-hah. There he pwayed wif Kenny Cwarke in 1977 and Cwark Terry in 1978.[5] His breakdrough performance occurred at de Cwiouscwat jazz festivaw. Terry was missing a pianist, and when Petrucciani was carried onto de stage, he dought it a joke; Petrucciani was not more dan dree feet taww. But he astounded Terry and de rest of de festivaw wif his prodigious tawent and virtuosity.[4] Terry said, "When I heard him pway – oh, man! He was a dwarf, but he pwayed wike a giant. I said, 'wisten, wittwe guy – don't run away. I'ww be back for you.'"[2]

Petrucciani's trip to Paris garnered mixed experiences but was undoubtedwy musicawwy and personawwy transforming. He reports, "It was mostwy to do wif drugs and weird women, but I was wucky and got out safe."[4] His attitude during his time in France was wargewy immature and insecure, despite his considerabwe tawent. He wore a yachtsman's cap and freqwentwy acted pushy and tough, referring to peopwe as 'baby'.[4] "He acted tough and pushy, and his pwaying was tough and pushy. He knew how to say 'moderfucker' in French," said Michaew Zwerin, who met Petrucciani when de pianist was fifteen, uh-hah-hah-hah. Petrucciani pwayed in a trio wif Kenny Cwarke during his time in Paris and rose to stardom.[2]

After his stint in Paris, Petrucciani briefwy returned to home before beginning his professionaw wife. Living wif his drummer, Romano, he was free of de protective presence of his fader and began enjoying an independent wifestywe. Petrucciani began recording wif Oww Records and struck up a friendship wif de recording company's owner, Jean-Jacqwes Pussiau. Pussiau recawws dat Petrucciani awways seemed to be in a hurry to record, saying, "I don't want to wose time." Eventuawwy however Petrucciani desired independence from Romano, too. Romano remembers: "He didn't feew free wif me. So he had to kiww his second fader somehow to move on, uh-hah-hah-hah. He needed to escape. He needed to go very far, as far as he couwd go, and dat was Cawifornia."[2]

Petrucciani travewwed to de U.S. after his trip to Paris, but it is not known wheder he stopped in New York first. "Michew was reawwy into buwwshitting...he wouwd wie to your face," said French journawist Thierry Peremarti. This cawws into qwestion his strange account of his time in Manhattan, uh-hah-hah-hah. He cwaimed to have scammed his way into de city on bad checks and hid out in Brookwyn wif de hewp of Siciwian famiwy connections. He awso cwaimed to have pwayed piano in a midtown brodew.[2]

Wif Charwes Lwoyd in New York[edit]

What is known for certain is dat he ended up in Cawifornia in 1982, where he visited retired saxophonist Charwes Lwoyd. Lwoyd had stopped pwaying when peopwe began to view his sidemen as more fashionabwe dan he himsewf was.[4] After hearing Petrucciani pway, Lwoyd was so inspired dat he agreed to tour wif him.[7] Lwoyd said to him, "I was here pwanning to not pway again, uh-hah-hah-hah. You triggered me. I heard dis beauty in you and I said, 'weww I have to take you 'round de worwd cause dere's someding so beautifuw, it was wike providence cawwing."[7] Petrucciani and Lwoyd's tour of de West Coast of de United States was a huge success and dey continued internationawwy. On 22 February 1985, wif Petrucciani cradwed in his arms, Lwoyd wawked onto de stage at Town Haww in New York City and sat him on his piano stoow for what wouwd be a historic evening in jazz history: de fiwming of One Night wif Bwue Note. The fiwm's director John Charwes Jopson wouwd water recaww in de reissued winer notes dat de moment moved him to tears.

Petrucciani and Lwoyd's performance at de Montreux Jazz Festivaw was made into an awbum, and in 1982, dey won de 1982 Prix d'Excewwence.[4] But Petrucciani expressed mostwy disdain and frustration at de awards he fewt were being heaped upon him, bewieving dat he was receiving so many at weast in part because peopwe bewieved he was going to die young.[7]

Petrucciani moved to New York City in 1984 and spent de rest of his wife dere. This was de most productive period of his career. He recorded wif Wayne Shorter and Jim Haww, producing de trio awbum Power of Three.[4] In 1986, Petrucciani recorded a wive awbum wif Wayne Shorter and Jim Haww. He awso pwayed wif diverse figures in de U.S. jazz scene incwuding Dizzy Giwwespie.[8]

But he made a priority of recording sowo piano awso. He said: "I reawwy bewieve a pianist is not compwete untiw he's capabwe of pwaying by himsewf. I started doing sowo concerts in February 1993, when I asked my agent to cancew my trio dates for a year in order to pway noding but sowo recitaws… I had a wonderfuw time pwaying awone, and discovering de piano and reawwy studying every night. I fewt wike I was wearning so much about de instrument and about communicating directwy wif an audience. So it was an incredibwe experience. I reawwy woved doing dat, and afterwards getting on stage wif a group again and pwaying wif oder peopwe was a piece of cake!"[9]

Personaw wife[edit]

On de personaw side, he had five significant rewationships: Erwinda Montano (marriage), Eugenia Morrison, Marie-Laure Roperch, de Itawian pianist Giwda Buttà (de marriage wasted dree monds and ended in divorce) and Isabewwe Maiwé (wif whom he shares his grave). Wif Marie-Laure he fadered a son, Awexandre, who inherited his condition, uh-hah-hah-hah. He awso had a stepson named Rachid Roperch.[10][11][12]

In 1994, he was granted a Légion d'honneur in Paris.

In de wate 1990s, Petrucciani's wifestywe became increasingwy taxing. He was performing over 100 times per year, and in 1998, de year before he died, he performed 140 times. During dis period, he awso began to drink heaviwy and experiment wif cocaine.[citation needed] He became too weak to use crutches and had to resort to a wheewchair. His finaw manager said, "He was working too much – not onwy recording and doing concerts, but he was awways on tewevision, and he was awways doing interviews. He got himsewf overworked, and you couwd see it. He pushed too much."[2]

Petrucciani died from a puwmonary infection after his 36f birdday. He was interred in Le Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, next to de tomb of Frederic Chopin, uh-hah-hah-hah.

On 12 February 2009, de French music channew Mezzo broadcast a speciaw event paying homage to Petrucciani on de 10f anniversary of his deaf.

The first two American awbums featuring Petrucciani were produced by Gabreaw Frankwin, uh-hah-hah-hah. The first, 100 Hearts, a sowo awbum, was produced at de famous RCA Studio A, on de Avenue of de Americas in New York City. The second was a trio awbum, recorded wive at Max Gordon's owd Viwwage Vanguard cwub in New York City. These were among de first awbums to use digitaw recording technowogy, on Mitsubishi X80 recorders, so earwy on dat de onwy manuaws avaiwabwe were in Japanese; but Frankwin and Tom Arrison managed to get dem to function by triaw and error.

Personawity and musicaw stywe[edit]

Osteogenesis imperfecta seemed to contribute greatwy bof to Petrucciani's personawity and his pwaying stywe. By his own account, he was in awmost constant physicaw pain, uh-hah-hah-hah.[7] Yet, he was known for his cheerfuw, pwayfuw, even cavawier personawity. He said, "I wove humor, I wove to waugh, I wove jokes, I wove siwwiness, I wove dat, I dink it's great, I dink waughter is worf a whowe wot of medicine."[7]

Though he often exhibited arrogance and even womanizing tendencies in his adowescent years, de defining characteristic of Petrucciani was his confidence. Michaew Zwerin recawwed one exampwe: "We were sitting dere wondering what to pway. It was kind of hot. And Michew said, 'anybody know "Giant Steps?" Neider Louis nor I wanted to admit we didn't reawwy know it. So dere was dis great siwence. And Michew said, "Weww, I do!" and he pounded into a sowo version of it at a very fast cwip, and it was reawwy amazing. That to me is Michew—'Weww, I do!' Man, a confidence you wouwdn't bewieve."[2]

Petrucciani awso appeared to have a qwirky side. In a Mezzo documentary, he can be heard saying in a humorous voice, "I am very short!"[7] Pussiau, de owner of Oww Records, recawwed when he used to carry Michew for convenience. "Sometimes, when I used to carry him, he wouwd bite my ear. We'd wawk into a restaurant, and he'd chomp.[2]

During his wast years in New York, it seemed Michew's generaw attitude of carewessness was magnified. He said to his manager, "I want to have at weast five women at once, I want to make a miwwion dowwars in one night." A common deory is dat Petrucciani's awareness of his greatwy reduced wifespan compewwed his perseverance, success, sociaw wife, and reckwessness aww to extremes, but dis does not seem to be de case. Michew himsewf expressed deniaw of de wife-shortening nature[citation needed] of his disease. In an interview, he said: "My handicap is not mortaw. I won't die because of my handicap. It has noding to do wif dat."[7] He awso said, "Eventuawwy, when I get to be 75, I'ww write a book on my deadbed."[4] Yet oder rewiabwe sources assert dat he was awways aware of de potentiaw effects of osteogenesis imperfecta.[2]

What is known for certain is dat Michew Petrucciani was fiercewy determined to take aww de joy and satisfaction from wife dat he couwd. "I'm a brat," he said. "My phiwosophy is to have a reawwy good time and never wet anyding stop me from doing what I want to do. It's wike driving a car, waiting for an accident. That's no way to drive a car. If you have an accident, you have an accident—c'est wa vie." He certainwy wived true to his maxim. Just one week before he died of a puwmonary infection, he was up aww night cewebrating de new year wif his friends.[9]

Stywisticawwy, Petrucciani is most freqwentwy compared to Biww Evans and Keif Jarrett for his wyricism and Oscar Peterson for his virtuosity. His pwaying was often qwite dramatic; critics accuse him of over-induwgence and cheap showmanship; sometimes dismiss his music as being too accessibwe. Petrucciani was woose and pwayfuw in a rhydm section, and gave attention to a strong articuwation of de mewody. He sometimes paused at de peaks of his sowo wines before descending again, as if in appreciation of his idea.[6]

Michew distinguished himsewf most obviouswy from his primary inspiration in dat he wacked Biww Evans's cerebraw approach to de piano. Petrucciani's interest was primariwy in simpwy pwaying; he spent wittwe time reharmonizing or arranging.[6] "When I pway, I pway wif my heart and my head and my spirit… I don't pway to peopwe's heads, but to deir hearts." he says.[2] The moments of musicaw cwarity or bwiss he describes come during his performances. "You know sometimes when I pway a concert… and I have dat right timing… dose notes make me feew warm and good… it's wike wovemaking, it's wike having an orgasm." Yet despite his emphasis on performance, he diswiked appwause, cawwing it owd-fashioned and a distraction, uh-hah-hah-hah.[4]

Michew's unbridwed wove of de piano in no way entaiwed artistic carewessness. Indeed, he described de piano as witerawwy taking him to his grave. "It might wead me to deaf… meaning dat I'd be on my deadbed saying, too bad I can't wive anoder year, I wouwd have been much better."[4] He awso compwained about mistakes, saying, "…de pitfaww is dat when I make a mistake it sounds absowutewy outrageous, reawwy horribwe because everyding ewse is so cwear!"[9]

Wayne Shorter summed up Michew Petrucciani's essentiaw character and stywe in dis qwote:

"There's a wot of peopwe wawking around, fuww-grown and so-cawwed normaw—dey have everyding dat dey were born wif at de right weg wengf, arm wengf, and stuff wike dat. They're symmetricaw in every way, but dey wive deir wives wike dey are armwess, wegwess, brainwess, and dey wive deir wife wif bwame. I never heard Michew compwain about anyding. Michew didn't wook in de mirror and compwain about what he saw. Michew was a great musician—a great musician—and great, uwtimatewy, because he was a great human being because he had de abiwity to feew and give to oders of dat feewing, and he gave to oders drough his music."[2]


Michew Petrucciani's tomb


First biography : Michew Petrucciani (2011) by pianist and musicowogist Benjamin Haway by Editions Didier Carpentier (prefaced by Didier Lockwood and Awexandre Petrucciani).


  • A mosaic by Édouard Detmer in honor of Michew Petrucciani has been in de 18f district of Paris since Juwy 2003.
  • "Wawtz For Michew Petrucciani", a song on de Finnish jazz Trio Töykeät's awbum Kudos, is dedicated to him.
  • Christian Jacob's awbum Contradictions does his interpretation of eweven of Petrucciani's compositions as a kind of tribute.[13]
  • "Simpwy Marvewwous (Cewebrating de Music of Michew Petrucciani)" is a Jazz awbum reweased in 2012 by Tommaso Starace featuring nine of Petrucciani's most cewebrated compositions.

See awso[edit]


  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k w Hadju, David. "Keys To de Kingdom." The New Repubwic, March 17, 2009. Retrieved Juwy 24, 2017.
  3. ^ "Michew". Internationaw Herawd Tribune (obituary). The New York Times. 12 January 1999. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Voce, Steve (8 January 1999), "Michew Petrucciani", The Independent (obituary), UK 
  5. ^ a b Kernfewd, Barry Dean; Sadie, Stanwey (1988), The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, London: Macmiwwan 
  6. ^ a b c Doerschuk, Robert 'Bob' (2001), 88: The Giants of Jazz Piano, San Francisco: Backbeat 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g documentary at Googwe Videos Archived 4 June 2012 at de Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ Michew Petrucciani, Jazz Professionaw, archived from de originaw on 28 October 2005 
  9. ^ a b c Shipton, Awyn (2004), Handfuw of Keys: Conversations wif Thirty Jazz Pianists, New York: Routwedge 
  10. ^ Petrucciani, Sunny Side Records 
  11. ^ Radford, Michaew, Michew Petrucciani (documentary), IMDb 
  12. ^ "Petrucciani, Michew", The New York Times (deaf notice), 8 January 1999 
  13. ^ Souter, Tessa. "The Christian Jacob Trio: Contradictions". Awwaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 2017-07-21. 

Externaw winks[edit]