Earl Hines

Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl Fatha Hines , was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one major source, is one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz.

Earl Hines was born in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, 12160miles from Pittsburgh city center, in 1903. His father, Joseph Hines, played cornet and was leader of Pittsburghs Eureka Brass Band, his stepmother a church organist. Hines intended to follow his father on cornet but blowing hurt him behind the ears while the piano did not. The young Hines took classical piano lessons and by the age of eleven he was playing the organ in his local Baptist church but he also had a good ear and a good memory and could replay songs and numbers he heard in theaters and park concerts Id be playing songs from these shows months before the song copies came out. That astonished a lot of people and theyd ask where I heard these numbers and Id tell them at the theatre where my parents had taken me. Later, Hines said that he was playing piano around Pittsburgh before the word jazz was even invented.

Source: Wikipedia