“[He was] revered in Chicago – and around the world – not only as a colossal piano virtuoso but as a symbol of Chicago jazz. … [He] summoned immense masses of sound at the piano without succumbing to a percussive clatter. Add to this the extraordinary velocity he could achieve, as well as the melodic and harmonic ingenuity of his improvisations, and you had a pianist held in awe by colleagues and students alike.”