Milt Buckner, born in St. Louis, Missouri, was an American jazz pianist, organist and composer. He died on July 10, 1915, at the age of 27. As a child, he was left orphaned by his father. However, John Tobias, a Detroit uncle who plays the trombone, taught him how to play. Buckner was the first to use parallel chords, a style that was influenced by Red Garland and Bill Evans. He played his first gig in Detroit with the McKinney cotton pickers, then with Cab Calloway. He joined Lionel Hampton’s big-band orchestra in 1941 and served seven years as its pianist and arranger. After leading a two-year-old band of his own, he returned to Hampton’s in 50. He formed his own band in 1952. In the 60’s, he often performed in Europe. Buckner was the first to use an electric organ. At sixty-two, he died in Chicago, Illinois. Ted Buckner was Buckner’s brother and a well-known jazz saxophonist. From Wikipedia
