Yet a recent seven-disc boxed set containing nearly all of the pianist-composer's early work under his own name, "Classic Earl Hines Sessions 1928-1945, " shows that the early Hines was a very different animal.

WSJ: Fatha Played Well With Others | Earl Hines | By Will Friedwald

With his outsize helmet of hair, razor-sharp mustache, shieldlike spectacles and confident grin, Earl Hines in the 1970s (and his 70s) commanded attention even before he sat down at the piano.

WSJ: Fatha Played Well With Others | Earl Hines | By Will Friedwald

Or Earl Hines hammering the piano, down in the plunger aisle.

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