Tennyson Stephens, jazz pianist who starred in cult classic film ‘Stony Island,’ dies at 83

Tennyson Stephens was a "baaad" man.

It's how fellow musicians who heard the jazz pianist gig around Chicago in the '70s tend to describe him, especially when Mr. Stephens merged talents with legendary Chicago jazz guitarist Phil Upchurch , who died in late 2025.

The two released the album Upchurch/Tennyson in 1975.

"Tennyson was a musical genius," said keyboardist Dale Powers, adding that Mr. Stephens, who was born in Texas but established his musical reputation in Chicago, was a major influence on Donny Hathaway and Minnie Riperton.

"Donny would be asking him 'Tenny, how'd you do this, how'd you play this chord?'" said Powers.

Mr. Stephens never became a household name, but he was a beloved staple of Chicago's music scene for years.

"Tennyson was a bad cat, just a kick-ass musician, a first-call player for Upchurch, and everybody really, because he was so bad," said friend and renowned arranger Benjamin Wright.

Mr. Stephens collaborated with many musicians, including Natalie Cole, daughter of famed crooner Nat King Cole. He wrote the hit tune "Party Lights" for her.

He was tapped to act and perform in the 1978 Chicago cult-classic film "Stony Island," which was written and directed by Chicago born filmmaker Andy Davis, who also directed "The Fugitive."

Davis and other musicians who starred in the film — including his brother, the guitarist Richie Davis, and singer Windy Barnes — described Mr. Stephens as quiet, kind, reserved and a "consummate professional" with a golden voice who spoke through his music.

"People were in awe of him on set because he had the qualities of Stevie Wonder in terms of his musicianship and his voice," said Andy Davis. "And he had a kind of spiritual quality about him, and he laughed a lot and was funny and was a real stylist who liked to dress in a very unique way."

Mr. Stephens, who lived in Los Angeles for the past seven years, died June 29, from natural causes. He was 83.

Beginning in the '80s, Mr. Stephens spent nearly four decades in Hawaii, where he played resorts and teamed with the singer Azure McCall.

"He was like my brother," said McCall, who also played music festivals in Sweden and Finland with Mr. Stephens.

"I could walk on stage and just start singing any key and he would come in and know exactly where it was," said McCall. "He was amazing in every style on the piano, that's what made him unique. We could go from John Coltrane to Joni Mitchell to a Broadway tune to classical," she said.

The two played a fundraiser for former President Barack Obama before his first election in 2008.

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