Thomas Lee Flanagan was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. Within months of moving to New York in 1956, he had recorded with Miles Davis and on Sonny Rollins' album Saxophone Colossus. Recordings under various leaders, including Giant Steps of John Coltrane, continued well into 1962, when he became vocalist Ella Fitzgerald's full-time accompanist. He worked with Fitzgerald for three years until 1965, and then in 1968 returned to be her pianist and musical director, this time for a decade.
Flanagan was born in Conant Gardens, Detroit, Michigan, on March 16, 1930. He was the youngest of six children – five boys and a girl. His parents were both originally from Georgia. His father, Johnson Sr, was a postman, and his mother, Ida Mae, worked in the garment industry.
At the age of six, Flanagan's parents gave him a clarinet for Christmas. He learned to read music from playing the clarinet, but within a few years he preferred the piano. The family had a piano in the house, and Flanagan received lessons from one of his brothers, Johnson, and Gladys Wade Dillard, who also taught Kirk Lightsey and Barry Harris. Flanagan graduated from Northern High School, which he attended with other future musicians, including saxophonist Sonny Red.
Flanagan's early influences included Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson, both of whom he heard on the radio and playing in the Detroit area, as well as Nat King Cole and local pianists Earl Van Riper and Willie Anderson. These, however, played in an earlier style, and the young Flanagan and his friends were more interested in the newer bebop, including that played by pianist Bud Powell, who had a strong effect on Flanagan's musical thinking and improvising.
| Date of Birth | 16th March 1930 |
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| Date of Death | 16th November 2001 |
| Age at Death | 71 Years |
| Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
| Country | United States of America |
| Current City | Detroit |
| Birth Place | Detroit |
| Death Place | New York City |
| Nationality | United States of America |
| Citizenship | United States of America |
| Instruments | piano |
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| Occupation | pianist, composer, jazz musician, screenwriter, recording artist |
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