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…