Michel Petrucciani

Michel Petrucciani, an acclaimed jazz pianist who waged a lifelong battle against a crippling disease that stunted his growth and made his bones dangerously brittle, died Jan. 6 in New York City. He was 36.

The French-born musician, who won a wide following with his technical mastery, skillful improvisation and sense of harmony, was being treated at Beth Israel Medical Center for a lung infection when he died.

Because of osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disorder known as "glass bone disease," Petrucciani lived a fragile existence. Being only 3 feet tall, his pianos had to be fitted with pedal extensions. Often he had to be carried to and from the piano bench because his bones were so brittle.

A child prodigy schooled in classical music as well as jazz, Petrucciani made his professional bow at 13 at an outdoor jazz festival in France, and released his first album, "Flash," when he was 16.

Inspired by greats like Duke Ellington and jazz pianist Bill Evans, and by his father, jazz guitarist Antoine Petrucciani, he recorded more than a dozen albums, including "Promenade With Duke," an homage to Ellington; "Pianism" (1986); "Michel Plays Petrucciani" (1988); and "The Best of Michel Petrucciani -- The Blue Note Years" (1994), a compilation of his seven years with the Blue Note jazz label.

He moved to the United States in 1981, settling in Big Sur, Calif., before moving to New York to form his own trio.

Petrucciani is survived by three sons.