Simonb, I find myself drawn to certain things but not necessarily "all" of anything an artist does. Have heard numerous things that Oscar Peterson did that were really nice but also things that make my ears hurt, almost like he's trying to one-up Art Tatum. No, there is not a contest to see how many notes you can fit into a single measure. Count Bassie had it right, at least to me, ya need some blank spaces, too. LOL!
That little groove on "I Wish" gets a hold of me and runs through my head, in a good way, but other Stevie Wonder tunes, not so much. Have heard Willie Nelson do "One for my Baby and One More for the Road" and liked it very much but other stuff he does, not so much. Even Dick Hyman, I love Fingerbreaker, but his version of Sweet Georgia Brown, not so much.
Maybe I've just never heard the right "version" of Giant Steps but it was never all that musical to me. I know it kinda matters who does it and what style. Have heard people play Round Midnight very straight and am really bored but others play it with a sort of groove that really works, at least for me. Heard Tony Winston plow through "Like Someone In Love" in a very straight, plain way (he doesn't like the song, and it shows) but also heard Phillip Strange do a rather lively, snappy, almost playful version of it which I really liked (Osaka Jazz Channel on YouTube).
I'm guessing quite a few people who we are familiar with in one way or another do things that might surprise us. Cole Porter was an excellent pianist. Diana Krall is an excellent pianist. We usually think of them for their vocals. Like you mention, Stevie wonder is an excellent pianist. Peter Martin is actually quite capable of playing classical if he wanted to. Ed King, who most people know for that wonderful riff at the beginning of Sweet Home Alabama, he played the mandolin very well.