Mel Powell
A former Pulitzer Prize winner, composer, pianist and arranger, Mel Powell doesn't do much jazz these days and hasn't for a long time. But in the '40s, he was a prime player, composer and arranger. His playing was unpredictable, challenging, and impressive though not flashy or bluesy. Powell was leading a traditional jazz band at 12. He joined Benny Goodman at 19, and was a member of the CBS orchestra under Raymond Scott. His military service included a tour and recording session with Glen Miller's Air Force band. Powell also recorded with The Jazz Club American Hot Band in Paris in the mid-'40s that included Django Reinhardt and Ray McKinley. Powell recorded with Goodman after his discharge in 1945, and then went to Los Angeles, where he worked with studios and recorded with Jazz At The Philharmonic. He periodically worked with Goodman and also led groups in the late '40s. Powell then decided to study composition with Paul Hindemith in the early '50s; he quit film and studio work. Powell had composed such pieces as "the Earl" and "Mission to Moscow" for Goodman. Powell worked with Goodman again in the mid and late '50s, and also with Bobby Hackett in the mid-'60s. But he'd decided to become a contemporary classical composer, and became heavily involved in serial and electronic music. Powell was a teacher at Queens College and at Yale from the mid-'50s to the end of the '60s. He became Dean of Music at The California Institute of Arts in Valencia in 1969 and a fellow in 1976. But Powell surprised many observers by playing on the SS Norway's Floating Jazz Festival out of Miami with Ruby Braff, Mel Lewis, Bob Wilber, Warren Vache and Svend Asmussen in 1986. He surprised even more with the The Return Of Mel Powell on Chiaroscuro with Benny Carter, Howard Alden, Milt Hinton and Louis Bellson in 1987. Powell's been battling a muscular disease in his legs for the last few years. He won a Pulitizer for composition in the early '90s. Powell began recording on Commodore with Joe Bushkin in the '40s, and did other sessions on Pausa, Vogue, Chiaroscuoro and Vanguard. He has a couple of dates available on CD.
© TiVo
-
It's Been So Long
Jazz - Released by Vanguard Records on 22 Jun 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Love a Piano
Teddy Wilson, Mel Powell, Mary Lou Williams
Jazz - Released by Esquire Records on 14 Dec 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best Things In Life
Jazz - Released by Vanguard Records on 25 May 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Four Classic Albums Plus (Borderline / Thigamagig / Mel Powell Out On A Limb / The Mel Powell Bandstand) [Remastered]
Jazz - Released by AVID Entertainment on 15 Jul 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mel Powell - The Classy Catalogue Recordings Series
Jazz - Released by Classy Catalogue Recordings on 26 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Return of Mel Powell, the
Jazz - Released by Chiaroscuro Records on 21 Oct 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mel Powell: Six Recent Works (1982-1988)
Mel Powell, Judith Bettina, Sequoia String Quartet
Classical - Released by Musical Heritage Society on 2 Aug 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Anthology (Original Recordings)
Jazz - Released by Miradas Records on 17 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz After Midnight
Jazz - Released by Silver Classics Jazz on 20 Nov 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Borderline (Remastered)
Mel Powell, Paul Quinichette, Bobby Donaldson
Jazz - Released by Avid Entertainment on 15 Jul 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thigamagig (Remastered)
Mel Powell, Ruby Braff, Bobby Donaldson
Jazz - Released by Avid Entertainment on 1 Oct 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Mel Powell Bandstand (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Avid Entertainment on 17 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mel Powell Out On a Limb (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by AVID Entertainment on 15 Jul 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
California Here I Come
Jazz - Released by Jazz Arena on 5 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mel Powell - An Anthology by Montecarlo Jazz Recordings
Jazz - Released by Montecarlo Jazz Recordings on 27 Nov 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of Mel Powell
Jazz - Released by Montecarlo Jazz Recordings on 11 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
'S Wonderful
Jazz - Released by Jazz Work Records on 24 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Box (The Jazz Series)
Jazz - Released by Two Bass Hits on 17 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Side Story (A Timeless Jazz Recordings) (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Side Story on 14 Jan 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Jazz Collection
Jazz - Released by Marmot Music on 24 Aug 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo