Bud Powell
One of the giants of the jazz piano, Bud Powell changed the way that virtually all post-swing pianists play their instruments. He did away with the left-hand striding that had been considered essential earlier and used his left hand to state chords on an irregular basis. His right often played speedy single-note lines, essentially transforming Charlie Parker's vocabulary to the piano (although he developed parallel to "Bird").
Tragically, Bud Powell was a seriously ill genius. After being encouraged and tutored to an extent by his friend Thelonious Monk at jam sessions in the early '40s, Powell was with Cootie Williams' orchestra during 1943-1945. In a racial incident, he was beaten on the head by police; Powell never fully recovered and would suffer from bad headaches and mental breakdowns throughout the remainder of his life. Despite this, he recorded some true gems during 1947-1951 for Roost, Blue Note, and Verve, composing such major works as "Dance of the Infidels," "Hallucinations" (also known as "Budo"), "Un Poco Loco," "Bouncing with Bud," and "Tempus Fugit." Even early on, his erratic behavior resulted in lost opportunities (Charlie Parker supposedly told Miles Davis that he would not hire Powell because "he's even crazier than me!"), but Powell's playing during this period was often miraculous.
A breakdown in 1951 and hospitalization that resulted in electroshock treatments weakened him, but Powell was still capable of playing at his best now and then, most notably at the 1953 Massey Hall Concert. Generally in the 1950s his Blue Notes find him in excellent form, while he is much more erratic on his Verve recordings. His warm welcome and lengthy stay in Paris (1959-1964) extended his life a bit, but even here Powell spent part of 1962-1963 in the hospital. He returned to New York in 1964, disappeared after a few concerts, and did not live through 1966.
In later years, Bud Powell's recordings and performances could be so intense as to be scary, but other times he sounded quite sad. However, his influence on jazz (particularly up until the rise of McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans in the 1960s) was very strong and he remains one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
Similar artists
-
Bouncing With Bud (2000 Remastered Version)
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on 24 okt. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live in Essen, Grugahalle, 1960 (Live)
Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke, Coleman Hawkins
Jazz - Released by Jazzline on 26 nov. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever
Jazz - Released by CoolNote on 31 aug. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Portrait of Thelonious
Jazz - Released by Black Sheep Music on 1 mrt. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tempus Fugue-It
Bud Powell, Cootie Willams Sextet
Jazz - Released by Proper Box on 25 jan. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The Classic Recordings: 1957 - 1959
Bebop - Released by ENLIGHTENMENT on 9 jun. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bud Powell: A Tribute to Cannonball + A Portrait of Thelonious
Jazz - Released by Blue Velvet on 16 mei 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Swingin' With Bud
Jazz - Released by RCA Records Label on 1 jan. 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bud Powell Live at the Blue Note Café, Paris 1961
Jazz - Released by ESP-Disk on 1 jan. 1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 1 jan. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strictly Powell
Jazz - Released by RCA Records Label on 9 okt. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
All that Jazz, Vol. 56 - Charles Mingus: Ah Um and Live at Massey Hall Toronto (Highlights)
Charles Mingus, Studio ensemble, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Max Roach
Jazz - Released by Jube Legends on 4 mrt. 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
-
The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1
Jazz - Released by Black Sheep Music on 4 dec. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Scene Changes: The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 5 (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 29 dec. 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bud Powell's Moods
Jazz - Released by Verve Reissues on 6 mei 1953
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strictly Powell (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Avid Entertainment on 9 okt. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Tribute To Cannonball
Bebop - Released by Columbia - Legacy on 2 mrt. 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo