Part of the legendary Charlie Parker Quintet (working alongside Miles Davis, Curly Russel on bass, and Max Roach) Powell was out househunting during Parker's debut session as leader on that now-legendary 26th day of November, 1945. On that day the keyboard duties were handled by the versatile Dizzy Gillespie with a little bit of help from Argonne Thornton (aka Sadik Hakim). However, the history of Bebop would afford Bud more opportunities to make his mark.

Having come from a strong musical background (father, grandfather, brothers William and Richie were all musicians) Earl (Bud) Powell left school at 15 to gig around Coney Island. A frequent visitor to Minton's while the first experiments that led to bop were being conducted, Bud would already display an incipient bop style on his recordings made with Cootie Williams' band between 1943-44.

Through close study of Art Tatum's harmonic stylings and the high-tempo phrasing of Charlie Parker, Bud had developed by the early age 21 his trademark ability to belt out riffs at a pace comparable to Parker's lightning alto leads with just his right hand, all the while using his left to punch out chords in complementary rhythm. Simply put, Bud Powell was intense. Attaining the critical acclaim that would elude Thelonious Monk until the late '50's (incidentally they were good friends and together collaborated on the famous anthem, 'the 52nd Street Theme'), Powell was the idol of his contemporaries and the source of bop procedure and vocabulary for such pianists as Hank Jones, Al Haig, George Wallington and Duke Jordan.

Tortured Roots and a Breakthrough on Roost

However, as has often been the case in jazz, his genius was a tortured one. His tenure on the 52nd Street scene would be punctuated in 1945 by the first of a series of nervous breakdowns. This and the nervous ailments that would plague him for the rest of his short life and lead him in and out of mental hospitals (receiving shock treatment on more than one occasion) are attributed to a head injury he received during an altercation with a police officer earlier that year. Supposedly, Powell came to the rescue when he saw his pal, Thelonious Monk, being "roughed up" by the police after a Cootie Williams gig.

1946 was a busy year for Powell. He recorded with such leaders as J.J. Johnson, Kenny Dorham, Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon, Fats Navarro and in May of 1947, a remarkable session with Charlie Parker.

But 1947 also saw Powell release his first album as leader. Recorded January 10, '47 for Roost Records, Powell ub the impressive company of bassist Curly Russell and drummer Max Roach) finally found the recognition he deserved for both his playing and his compositional skills. These historical recordings have been reissued on CD by Capitol Records as Bud Powell Trio's Roost with the addition of trio recordings made for Roost in 1953 (George Duvivier on bass, drummer Art Taylor) for a total of 16 tracks, including a couple early original compositions "Burt Covers Bud" and "Bud's Bubble", and a fine cover of Monk's "Off Minor".

Bud Powell in the '50's

Despite the demands of his mental ailments Bud Powell signed recording contracts with both Blue Note and Verve Records in 1949.

Bud Powell led perhaps his greatest recording session on May 1, 1951. This session for Blue Note was a follow-up to an August 9th, 1949 session for that label. Whereas the earlier unit included Fats Navarro at his peak on trumpet, some developing tenor work from Sonny Rollins, not to mention bassist Tommy Potter and drummer Roy Haynes who provide fine support on a trio version of Parker's 'Ornithology', Bud shines brighter in the context of 1951's close-knit trio. Joined by Curly Russell and finding perfect compliment in Max Roach, these sessions produced three available versions of Powell's maddening 'Un Poco Loco', a pair of fantastic takes on 'A Night in Tunisia', and some fine unaccompanied piano work on 'Over the Rainbow' and 'It Could Happen to You'. These sessions, which were mixed and then originally released in two volumes have now been reissued on CD in their original recording order. The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1 is especially recommended as it combines both quintet and trio selections, and includes some of the earliest recording of those compositions that would make Powell legendary, "52nd Street Theme", "Bouncing with Bud", "Dance of the Infidels", and of course, "Un Poco Loco" (in three versions!).

Getting into trouble with Monk again, Powell was arrested for possession of marijuana with his colleague in June '51. To compound the matter, he was sent to Bellevue for evaluation after becoming hysterical in the lock-up. The resident psychiatrist included "delusions of grandeur" in his assessment after Powell claimed to have composed a hundred songs. He wouldn't be released until February, 1953.

On May 15, 1953 the historic concert that would become Jazz at Massey Hall took place with the stellar lineup of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Mingus (b), Powell, and Max Roach (d) known as The Quintet. What isn't so well known is the trio performance that took place that same evening. Reissued on CD as Bud Powell's Jazz at Massey Hall, Vol. 2, these fourteen tracks capture Powell at his finest, not to mention the only trio recording with Mingus--the two later formed a regular working trio with drummer Art Taylor. At just under an hour, some of the CD highlights include a rousing version of "Cherokee" and Roach's "Drum Conversation".

By the mid-fifties Powell was performing and recording steadily again. Unfortunately, some of these performances betray the strain of his illnesses (compounded by alcoholism) he was experiencing at the time, perhaps most notably the January 1955 sessions for Verve where his playing is disturbingly diminished. But the following sessions for Verve in April of that same year and September of the following year show Powell back on top. He also recorded some fine sessions for Blue Note between 1957-58. However, his composing had definitely taken a back seat.

Bud Powell--Years of Exile

An exile in Paris by March, 1959, Bud Powell was treated like a star. He soon formed The Three Bosses with founding bop drummer Kenny Clarke (a resident of Paris since 1956) and French native Pierre Michelet on bass. There he would remain: clubbing, recording a handful of albums for Reprise and Roulette, and sitting in with visiting musicians until his return to the US in 1964.

Some of these visitor-led sessions include a stunning performance with Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers December 18, 1959, which was fortunately recorded and released as Paris Jam Session by Fontana. Powell gives a fine performance on the extended versions of his compositions, "Dance of the Infidels" and "Bouncing with Bud".

On July 13, 1960 old trio pal, Charles Mingus, brought his Jazz Workshop over to France. On the album that would eventually become the double-LP Mingus at Antibes Powell guests on one track, "I'll Remember April".

He can also be found in good form performing with his fellow Bosses on Dexter Gordon's studio outing, 'Our Man In Paris' (Blue Note 4146) in 1963.

Bud Returns

In 1964 Powell returned to the US escorted by his faithful guardian, Francis Paudras (who had turned Powell away from the vagaries of alcohol and drugs), for what was to be a short-term engagement. He soon fell into familiar and ill-gotten company--Paudras returned to Paris alone. Quickly bloated from excessive drinking Powell performed a number of engagements before being admitted to King's County Hospital in Brooklyn where he died July 31, 1966 of "natural causes": liver dysfunction, malnutrition, and acute alcoholism.

Powell's recordings for the Verve family of labels (Mercury, Clef, Nogram, Verve) has been released on a 5-CD box set The Complete Bud Powell on Verve. Packaged to resemble an old 78-rpm collection, Verve's magnum opus should win a prize for both thoroughness and presentation. The set, clocking in at just over 5 hours gathers every existing note he recorded for its inclusive labels. These trio recordings between 1949 and 1956 are a fine representation of both standards and original compisitions, some of them familiar from the Blue Note sessions. The package includes a 150 page book comprised of interviews with contemporary artists, friends, a biography, an fine collection of photography, exhaustive track documentation, and a song-by-song critique provided by pianists Michael Weiss and veteran Barry Harris. Though Powell performs nearly as strongly solo as with rhythm accompaniment, he is well-complimented by such drummers as Max Roach, Buddy Rich, Art Taylor, Kenny Clarke, Osie Johnson, and Art Blakey (who is unfortunately only present on the Disc 3 sessions, Powell's poorest). Bassists include, Ray Brown, Curly Russell, Percy Heath, Lloyd Trotman and some especially outstanding bass-work from George Duvivier.

However, topping his recordings for Verve (at least in the department of consistency if not essential classics) is Bud Powell's Complete Blue Note and Roost Recordings, a definitive 4-CD box set issued by Blue Note (not to be mistaken for the similar, yet inferior, Mosaic box set) that provides just that, including the classic leader debut from '47, the fantastic Blue Note quintet of '49 with Navarro and Rollins, the '49 trio with Max Roach, as well as subsequent sessions for Roost and Blue Note up until his last in 1958. The handsome package has a total of 74 tracks and includes all the alternate takes (which sets it apart from Mosaic's Complete Bud Powell Blue Note Recordings).

Artist Album Title Song Title