The Genius of Bud Powell
| The Genius of Bud Powell | ||||
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| Studio album by Bud Powell | ||||
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| Label (s) | Mercury / Cleff / Verve | |||
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LP, CD |
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Title (number) |
10/12 |
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The Genius of Bud Powell is a jazz album by Bud Powell , which was recorded in two sessions in July 1950 and February 1951 for the Mercury label and released in 1956 on Cleff (or Verve Records ) by Norman Granz . The original title was Bud Powells's Moods .
The album
Gary Giddins counts the pieces that Bud Powell recorded between 1947 and 1953 as the starting point for everything that defines modern jazz piano . In addition to the Blue Note recordings that were released under the title The Amazing Bud Powell , these include his sessions for the Mercury label , which were later released on Verve. "The Genius of Bud Powell" contains material from two studio sessions; the first two Vincent Youmans classics, “ Tea for Two ” and “ Hallelujah! ". The pianist was accompanied by Ray Brown and Buddy Rich . In particular, they document his solo work before his psychological breakdown in 1951.
The second recording session in February 1951 is one of Powell's most significant, especially due to the unaccompanied original compositions; the pianist plays short, unadorned miniatures (giddins) in a breathless, exhausting manner, which - except for "The Fruit" - never last longer than 1½ minutes. Powell's play appears particularly in the urgent "Parisian Thoroughfare" (later covered by Max Roach and Clifford Brown ); the following “oblivion” also contains a great rhythmic intensity; Powell's left hand mostly plays staccato-like chords. In contrast, “Dusk in Sandie” is an atmospheric, mood piece, but peppered with dissonances. “Hallucinations” is also known under the title “Budo” and is one of Powell's most enduring compositions. This is how Keith Jarrett last played it on his "Whisper Not" album. This is followed by standard themes such as Cole Porter's “The Last Time I Saw Paris”, provided with Stride choruses; The harmonious and rhythmic touch of Art Tatums can be found everywhere in these titles . In “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” Powell presents its dramatic sides, the piece is full of dynamic changes.
Richard Cook and Brian Morton awarded the new edition with the highest rating in the Penguin Guide to Jazz .
The titles
- "Tea for Two" (take 5) ( Vincent Youmans / Irvin Caesar ) 3:28
- "Tea for Two" (take 6) 4:13
- "Tea for Two" (take 10) 3:47
- "Hallelujah" ( Leo Robin / Clifford Gray / Vincent Youmans) 2:59
- "Parisian Thoroughfare" (Bud Powell) 2:28
- "Oblivion" (Powell) 2:28
- "Dusk in Sandi" (Powell) 2:13
- "Hallucinations" (Powell) 2:25
- "The Fruit" (Powell) 3:17
- "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" ( Eric Maschwitz / Manning Sherwin / Jack Strachey ) 3:41
- " Just One of Those Things " ( Cole Porter ) 3:50
- "The Last Time I Saw Paris" ( Jerome Kern / Oscar Hammerstein II ) 3:16
reception
The music magazine Jazzwise added the album to The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook the World list ; Keith Shadwick wrote:
- " Two Herculean trio tunes - 'Tea For Two' and 'Hallelujah', both taken at breakneck speeds - make up the 1950 contribution here. With the benefit of extra CD space we get treated to two extra takes of 'Tea For Two', giving us an object lesson in how Powell developed his material as well as maintaining his incredible improvisational creativity. But the real jewels on this album are the eight solo selections recorded in February 1951. The level of invention Powell achieves puts this recital on equal par with anything in the recorded annals of jazz piano and makes it basic required jazz listening ”.
Editorial note
Recordings 1-4 were made in the first session in July 1950, the remaining tracks in the second session in 1951. Tracks 1 and 3, the alternates takes of "Tea for Two", appeared on the CD edition and not on the Original LP, but were sold as Norgran and Mercury 78 singles. Verve also released a double LP under the same title , which also contained the recordings from 1949-51 that appeared on the Verve CD Jazz Giant . Powell's entire recordings for Norman Granz from 1949 to 1956 were released on the five compact discs of The Complete Bud Powell on Verve .
literature
- Garry Giddins: Liner notes
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .