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Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph “Bud” Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. A pioneer in the development of bebop and its associated contributions to jazz theory, Powell’s application of complex phrasing to the piano influenced both his contemporaries and later pianists including Walter Davis Jr., Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Barry Harris.
Born in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance to a musical family, Powell, during the 1930s, developed an attacking, right-handed approach to the piano, which marked a break from the left-handed approach of stride and ragtime that had been prevalent. Upon joining trumpeter Cootie Williams’s band in 1943, he received attention from the broader musical community for his fluency and advanced technique.
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A severe beating by police in 1945 and years of electroconvulsive therapy treatments adversely impacted his mental health, but his recordings and live performances with Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, and Max Roach during the late 1940s and early 1950s were instrumental in shaping modern jazz piano technique.
Following a partial recovery in the mid to late 1950s, Powell’s relocation to Paris in 1959 contributed to the community of African-American expatriates fleeing racism and barriers to a higher standard of living. He returned to a regular recording schedule, toured across Northern and Central Europe, and made records, before becoming ill with tuberculosis in 1963.
Despite the friendship and protection of French jazz aficionado Francis Paudras, mental health crises and a troubled return to New York hastened his early death, aged 41, in 1966. The decades following his death saw his career and life story become the inspiration for films and written works, including Bertrand Tavernier’s Round Midnight. Many Powell compositions, including “Un Poco Loco”, “Bouncing with Bud”, and “Parisian Thoroughfare” have become jazz standards.
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Bud Powell, at the Antibes Jazz festival, July 13th, 1960 (colorized)
Sweet and lovely 00:00 Swing Napoli 03:10
Bud Powell (piano)