Bud Powell: Bebop Pianism : NPR https://www.npr.

org/2008/04/09/89483119/bud-powell-bebop-pianism

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Bud Powell was the first, and arguably the greatest pianist to create a bebop-based improvisational style for the piano.
Metronome/Getty Images

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Pianist Bud Powell was admired by his contemporaries as an adventurous original

with a style marked by unrivaled virtuosity. Today, he is remembered for redrawing
the course of modern jazz piano by pioneering bebop improvisation at the keyboard.
Though personal misfortune interrupted his career, and shortened his life, at his peak
Powell exuded an emotion and power that captivated audiences and musicians alike.

Born in New York City in 1924, Earl "Bud" Powell began piano lessons at age five. By
age 10, Bud was imitating legendary pianists like Art Tatum and Fats Waller. Powell
considered Tatum his greatest influence, and the only jazz pianist who surpassed him
technically. Thelonious Monk was another primary influence; he became Bud's friend
and mentor, nurturing Powell's blossoming talent.

By 1941, Powell was playing on the Harlem club circuit, and when he was invited to
tour with Duke Ellington's former trumpeter, Cootie Williams, Powell hit the road
with Williams' band.

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Gary Giddins

But in 1945, Powell was involved in a confrontation that dramatically altered his life
and career. Only 20 years old, the pianist was brutally beaten by police while on tour
in Philadelphia. Though he was allegedly drunk and disorderly, many accounts of the
incident describe the reaction of the police as far beyond what the charge warranted.
Powell was left incoherent and in great pain; when his condition didn't improve, he
went from hospital to hospital and was eventually institutionalized.

Despite his mental instability, Powell was still able to play the piano. Alto saxophonist
Jackie McLean, then a teenager, was a huge fan and began watching over Powell, who
was having problems with his drinking and developed a habit of wandering aimlessly.
At the keyboard, however, Powell needed no help. Bud was one of the few musicians
who could challenge Charlie Parker musically, and became the pianist of choice for
tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon, vocalist Sarah Vaughan and other luminaries.

Tragedy struck again when Powell was hit on the head with a bottle in a bar fight. His
psychiatric record led to another 11 months in a mental institution, where he
underwent treatments of electro-convulsive therapy — at that time a new technique
just being developed. As McLean recalls, "He was so messed up when he came out ... I
think they experimented on Bud."

Still, when Powell was released, his career picked up right where it left off. In the late
'40s and early '50s, Powell was recognized as an accomplished leader and prolific
composer, and he recorded many of his most famous tunes, including "Un Poco Loco,"
"Celia," "Hallucinations," "Tempus Fugit," and "Wail."

But the period also saw more personal trouble. In 1951, Powell was arrested along with
Monk for drug possession. Charges against Powell were dropped, but he was sent to a
psychiatric hospital for more than a year. Afterward, his abilities at the piano were
never the same.

His playing in the 1950s was inconsistent — sometimes great, often poor. Powell was
also under the eye of a woman named Altevia "Buttercup" Edwards, who claimed to be

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his wife. Because of his mental instability, he required supervision, but unique
compositions like "Glass Enclosure" suggest that Bud chafed at his limited freedom.

Buttercup moved Powell to Paris, where an adoring French public lavished praise on
the pianist. Though he enjoyed his five years in France, he was still unhappy with his
restrictive personal circumstances. Eventually Francis Paudras, a French fan, along
with saxophonist Johnny Griffin, pulled Powell away from Buttercup. After recovering
from a bout of illness, Powell began to write music again, including "In the Mood for a
Classic," which he dedicated to the French people.

Paudras organized Bud's triumphant return to New York, a six-week engagement at

Powell's old haunt, Birdland. His first night was widely acclaimed in the press, and his
daughter Celia and her mother Mary Francis Funderburk were among the electrified
opening night audience.

But Powell's erratic side later re-emerged, and the extended engagement was cut
short. Bud's self-destructive tendencies also returned, most notably alcohol
dependency. After the Birdland engagement, he gave only two public performances,
the last on May 1, 1965. Powell died on July 1, 1966, of cirrhosis of the liver, at the age
of 41.

As drummer Roy Haynes notes, had Powell lived longer and seen better treatment,
"There's no telling what he would have developed into." Yet despite his personal
tragedies and premature death, Bud's remarkable musical contributions remain
immeasurable. Few musicians overcame more adversity to share a musical gift — and
even fewer left a larger impact on their profession.

Click here to view the playlist.

Link to NPR's Basic Jazz Record Library:

Bud Powell: 'The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2'

Charlie Parker: 'Jazz at Massey Hall'

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Dexter Gordon: 'Settin' the Pace'

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