Bud Powell

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Earl Rudolph “Bud” Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was one of the most influential pianists in the history of jazz. Along with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie he was instrumental in the development of bebop, and his virtuosity as a pianist led many to call him “the Charlie Parker of the piano”.

In November 1947, Powell was admitted to Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, where he stayed for more than a year, receiving electroconvulsive therapy which caused severe memory loss. The young Jackie McLean and Sonny Rollins became friendly with Powell on his release from the hospital, and Powell recommended McLean to Miles Davis. Powell suffered from mental illness throughout his life, possibly triggered by a beating by the police in 1945 after disorderly behavior. (Although he had a prior reputation for strange behaviour, the beating certainly exacerbated his problems.) He was also an alcoholic, and even small quantities of alcohol had a profound effect on his character, making him aggressive. Powell’s continued rivalry with Charlie Parker, while essential to the production of brilliant music, was also the subject of disruptive feuding and bitterness on the bandstand, as a result of Powell’s troubled mental and physical condition. He spent all of 1952 (and parts of many subsequent years) in a hospital. When he was out of the hospital, he was often locked up in a hotel room and was usually denied receiving the money he earned performing.

It is generally agreed that his best recordings are those made prior to 1954, both for Blue Note Records and for Norman Granz (at Mercury Records, Norgran Records, Clef Records and later on Verve Records).

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jazz, piano, bebop, jazz piano, bop
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The Best Of Bud Powell - The Blue Note Years
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6	A Night In Tunisia full track	176
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allbadendsall wrote:
21 days ago

i'm having a hard time finding anything for some reason.

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sGarrista- wrote:
October 2009

bud powell owns, to say the very least

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vodenapushka wrote:
April 2009

Brilliant!

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Dardan-H wrote:
October 2008

"If I had to choose a single musician according to his artistic merit and the originality of his creation, but also for the greatness of his work, it would be Bud Powell. Nobody could measure up to him." - Bill Evans

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SirAlecHendrix wrote:
September 2008

Bud Powell—now connected to the brandnew group ➤ Round Midnight

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-tgt- wrote:
August 2008

Wherever even some folks today find T. Monk's music not so easy to swallow doesn't take away from the fact that without Monk we wouldn't have had the wonder and genius that was Bud Powell.

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Grosseteste wrote:
June 2008

Peculiar that, because of the inept way that one of Bill Cunliffe's albums has been up-loaded to Last.fm, a lot of the plays in the charts aren't of Bud Powell at all.

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Dardan-H wrote:
June 2008

One of the greatest of all time, his version of 'Embraceable You' on 'Jazz At Massey Hall Vol.2' is really magnificant.

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Shaunography wrote:
June 2008

<3

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SYL2Oh wrote:
April 2008

Composer, pianist Bud Powell is recognized as the most influential virtuoso modern jazz. His music is a quest for the absolute.

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peeanolover wrote:
February 2008

ONE OF THE GREATEST PIANO PLAYERS.

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F_Hole wrote:
December 2006

A tormented genius on the level of Thelonious Monk, with incredible technique and ideas. I often wonder what amazing things we would've heard from Mr. Powell if he hadn't suffered the business end of a policeman's nightstick.

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lechasseur wrote:
December 2006

A god among men.

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ecgwald wrote:
November 2006

an empty shoutbox for bud powell??

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