The Genius of Bud Powell
Encyclopedia
The Genius of Bud Powell, originally entitled Bud Powell's Moods, is a studio album by jazz pianist
Bud Powell
, released in 1956 by Mercury
/ Clef
, featuring two sessions that Powell recorded in 1950 and 1951.
The album was re-released on CD by Verve
in 1992, with two additional takes of "Tea for Two". The sessions also appear on The Complete Bud Powell on Verve
(1994) box set.
.
The three takes of "Tea for Two" at the start of the CD release recall the classic 1955 LP release of The Amazing Bud Powell
, which opens with three takes of "Un Poco Loco
". Although the three versions here don't display the cumulative explorations of the "Un Poco Loco" takes, the sheer velocity and attack on each is remarkable.
Powell's composition "Parisian Thoroughfare", a "classic bop vehicle", has been recorded by several other artists, most notably Clifford Brown
in 1954 (Clifford Brown & Max Roach
), with Bud's brother Richie Powell
on piano.
, except where noted.
February 1951, New York, tracks 5-12.
(Norgran MGN 1064). Confusingly again, in the late 1970s Verve released a double LP also called The Genius of Bud Powell, coupling the single-disc Genius with Jazz Giant
, and also a follow-up double LP called The Genius of Bud Powell, Volume 2, containing sessions from 1954-56.
On the CD release, the additional version of "Tea for Two" marked "take 5" (aka "compilation take") had previously been released in the 50s on a V.A. compilation called Piano Interpretations. The version marked "take 10" (aka "78 take") had appeared on 78/45 rpm singles and on the 10" LP Piano Solos #2.
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Jazz piano
Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instrument's combined melodic and harmonic capabilities...
Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
, released in 1956 by Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
/ Clef
Clef Records
Clef Records was an American Jazz record label founded by Norman Granz in 1946. It was later absorbed into Verve Records....
, featuring two sessions that Powell recorded in 1950 and 1951.
The album was re-released on CD by Verve
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
in 1992, with two additional takes of "Tea for Two". The sessions also appear on The Complete Bud Powell on Verve
The Complete Bud Powell on Verve
The Complete Bud Powell on Verve is a five-disc box set, released on September 27, 1994, containing all of jazz pianist Bud Powell's recordings as leader for Verve.-Disc one:#"Tempus Fugue-it" – 2:25#"Celia" – 2:57...
(1994) box set.
History
The two sessions mark Powell's fourth recording date as leader, following on from the February 1950 session for Jazz GiantJazz Giant
Jazz Giant is a studio album by jazz pianist Bud Powell, released on Norgran in 1956, featuring two sessions that Powell recorded for Norman Granz in 1949 and 1950.The album was remastered and re-released on CD in 2001 by Verve as a Verve Master Edition...
.
The three takes of "Tea for Two" at the start of the CD release recall the classic 1955 LP release of The Amazing Bud Powell
The Amazing Bud Powell
The Amazing Bud Powell, also called The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1, is a 1951 album by jazz pianist Bud Powell. It is part of a loosely connected series with the 1953 companion The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 2 and the 1957 Bud! The Amazing Bud Powell , all released on Blue Note. The album details two...
, which opens with three takes of "Un Poco Loco
Un Poco Loco
"Un Poco Loco" is a composition by American jazz pianist and composer Bud Powell. The piece was first recorded during a Blue Note session on May 1, 1951, with Powell on piano, Curly Russell on bass, and Max Roach on drums...
". Although the three versions here don't display the cumulative explorations of the "Un Poco Loco" takes, the sheer velocity and attack on each is remarkable.
Powell's composition "Parisian Thoroughfare", a "classic bop vehicle", has been recorded by several other artists, most notably Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings...
in 1954 (Clifford Brown & Max Roach
Clifford Brown & Max Roach
Clifford Brown & Max Roach is a 1955 album by influential jazz musicians Clifford Brown and Max Roach as part of the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet, described by The New York Times as "perhaps the definitive bop group until Mr. Brown's fatal automobile accident in 1956"...
), with Bud's brother Richie Powell
Richie Powell
Richie Powell was an American bebop jazz pianist.Powell was born into a musical family in New York City, and was the younger brother of Bud Powell...
on piano.
Track listing
All songs were written by Bud PowellBud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
, except where noted.
- "Tea for TwoTea for Two (song)"Tea for Two" is a song from the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar. It is a duet sung by Nanette and Tom in Act II as they imagine their future.-Analysis:...
" [take 5] (Vincent YoumansVincent YoumansVincent Youmans was an American popular composer and Broadway producer.- Life :Vincent Millie Youmans was born in New York City on September 27, 1898 and grew-up on Central Park West on the site where the Mayflower Hotel once stood. His father, a prosperous hat manufacturer, moved the family to...
, Irving CaesarIrving CaesarIrving Caesar was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for "Swanee," "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Crazy Rhythm," and "Tea for Two," one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written. He was born and died in New York.Caesar, the son of Morris Keiser, a Romanian Jew, was...
) – 3:28 (not on original LP) - "Tea for Two" [take 6] (Youmans, Caesar) – 4:13
- "Tea for Two" [take 10] (Youmans, Caesar) – 3:47 (not on original LP)
- "Hallelujah!" (Youmans, Leo RobinLeo RobinLeo Robin was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song "Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope in the film The Big Broadcast of 1938.-Biography:Robin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and...
, Clifford GreyClifford GreyClifford Grey was an English songwriter, actor, librettist and Olympic medalist. His birth name was Percival Davis, and he was also known as Clifford Gray, Tippi Gray, Tippi Grey, Tippy Gray and Tippy Grey.As a writer, Grey contributed prolifically to West End and Broadway shows, as librettist and...
) – 2:59 - "Parisian Thoroughfare" (aka "Parisienne Thorofare") – 2:28
- "Oblivion" – 2:28
- "Dusk in Sandi" (aka "Dusky 'n' Sandy") – 2:13
- "Hallucinations" (aka "Budo") – 2:25
- "The Fruit" – 3:17
- "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley SquareA Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (song)"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" is a romantic British popular song written in 1939 with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by Manning Sherwin.-Setting:...
" (Manning SherwinManning SherwinManning Sherwin was an American composer. Born in Philadelphia, Sherwin attended Columbia University before embarking upon a long career in musical theatre and films....
, Jack StracheyJack StracheyJack Strachey , was an English composer and songwriterBorn John Francis Strachey in London, England on 25 September 1894 he began writing songs in the 1920s for the theatre and the music hall, scoring his first success with songs he had written for Frith Shephard's long running musical revue Lady...
, Eric MaschwitzEric MaschwitzAlbert Eric Maschwitz OBE , known as Eric Maschwitz and sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, broadcaster and broadcasting executive.-Life and work:...
) – 3:41 - "Just One of Those ThingsJust One of Those Things (song)"Just One of Those Things" is a popular song written by Cole Porter for the 1935 musical Jubilee.The song was later featured in two Doris Day musical films, Lullaby of Broadway and Young at Heart .-Influence in popular culture:...
" (Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
) – 3:50 - "The Last Time I Saw ParisThe Last Time I Saw Paris (song)The Last Time I Saw Paris is a song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, published in 1940. It was sung in the 1941 film Lady Be Good by Ann Sothern....
" (Jerome KernJerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
, Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
) – 3:18
Personnel
July 1, 1950, New York, tracks 1-4.- Bud PowellBud PowellEarl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Ray BrownRay Brown (musician)Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
– bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Buddy RichBuddy RichBernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
February 1951, New York, tracks 5-12.
- Bud Powell – piano (solo)
Release history
The album was originally released as the 12" LP Bud Powell's Moods (Mercury / Clef MGC 610), and later re-released and re-titled The Genius of Bud Powell (Clef MGC 739, Verve MGV 8115). Confusingly, another album containing different sessions (from 1954 and 1955) was subsequently released as Bud Powell's MoodsBud Powell's Moods
Bud Powell's Moods is a studio album by jazz pianist Bud Powell, released in 1956 by Norgran, featuring sessions that Powell recorded in 1954 and 1955.The album was re-issued by Verve, and released as a CD replica by Verve in 2006...
(Norgran MGN 1064). Confusingly again, in the late 1970s Verve released a double LP also called The Genius of Bud Powell, coupling the single-disc Genius with Jazz Giant
Jazz Giant
Jazz Giant is a studio album by jazz pianist Bud Powell, released on Norgran in 1956, featuring two sessions that Powell recorded for Norman Granz in 1949 and 1950.The album was remastered and re-released on CD in 2001 by Verve as a Verve Master Edition...
, and also a follow-up double LP called The Genius of Bud Powell, Volume 2, containing sessions from 1954-56.
On the CD release, the additional version of "Tea for Two" marked "take 5" (aka "compilation take") had previously been released in the 50s on a V.A. compilation called Piano Interpretations. The version marked "take 10" (aka "78 take") had appeared on 78/45 rpm singles and on the 10" LP Piano Solos #2.
Bud Powell's Moods 12" LP (MGC 610)
- "Parisienne Thorofare" – 2:28
- "Oblivion" – 2:28
- "Dusk in Sandi" – 2:13
- "Hallucinations" – 2:25
- "The Fruit" – 3:17
- "Tea for Two" [take 6] (Youmans, Caesar) – 4:13
- "Hallelujah!" (Youmans, Robin, Grey) – 2:59
- "The Last Time I Saw Paris" (Kern, Hammerstein II) – 3:18
- "Just One of Those Things" (Porter) – 3:50
- "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" (Sherwin, Strachey, Maschwitz) – 3:41