Search - Bud Powell :: Parisian Thoroughfares

Outstanding late 50s-early 60s club sessions; Powell on fire

L. Chin | 04/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To this day, only true Bud Powell followers and collectors understand and appreciate the master's post-1957 performances, despite the fact that some of the very best Powell are found in these late recordings. Even the liner notes of this collection, written by DownBeat's Paul DeBarros, are cynical and negative, and almost completely miss. DeBarros obsesses over "wounded genius" Powell's mental and physical problems, criticizing faults that do not exist in the music). DeBarros even writes that on these recordings, "there is no question that Powell was not at his best". This is utterly false. In fact, "Parisian Thoroughfares" captures an inspired Bud Powell playing at or near the peak of his form, easily on par with his legendary work from the 1940s and early 1950s. His mind-numbing speed, articulation and inventiveness are stunning on virtually every track, many of which are high energy jam sessions with the likes of Clark Terry, Barney Wilen and Zoot Sims, and his Paris trio (Kenny Clarke and Pierre Michelot).
Where Powell did slow down, he did so with a clear musical purpose, to spectacular effect (witness the otherworldly mournful treatment of "Yesterdays", the sole ballad track).This collection of Paris club dates taps into Francis Paudras' large but out of print Mythic Sound series of Bud Powell. Eleven of the 13 tracks are from the album "Cooking at St. Germain" (1957-1959). The remaining two are from the album "Groovin' at the Blue Note" (1961). Unlike the previous Pablo relese, Bud Powell-Paris Sessions (which also mines Paudras' library), this CD has almost no bad cuts.

The few faults are: "No Problem" (track 8), which does not even contain a Powell solo (a nice Clark Terry performance, and a good Powell composition, but why include this cut at all?), "Blue Bud Blues/52nd Street Theme" (track 13), a muted Powell performance in which he intentionally toned it down out of deference to the cool sound of Zoot Sims, according to some historians.Powell enthusiasts should hope that more of the Mythic Sound library is reissued, perhaps in their entirety some day, and by people more respectful of this giant of music. Until then, just listen. Bud's music speaks for itself."