Search - Bud Powell :: Scene Changes

Minor classic by the major legend of modern jazz piano

07/31/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1958 recording, Powell's final Blue Note date as a leader, is fine example of "middle period" Powell, who (for a variety of musical as well as physical reasons) was transitioning from the flowing, quicksilver, jaw-droppingly inventive style (1947-1953) to a simpler but no less vital attack that emphasized fewer notes, more block chords and hints of Monk that would mark his final years. It is interesting that many compositions here are minor key and "blue"---the magnificent "Duid Deed", "Danceland" and "Cleopatra's Dream", an underrated composition. Clearly, it was Powell who influenced an entire generation of pianists such as Horace Silver, Sonny Clark, Bobby Timmons and others from the 1950s-1960s who were famous for that sound. Although other cuts don't quite match up ("Comin Up" is a strange attempt at mambo funk, "Borderick", a childlike tribute to his son, is neither here nor there), this is a solid date."