Bud Powell
The Amazing vol.1

To die at 42, a rotten alcoholic, extremely weak, blind, and unstable is part of an infamous fate that befalls the genius of Bud Powell, the magnificent pianist of 1940s and '50s be-bop jazz. It hurts to listen to his incredible music, which today represents a more than convincing standard of brilliant jazz testimony, and to think about how it was extinguished by various twisted and unusual episodes of his life. He almost never found the inner peace to express himself fully, a victim of illness and abuse, dependencies and youthful follies, thus ending up paying an excessively high price and dying prematurely. Fate of the geniuses?

Yet he wrote, and quite a few, unforgettable pieces of music, collected in this excellent album composed of 20 tracks in a lively and joyful style, where you can grasp the powerful creative expressiveness of this inimitable artist. I'm talking about The Amazing Bud Powell vol. 1 which opens with the joyous "Bouncing With Bud". "Wail" is snappy and harmonious with excellent tenor sax phrasing. "Dance Of Infildes" is quirky and colorful, crafted in a fascinating melodic up-and-down parallel with Bud’s entire central part. "52nd Theme Street" is incredibly fast and almost features a chase between piano and sax that seems to quarrel in turn. It’s a "chase," now a classic formula for the virtuosos of modern jazz. "You Go To My Head" is a ballad with plenty of brushing, but certainly not lacking in speed.

"Ornithology" is a Charlie Parker classic, the sixth track. A characteristic of Powell was his ability to transpose saxophonist Parker's pieces to the piano, absorbing his style. An absolute masterpiece and symbol of Powellian creativity and color is the twelfth piece "Un Poco Loco" which has an unexpected dynamism in its strings. A seemingly chaotic track with frequent rhythmic changes and obsessive percussion drumming, an exceptional piano melodic theme with an international flavor. "Over The Rainbow" is a solo of extraordinary interpretative ability, among the melodic lines you can see a creeping sadness. "A Night In Tunisia" imposes itself with serenity. "It Could Happen To You" is introspective and languid while "Parisian Toroughfare" has an incredibly soft theme that smells of classic in the introduction, becomes jazzy in the central part, and closes with a sweet piano flutter.

There are several b-sides of the same pieces in the album. A precious and stylistically impeccable album. Very high levels, for a creamy and ancestral jazz. The pianism of Powell’s sessions will define a modern style of jazz. His talent must never be forgotten.