cxvi. POWELL, Bud: Un Poco Loco

cxvi. POWELL, Bud (1924-1966)

Un Poco Loco (1951)
BP, piano
Curley Russell, bass
Max Roach, drums
(4:46)

from The Amazing Bud Powell.

Sounds like an Italian tempo direction ...

Along with Bird, Dizzy and Monk, Powell was one of the founders of the subgenre of jazz often called be-bop.

Monk was his hero and mentor, but he spent the first half of 40's with Cootie Williams' swing band.

One night in January 1945, he got drunk, was beaten up by the police and hospitalized in a psychiatric ward, where he was subjected to electroconvulsive therapy.

Unfortunately, the racism of the day haunted Powell for most of the rest of his life -- that, and his alcoholism, sent him back to the hospital for much of the late 40's.

This recording from the early 50's shows him in top form. Un Poco Loco is a sublime composition.

The head, filled with block chords, morphs into an ever-expanding solo with his left hand doing a stride thing, and his right hand continually inventing new phrases.

Roach's drumming is an essential part of what this tune so special. He takes a short, but fascinating solo.

Powell's powerful hands, the air jingling with Roach's syncopated cymbal playing and Bud's beautiful Monk-like strangeness. A classic. A few comments from his peers:

• Hampton Hawes: "Bud Powell was the greatest be-bop piano player in the world. Nobody could phrase like him."
• Erroll Garner: "Bud was the second greatest thing to Art Tatum ... Bud was a genius on the piano."
• Freddie Hubbard: "To me, Bud and Dizzy were true geniuses to create something that spontaneous."
• Elvin Jones: "I always had the impression that Bud had been hurt so much. He was like a very delicate piece of china. I think he was an extremely sensitive person, a very beautiful person. He was really nice, and I loved him. I thought he was a genius in what he was doing. His ideas about modern music were revolutionary. There are very few pianists even now who have approached the level of proficiency which Bud Powell attained and consistently maintained. He's one of the masters."
• Carmen McRae: "He was a phenomenal pianist, a cat whose potential never really got where it could have gotten to. I think our way of American life has a lot to do with it."
• Tony Williams: "I wish I had been born earlier because of that whole period with Bud and Bird."