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Bud Powell |
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Name: Bud Powell
| Born: |
27 Sep 1924 |
| Died: |
31 Jul 1966 |
| Origin: |
New York, United States |
| Instruments: |
Piano |
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| Bud Powell is widely considered to have been the most influential pianist in the history of jazz. He was instrumental in the development of bebop. His virtuosity as a pianist has led many to call him the Charlie Parker of the piano.
Bed Powell's father was a stride pianist, and Bud studied with Thelonious Monk, who dedicated his composition 'In Walked Bud' to Powell. Bed Powell's first recordings were made with the Cootie Williams Band in 1944, when he was 20, and his last recordings were made in 1964 at Birdland after his return to the United States after several years in Europe.
Throughout his life, Bed Powell suffered from various mental illnesses, which may have been exacerbated by a beating he received from the police in his youth. He was repeatedly placed in mental institutions, where he was treated with electroshock therapies. During his sojourn in Europe starting in 1959, he was cared for by Francis Paudras, a commercial artist and amateur pianist. Paudras later wrote a book about the experience. Its English title is 'Dance of the Infidels: A Portrait of Bud Powell' (the title is derived from one of Bud's compositions). The book was the basis for 'Round Midnight', a film inspired by the lives of Bud Powell and Lester Young, in which Dexter Gordon played the lead role of an expatriate jazzman in Paris. |
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