Cleopatra's Dream

I have forgotten how swinging some of Bud Powell's original compositions can be! This classical-sounding piece inventively swings while showing the capacity of the piano to improvise flawlessly in the bebop idiom. This is hardly the first time Powell alluded to the Western classical tradition in his music, as tunes like "Bud on Bach" indicate, but this is one of my favorites of his canon, especially when one considers the decline of his later years. 

Celia

Tonight has been a Bud Powell kind of evening, and "Celia" remains my favorite of his compositions. If memory serves me right, it is named for his daughter, and it is undoubtedly of those sentimental numbers of his where he proves the piano can accomplish everything Bird did on saxophone. Moreover, Bud's moaning along with his tunes is always a special delight, just like Keith Jarrett would later do, not to mention Max Roach's understated swing. 

Stairway to the Stars

"Stairways to the Stars" is my favorite track from Gordon's Our Man in Paris, an album featuring Bud Powell. I must admit, I find Powell's playing in the 1960s sub-par compared to the heights he reached in the 1940s and 1950s, but this ballad works surprisingly well. Gordon, who is usually too tame for my tastes, excels on ballads and slow numbers with his characteristically suave style. Gordon's rendition of "A Night in Tunisia" is also a classic, though pales in comparison with Powell's trio recording with Max Roach on drums, which features a stronger 'Afro-Cuban' homage. No disrespect to Kenny Clarke intended, but I prefer Roach.  

Tempus Fugit

Time truly flies, and on this piece, it's speeding by. Also, it's an excellent trio recording where Powell shows that a bebop pianist can play bop just as much as Charlie Parker on a sax. Enjoy!

Body and Soul

 Esperanza Spalding

Coleman Hawkins here did a version of the jazz standard, "Body and Soul," that revolutionized jazz and interpretations of the song. Ken Burns Jazz tries to give this seminal recording import as being one of the earliest "pre-bop" jazz records. Regardless of how influential it was for the creation of bebop, the next evolution of jazz after swing, it is one of those timeless melodies and features brilliant blowing from Hawkins.

Billie Holiday here does a beautiful vocal rendition. "My days have grown so lonely, for you I cry..." Another beautiful moment: "I'm all for you body and soul." She also does a great live recording from a show in 1945 that's worth listening hearing. "I spend my days in longing, I'm wondering why it's me you're longing..." Also, check out her 1957 recording from her later days, when her voice was losing itself. She is accompanied by an accomplished guitarist, however.

John Coltrane's rendition of the song, featuring McCoy Tyner's skeletal characteristic piano, makes this my favorite version. Tyner's piano style always gets to me, and hearing Coltrane's solos is another delight. He does not take the song into a different direction, except for a more modern (1960s modern, that is) update. Tyner's unique block chord style, however, does give the enchanting song some unique aspects, as well as his moving solos.

Esperanza Spalding's Spanish version here is beautiful, but I can do without the scatting. She does a great job playing the song in 5/4 time but remains in the original key, soaring to great heights with her mesmerizing voice.

Bouncin' With Bud: Favorite Bud Powell Songs

I love this crazy pianist. He reminds me of myself in some ways, although he really did suffer from mental illness and substance abuse which aggravated his mental health problems. Here are my favorites.

Un Poco Loco

Blue Pearl

Cleopatra's Dream

Moose the Mooch

Blues in the Closet

Parisian Throughfare and Night in Tunisia

Bouncin' with Bud

I Should Care

Glass Enclosure

Wail

Dance of the Infidels