A giant of bop piano, Earl Rudolph “Bud” Powell was also stricken by events that adversely affected his art and directly led to his early passing. As a result, many have shied away from his later recordings, and particularly those spotlighting him in performance, but as The Essen Jazz Festival Concert makes abundantly clear, that’s a faulty approach. Featuring bassist Oscar Pettiford, drummer Kenny “Klook” Clarke, and a guest appearance from swing-to-modern sax titan Coleman Hawkins, it captures Bud in fine, consistent form. It’s out now everywhere on standard black vinyl, with white and green swirl wax available as an independent store exclusive, through ORG Music. Don’t sleep on it.
While not overtaking his stature as a jazz groundbreaker, the crimes committed against Bud Powell; specifically, racism, police brutality, forced hospitalization, and electroshock therapy, have surely led many to stick to the consensus masterpieces in his ample discography. And without a doubt, The Complete Blue Note and Roost Recordings are indispensable; if a listener desires an introduction to Bud, that collection is the place to start.
It should be complemented by the ’47 Charlie Parker Savoy session that found Bud in a group with Miles Davis, Tommy Potter, and Max Roach (included in The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes), and the ’53 live recording Jazz at Massey Hall, which documented him on a Toronto bandstand with Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach (the complete recording is preferable; it was released on 2LP by Prestige as The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever).
The thing is, some just stop right there in investigating Bud, and frankly, that’s a ludicrous act of omission. If the ’50s material corralled by Verve is not as massive, it still offers heights (The Genius of Bud Powell and more) that hardly any other jazz pianist achieved (there are also lows, as it was a tough period). Furthermore, his two RCA albums are often underrated, and the same is true of his pair of ’61 LPs for Columbia, A Tribute to Cannonball (with saxophonist Don Byas) and A Portrait of Thelonious.
But Massey Hall excepted, this is all studio stuff. When it comes to live recordings, matters do get dicey, in part because those putting out the records could be oblivious to fluctuations in quality, or maybe just overzealous in releasing entire sets when some editing was in order. The truth is I haven’t heard a live Powell disc that’s completely dismissible, but the flipside is that top-to-bottom consistency is rare, though the April 2, 1960 performance on The Essen Jazz Festival Concert is one such exception.
Originally released in 1960 by the Danish Debut label, the set was later reissued numerous times by Black Lion, including as Hawk in Germany, a Coleman Hawkins album with a reshuffled track list; this is how I first heard it. Obviously, its reality as a Bud Powell experience is preferable, as it paints a full picture of a non-envelope pushing, largely standards-focused, yet thoroughly enjoyable festival date.
The bop flavor is rich, however. After a spoken introduction in German, the trio rolls into a version of Dizzy’s “Shaw Nuff,” that if unsurprisingly fleet, maintains its highly expressive character throughout, and establishes Powell in good form. From there, they move into “Blues in the Closet,” a composition by the bassist of the day, Oscar Pettiford, who shines from start to finish and delivers a swell solo.
Clarke is totally engaged, and so is Powell, but mostly the pianist just sounds comfortable; he spent a lot of time creating with Pettiford, and probably played more with Klook than any other musician (they had a sustained group in ’60s Paris). The trio moves next into the standard “Willow Weep for Me,” which was studio cut by Powell on the ’56 Norgran/ Verve LP Piano Interpretations by Bud Powell (with bassist George Duvivier and drummer Art Taylor), though the interpretation here belongs to Pettiford.
The bassist recorded it numerous times, and as he remains in the foreground, the track is a clinic in the bull fiddle as an expressive axe, though Powell and Clarke are essential to the piece’s mood. Overall, it’s a fine downshift leaning toward the bluesy flavor of the prior track rather than expectedly maneuvering into straight ballad mode. They then head right back into bop territory with a likeable take of Powell’s composition (the only one in the set) “John’s Abbey,” and then deepen the modern flavor with a dive into Dizzy’s “Salt Peanuts.”
“John’s Abbey” helps to solidify The Essen Jazz Festival Concert as a strong showing for Powell, but “Salt Peanuts” quickly places the focus onto Clarke, and if anything lessens the overall heft of the album, it might be the ceding of the spotlight to his bandmates, a circumstance only reinforced when saxophone enters the scheme of things, and even more so as it’s Hawkins doing the blowing.
However, the band immediately clicks on readings of consecutive Jerome Kern numbers. “All the Things You Are” is explored at a fairly sprightly clip, and “Yesterdays” heads into balladry to warm, rewarding result. Hawkins’ presence is most intensely felt on “Stuffy,” a splendidly catchy affair of his own writing; everyone digs in without a hitch (the saxophonist first recorded it in ’45 with Pettiford on bass), and then they just roll for a while, with Powell’s solo is a treat. He also sounds great in the bebop roller “Just You, Just Me.”
But is The Essen Jazz Festival Concert a great LP? With a couple of rough notes but no sticky patches and an unbroken appealing vibe, I’d say it’s right on the cusp, and as backup I’ll add that I’ve yet to hear a negative assessment from Powell aficionados, a bunch for which agreement is often elusive. Overall, this continues the success of ORG Music’s recoveries from the Black Lion vaults. It’s a safe bet that modern jazz fans will welcome this addition to their shelves.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
