BST 84430

Bud Powell - Alternate Takes

Released - 1985

Recording and Session Information

WOR Studios, NYC, August 9, 1949
Fats Navarro, trumpet; Sonny Rollins, tenor sax; Bud Powell, piano; Tommy Potter, bass; Roy Haynes, drums.

BN360-0 Bouncing With Bud (alternate take 1)
BN360-1 Bouncing With Bud (alternate take 2)
BN361-0 Wail (alternate take)
BN362-0 Dance Of The Infidels (alternate take)

WOR Studios, NYC, August 14, 1953
Bud Powell, piano; George Duvivier, bass; Art Taylor, drums.

BN509-2 tk.10 Reets And I (alternate take)
BN512-0 tk.18 Collard Greens And Black-Eyed Peas (alternate take)

Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, August 3, 1957
Bud Powell, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Art Taylor, drums.

tk.2 Blue Pearl (alternate take)

Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, May 24, 1958
Bud Powell, piano; Sam Jones, bass; Philly Joe Jones, drums.

tk.4 John's Abbey (alternate take)

Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, December 29, 1958
Bud Powell, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Art Taylor, drums.

tk.4 Comin' Up (alternate take)

CBS Studios, Paris, France, May 23, 1963
Dexter Gordon, tenor sax #1; Bud Powell, piano; Pierre Michelot, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums; Francis Wolff, producer.

(tk.3) Our Love Is Here To Stay
(tk.2) Like Someone In Love

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Bouncing With Bud [Take 1 ]	Bud Powell	August 9 1949
Bouncing With Bud [Take 2 ]	Bud Powell	August 9 1949
Wail	Bud Powell	August 9 1949
Dance Of The Infidels	Bud Powell	August 9 1949
Reets And I	Bud Powell	August 14 1953
Collard Greens And Black Eyed Peas	Bud Powell	August 14 1953
Blue Pearl	Bud Powell	August 3 1957
Side Two
John's Abbey	Bud Powell	May 24 1958
Comin' Up	Bud Powell	December 29 1958
Like Someone In Love	Burke/Van Heusen	May 23 1963
Our Love Is Here To Stay	Gershwin	May 23 1963

Liner Notes

Bud Powell was a genius in the pre-hype sense of the word. He was an artist wholly and uniquely unto himself. Drawing from the foundations of classical music (mostly Baroque) and jazz (mostly the be-bop that he helped create), he blended his extraordinary technique, power, swing, clarity and invention to achieve multi-layered art of astonishing depth.

It is commonly considered that Bud's peak was the late forties and very early fifties, when he had the most fire and creative consistency. His recorded output of the time, especially the Roost and Blue Note sessions that he led, seem to bear that out.

This album gathers all of the Powell performances worthy of issue, which have not appeared on his 5 Blue Note lps or his one sideman appearance for the label on Dexter Gordon's Our Man In Paris.

On August 8, 1949, the pianist made his first record date for Blue Note and his first with horns. While all of the master takes are available on The Amazing Bud Powell, volumes one and two (1503 and 1504), the four alternates herein were only anthologized into The Fabulous Fats Navarro, volumes one and two (1531 and 1532). Though Navarro and a young Sonny Rollins play very well, it is Bud's forceful improvisations that make these alternates so fascinating.

The pianist's 1951 trio date is contained completely in the two volumes of The Amazing Bud Powell, as are the master takes of his August 14, 1953 session with his working band of George Duvivier and Art Taylor. Issued here for the first time are alternate takes of Oscar Pettiford's Collard Greens And Black-Eyed Peas (more commonly known in later years as Blues In The Closet), which precedes the master take, and Little Benny Harris' Reets And l, which was done right after the original master.

By early to mid fifties, the frustration of being Black and an artist in one's own country, which has little use for either, compounded his long standing mental problems and the effects of bad habits that he acquired to ease the pain. His behavior and music became increasingly erratic. He even endured a long psychiatric stay in the hospital.

A long run of trio dates for Verve and RCA ended in February, 1957. Those performances ranged from poor to very good; unfortunately all of the material was issued without discrimination, Then Alfred Lion brought Bud back to Blue Note for three yearly albums.

These would be his only recordings until his first as a Paris resident in late 1960. And they had that indefinable Blue Note touch. Suddenly, his playing and composing rose to great heights. The grace and power and unyielding creativity of the old Bud were back! Moreover, there was a confidence evident throughout; all 3 dates had very few alternate takes, As Paul Chambers said of one, "This was one of those lucky one-take dates—maybe on some numbers two at most, but we were generally happy with the first take on most of the numbers."

Bud! The Amazing Bud Powell, volume three (BST 81571 1571) was recorded on August 3, 1957 with Art Taylor, Paul Chambers and, on three tunes, trombonist Curtis Fuller The alternate take of Blue Pear was a second take, made right after the master. The tune is a C minor theme with chord changes that are somewhat reminiscent of Tadd Dameron's. This performance is taken at a slightly different tempo and offers greater piano-bass interplay in what was the bass solo spot on the master take.

For Bud's session of May 24, 1968, which produced Times Waits (1598), the pianist is accompanied by Sam Jones and Philly Joe Jones. That original album included an alternate take of Sub City. To that, we add a alternate of John's Abbey, a fast, memorable, typically Bud melody line that would become a frequent staple in his repertoire hereafter. His playing looks back to his forties be-bop style of single note flurries from the right hand with chords and punctuations from the left. Incidentally, Blue Pearl and John's Abbey have been included Japanese and/or European Blue Note boxed set anthologies in recent years.

But issued here for the first time is an alternate take of Comin' Up from the December 29, 1958 date that produced The Scene Chqnges (4009). Certainly the Monday night Latin bands at Birdland helped cause a cross-fertilization of this musical community with the jazz world. This very unique Powell original, built on a six-note motif with shifting sections, is a prime example. This alternate is about two minutes shorter than the master take, but no less unusual or fascinating. This experiment is an exciting and worthy aside in the Powell legacy. Shortly after this last Blue Note date as a leader, Bud Powell was institutionalized again at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. Upon his release in the spring, he moved to Paris, perhaps in search of some peace and artistic dignity. But the demons that had caused him so much pain all of his life pursued him for the rest of it.

In Paris, he formed a working trio with bassist Pierre Michelot and drummer Kenny Clarke. They worked and recorded with some frequency. Though Bud never again attained the consistent brilliance of the late forties or the Blue Note run of the late fifties, he was nonetheless playing quite well on most occasions.

This trio also backed up for recordings and concert appearances a variety of other expatriate Americans such as Don Byas, Idrees Suliemann and, as we have here, Dexter Gordon.

Dexter Gordon's Our Man In Paris, taped on May 23, 1963, was the saxophonist's first album since taking up residency in Paris. Actually, Kenny Drew was originally slated to do the date, but external circumstances prevented that. Dex had already prepared an album's worth of new music, when Frank Wolff arrived for the first rehearsal. But Bud seemed rather despondent and unfocused and unwilling to deal with any new material. Dex suggested calling the date off, but Wolff insisted that a bad rehearsal often leads to a great session. So they changed plans and selected a range of pop and jazz standards that Powell knew and liked.

The results were, needless to say, wonderful. The session was so fruitful that more than an album's worth of material was committed to tape. The two remaining titles are issued here for the first time. Gordon's beautiful reading of Our Love Is Here To Stay was the first tune of the day.

At the end of the day, Wolff apparently decided to go for one trio piece with Powell. The choice was Like Someone In Love (which Bud had recorded in 1954), done with typical Powell flair.

This then is a slice of the legacy of Bud Powell. In effect, this album is an addendum to the 5 Powell 12' albums and the Gordon lp. But even this document standing on its ownt is a dramatic testament to one of the rare geniuses of jazz who are talked about and immortalized, but rarely listened to for the true impact of their creations. Bud Powell's music doesn't need lip service; it needs to be absorbed. It can contribute so much to the future; it's just there for the taking, Take it!

Michael Cuscuna