Personnel:
Bud Powell (p), Curly Russell, Ray Brown, Percy Heath (b), Max Roach, Buddy Rich, Art Taylor (d)
Reference: EJC55422
Bar code: 8436028694228
The complete album "Jazz Giant", widely regarded as one of the best of Bud Powells career. Including as a bonus the subsequent Clef LP "Bud Powell's Moods", which contains the complete 1951 piano solo session featuring two of the Powells best known compositions: Hallucinations and Parisian Thoroughfare, plus two more extra numbers from 1954.
Tracklisting:
01. TEMPUS FUGIT (2.28)
02. CELIA (3:00)
03. CHEROKEE (3:40)
04. ILL KEEP LOVING YOU (2:42)
05. STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL (3:10)
06. ALL GODS CHILLUN GOT RHYTHM (3:02)
07. SO SORRY PLEASE (3:17)
08. GET HAPPY (2:53)
09. SOMETIMES IM HAPPY (3:38)
10. SWEET GEORGIA BROWN (2:50)
11. YESTERDAYS (2:51)
12. APRIL IN PARIS (3:10)
13. BODY AND SOUL (3:20)
14. HALLELUJAH (2:59)
15. TEA FOR TWO (3:29)
16. PARISIAN THOROUGHFARE (2:30)
17. OBLIVION (2:11)
18. DUSKY N SANDY (2:15)
19. HALLUCINATIONS [BUDO] (2:27)
20. THE FRUIT (3:19)
21. A NIGHTINGALE SANG IN BERKELEY SQUARE (3:43)
22. JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS (3:52)
23. THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS (3:16)
24. IT NEVER ENTERED MY MIND (2:57) (*) Bonus Track
25. MY FUNNY VALENTINE (2:53) (*) Bonus Track
Total time: 76:04 min.
Tracks #1-13 from "Jazz Giant" (Norgran MGN 1063 / Verve MGV 8153)
Tracks #14-23 from "Bud Powell's Moods" (Mercury MGC 610 / also issued as Verve MGV 8115, entitled "The Genius Of Bud Powell").
Personnel on tracks #1-13: Bud Powell (p), Ray Brown (b on #1-6), Curly Russell (b on #7-13) and Max Roach. Recorded in New York, on February 23, 1949 [tracks 1-6] and February, 1950 [tracks 7-13].
Personnel on tracks #14-15: Bud Powell (p), Ray Brown (b) and Buddy Rich (d). Recorded in New York, on July 1, 1950.
Personnel on tracks #16-23: Bud Powell (p solo). Recorded in New York, on February 1951.
Personnel on tracks #24-25: Bud Powell (p), Percy Heath (b) and Art Taylor (d). Recorded in New York, on June 8, 1954.
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Notes:
-Jazz Giant
"Faced with the choice of any single Bud Powell date to aptly represent his intense musical genius, choosing Jazz Giant would not be a bad bet. Culled from two sessions (Spring 1949 and Winter 1950) this Verve release showcases the master of Bebop piano leading a trio - a setting in which he excelled. With impeccable support from bassist Ray Brown and drummer Max Roach, (substitute Curly Russell for Brown on the later date), an inspired Powell roars through a varied selection of original tunes and standards. In the category of brisk burners, we get one of his best known compositions, the ebullient "Tempus Fugit." "Cherokee," "Get Happy," and the ever-popular "Sweet Georgia Brown" are all taken at almost the same exhilarating clip. Powell's improvised lines at these breakneck tempos are marvelously clear and clever; take note of the Benny Harris' "Reets And I" melody which Powell quotes during his solo statement on "All God's Chillun..." Foreshadowing his less torrential later work is the soulful, buoyant, and supremely swinging "Strictly Confidential," which displays Powell's early and expert use of block chords to state the theme. Bud Powell's romantic and reflective side is in evidence on the medium tempo ballad "Celia" (written for his daughter) as well as on two unaccompanied solo piano tracks. Of these, Powell's haunting composition "I'll Keep Loving You" is outstanding; the subtle tension in his chord voicings, his effective use of contrast, and the consistent lack of cliches would later inform and inspire Bill Evans' solo piano concept. Powell's more florid, stride-inflected reading of Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays" is directly inspired by Art Tatum. Overall Jazz Giant (and the earlier session with Ray Brown, in particular) represents the best of Powell's Verve recordings. Highly recommended."
Lee Bloom -All Music Guide
