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“Jazz at Massey Hall Volume II” is the other half of one of the most notable jazz concerts in history. Volume I contains the one-time performance of the all-star quintet of Bird, Diz, Mingus, Max Roach and Bud Powell, while Volume II is just Powell on piano backed by Roach and Mingus. There have been countless re-issues of this album on both vinyl and CD, sometimes with different titles and song selections. Some will package the two volumes together as a two-fer, while other re-issues will include some studio sides that Powell cut around the same time with a rhythm section in Europe. I happen to have a vinyl re-issue called “Bud Powell Charlie Mingus Max Roach” credited to The Bud Powell Trio, confusingly enough, this group name happens to be the album title on earlier re-issues. I found my copy in a thrift store, and you pretty much never see Bud Powell records, even re-issues, in a thrift store.
This concert was recorded at a time when Powell’s playing was becoming increasingly erratic due to mental health issues, but he really pulls it together for this performance. All six of the tunes on the original album sound great, the re-issue I have, as well as many other re-issues, replaces “Basically Speaking” with “Jubilee”, which makes sense as its fast tempos provide a better showcase for Powell’s high speed dexterity than the more Mingus centered “Basically”. The four extra cuts recorded with Art Taylor and George Duvivier in Europe are good too, but some of Powell’s increasing oddness comes out more on these cuts. His ballad playing on the European dates is marred by his constant bizarre shifts in volume, and when he plays loudly, which is often, it sounds as if he wants to destroy the piano. A little “ugly beauty” is always a part of a good jazz ballad, but this sort of extremes is definitely an acquired taste.
The sometimes brutal ballads aside, this album is full of everything that is so great about Powell. The high speed tempos handled with ease, the tricky rhythmic phrases, the weird asides and instances of brilliance that are impossible for others to imitate. Some highlights on here include Powell’s two-handed interlocking solos on “Sure Thing” and Max Roach’s high speed bongo like drum solo answer to Powell’s flashy ride on “Cherokee”. Of course Charles Mingus is superb on bass, pushing the tempo like crazy on the fast numbers and providing melodic counterpoint to Bud Powell on "I got You Under My Skin".