BUD POWELL — Jazz At Massey Hall Volume Two (aka The Bud Powell Trio ) (review)

BUD POWELL — Jazz At Massey Hall Volume Two (aka The Bud Powell Trio ) album cover Live album · 1953 · Bop Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
js
“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".
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Symphonic Blues No. 6 Third Stream
CORKY SIEGEL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Recut Jazz Related Electronica/Hip-Hop
SKALPEL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Yuval Cohen Quartet : Winter Poems Post-Fusion Contemporary
YUVAL COHEN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Just Nu Jazz
JIM HART
Buy this album from MMA partners
Skrifum Post-Fusion Contemporary
JON BALKE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

SOLSTICE album release • Duo Russo - Holst
PAOLO RUSSO
js· 96 minutes ago
Akiko Yano & Hiromi - Kawarushi (Official Audio)
HIROMI
js· 1 day ago
All I Want For Christmas Is You
DAVID HAZELTINE
js· 1 day ago
Chicken
QUATUOR EBÈNE
js· 2 days ago
Det er en egen lomme
THE LEIF
js· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed