Doobie Powell’s Peculiar Sounds V2

A surprising Bud Powell album for Reprise Records - and one of the label's hippest jazz titles ever! When Frank Sinatra first started up the Reprise imprint, he let Duke Ellington do a bit of A&R for the jazz division - and one of the first things Ellington did was capture the great Bud Powell in his then-local setting of Paris - in this rough edgey session that turned out to be one of Powell's last albums, and one of his best from the 60s. The record is nothing fancy on the outside - just simple piano trio versions of jazz standards like "Parisian Thoroughfare", "I Can't Get Started", "Jordu", and "Dear Old Stockholm" - but Powell's dark genius turns the tracks into jagged little razors, cutting with an emotional depth that's quite surprising. Duke Ellington produced - and trio members include Gilbert Rovere on bass and Carl Fields on drums.

Colin "Cozy" Trevor Powell was an English rock drummer, who made his name with many major rock bands like The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Whitesnake and Black Sabbath. Powell had appeared on at least 66 albums, with contributions on many other recordings. Many rock drummers have cited him as a major influence. Polydor's The Very Best of Cozy Powell is culled from his early-'80s AOR and hard rock records.

Considered to be one of England's best drummers, and very much in demand for rock and pop records, Cozy Powell was almost legendary for a heavy-hitting style that could be made to work with many kinds of rock music, whether for the thundering pop productions helmed by Mickie Most, Black Sabbath, Emerson, Lake & Powell, or even his own solo work (notably "Dance with the Devil," which was a major English hit in 1973.) Powell began his professional music career in 1965 with the Sorcerers, eventually winding up working with Jeff Beck after Beck left the Yardbirds. In 1971, Powell formed Bedlam, but eventually abandoned this project to produce singles such as "Dance with the Devil."

An excellent Brazilian guitarist, Baden Powell has played with his share of American jazz greats (including Herbie Mann and the late Stan Getz). But there's no jazz to be found on Seresta Brasiliera, which was recorded for the Brazilian Caju Music label in 1988 and released in the U.S. on Milestone/Fantasy in 1994. The title Seresta Brasiliera translates to "Brazilian serenade," and an unaccompanied Powell embraces the Brazilian serenade style on personal, introspective versions of Pixinguinha's "Rosa," as well as songs he wrote with his frequent partner, the late Vinicius De Moraes (including "Velho Amigo," "Cancao Do Amor Ausente" and "Serenata Do Adeus"). A melancholy mood defines much of the CD, and Powell's playing is often as beautiful as it is sad and remorseful. Seresta Brasiliera is an album with little optimism and plenty of soul.

This 1959 concert in Paris by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers has been sporadically available on various labels, but this reissue in Verve's Jazz in Paris series is the best sounding and best packaged of the lot. Blakey's group of this period (Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Jymie Merritt, and Walter Davis, Jr.) is in great form during an extended workout of Morgan's intense blues "The Midget," and Dizzy Gillespie's timeless "A Night in Tunisia" is kicked off by Blakey's an electrifying solo. But it is the addition of some special guests for the first two numbers that proves to be extra special. Bud Powell, sitting in for Davis, and French saxophonist Barney Wilen, on alto rather than his normal tenor sax, are both added to the band for inspired versions of Powell's "Dance of the Infidels" and "Bouncing with Bud." Morgan's trumpet playing is outstanding throughout the concert. This is one of the essential live dates in Art Blakey's rather extensive discography.

This compilation brings some of Baden Powell's biggest instrumental hits, like "Canto de Ossanha" (from the Afro-sambas phase, fruit of his research of genuine Afro folklore in Bahia), "Berimbau," "Tempo Feliz," the unusual melodic solutions in "O Astronauta," and "Samba triste." Sometimes backed by a rhythm section (non-credited in the poor inlay), sometimes alone at the violão, he also pays tribute to Pixinguinha (through his classics "Lamento" and "Carinhoso"), Tom Jobim ("Garota de Ipanema"), Vinícius de Moraes ("Eurídice"), and Sílvio Caldas (in the romantic seresta classic "Chão de Estrelas"). This constitutes a good introduction to the master's instrumental work and improvisations.

The New French Connection: intimate musical tête-à-tête in a class of its own. Melody Gardot and acclaimed pianist Philippe Powell have recorded an intimate album of brooding jazz torch songs. Recorded in Paris in Dec 2021, this intimate new album showcases Melody and Philippes love of traditional jazz, taking the listener back to its golden age.