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Bud Powell, 1924-1966
Widely credited as "one of the architects of bebop," Bud Powell was a foundational figure in the evolution of modern jazz piano. At sixteen, he was performing at nightspots in Harlem and Greenwich Village and frequenting after-hours jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse -- a nexus for experimental jazz. There, he found a mentor in Minton's house pianist, Thelonious Monk, who encouraged Powell's transition from the rhythmic regularity of the stride piano tradition to a freer and more individualistic playing style. He recorded first with Cootie Williams's big band (1943–44) and by 1945 was part of Dizzy Gillespie's innovative bebop combo. Recordings with Dexter Gordon (1946) and Charlie Parker (1947) followed, but in 1947 a breakdown led to Powell's prolonged hospitalization. Thereafter, despite flashes of brilliance captured in recordings made between 1949 and 1951, his career suffered because of the fragility of his mental and physical health and his dependence on drugs and alcohol. |