Bud Powell's Jazz Style: Bebop

Bud Powell falls into the category of the jazz style of bebop. This style began in the 1940s and was something totally unexpected. It had really fast tempos, which were unusual for jazz at the time.”This was not dance music, and it was never really intended to be popular. It was jazz for the artists themselves and for the true jazz lovers.”(Hopkins Lesson 7). But become popular it did. Not only that but it “established the primacy of virtuosic solo improvisation” (Hopkins Lesson 7). In this sense, bebop established the bar for future practitioners of jazz since after the creation of this new style, jazz players started aiming for solo improvisation. The lyrics themselves weren’t as important as the unpredictability of the rhythms and the intricacy of the harmonies. A typical bebop style tune would usually consist of something like this: first the main theme would play, then there would be extended solos over the main theme’s harmonic structure, and the main theme would play again in the end. This differed from the swing that came before in the sense that swing had composed sections, where each section was either designated for improvisation or not.
Bud Powell was one of the top two leading pioneers in the bop style on piano (the other was Thelonious Monk) (Lesson 7).
One of the things Powell is known for is for using Parker’s style, but with the piano. Powell played chords with his left hand to accompany improvisations with his right hand. This made Powell unique in the sense that earlier piano styles included mostly non-stop left-hand playing. Not only did he play with both hands, but his right hand was extremely fast, amazing his listeners. Powell had a linear style, focusing more on single melodic lines rather than emphasizing chords (Lesson 8). “No one was more influential than Powell on the generation of modern pianists who followed.” (Lesson
7)

“Tempus Fugue-It" (youtube.com) is a piece by Powell, which caught my attention right away. Just the name of the title (“time flees”) (Memidex) lets us know in advance how fast the tune is going to be played. While listening to this song, one can’t help but be reminded of classical music. This fits given Powell’s background in classical music.”Growing up in New York, Powell was surrounded by jazz, even as he pursued classical piano studies.” (Lesson 7).This song appears to be in 32 bar AABA form.This song also shows the speed and agility of Powell, his playing can be so intense at times that I can’t help but wonder how that is even possible. While the tempo is really fast, each seperate note is recognizable, making it always coherent.

Bud Powell recorded music from 1944-1964. Throughout that time he managed to impress so many people, earning him the title of one of the most (if not the most) important pianists in the history of jazz (Hopkins Lesson 7). His style is reflected in many pianists that followed him, which showed that he made quite an impression. I chose this piece to be significant because it illustrates how fast Powell can really play. It also shows that he can play classical music to an extent. Taking this song and comparing it to other jazz songs/musicians and it’s nearly impossible to find someone who even comes close. He impressed other great musicians, such as Parker and Gillespie. Powell’s improvisatory skills and fast right hand made him one of the most widely imitated jazz musicians. He differs from other swing soloists heard before because he was instrumental in launching the new style of bebop, which was just emerging and was considered “in many respects “revolutionary”.”(Hopkins Lesson 7)