Bud Powell

Object Details

Artist

Herman Leonard, 1923 - 2010

Sitter

Bud Powell, 27 Sep 1924 - 1 Aug 1966

Exhibition Label

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.

Considerado por muchos como “uno de los arquitectos del bebop”, Bud Powell fue una figura fundacional en la evolución del piano jazzístico moderno. A los dieciséis años ya actuaba en locales nocturnos de Harlem y Greenwich Village, y frecuentaba a altas horas los jams en Minton’s Playhouse, centro del jazz experimental. Allí encontró a Thelonious Monk, entonces pianista del Minton, quien se convirtió en su mentor y lo estimuló para que abandonara la regularidad rítmica de la tradición del stride por un estilo más libre e individual. Powell grabó primero con la big band de Cootie Williams (1943–44), y para 1945 ya era miembro del innovador combo de bebop de Dizzy Gillespie. A esto siguieron grabaciones con Dexter Gordon (1946) y Charlie Parker (1947), pero en 1947 sufrió una crisis nerviosa que lo obligó a una prolongada hospitalización. A partir de entonces, aunque tuvo momentos brillantes que constan en grabaciones realizadas entre 1949 y 1951, su carrera estuvo a merced de su fragilidad mental y física y su adicción a las drogas y el alcohol.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

1949 (printed 1998)

Object number

NPG.2014.111.22

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Copyright

© Herman Leonard Photography LLC

Type

Photograph

Medium

Selenium-toned gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image: 32 × 30.3cm (12 5/8 × 11 15/16")

Sheet: 50.5 × 40.4cm (19 7/8 × 15 7/8")

Frame: 71.8 × 56.5 × 3.8 cm (28 1/4 × 22 1/4 × 1 1/2")

Place

United States\New York\Kings\New York

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Interior

Music\Musical instrument

Home Furnishings\Curtain

Music\Sheet music

Bud Powell: Male

Bud Powell: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Pianist

Bud Powell: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Jazz

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.2014.111.22

Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm43005fd89-5d4f-41d3-adbd-b6c4751b8b98