Earl "Bud" Powell, Piano, 1924, NY (d. July 31, 1966)
Jazz legends Charlie Parker, Max Roach and Duke Ellington agreed on one thing in their lifetime....Bud Powell, known today as the father of the modern jazz piano, was a true genius. Along with Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was instrumental in the development of bebop, and his virtuosity led many to call him "the Charlie Parker of the piano." In his short but tragic lifetime, Powell composed about 50 tunes including "Tempus Fugit," "Bouncing with Bud," "Dance of the Infidels," "Hullucinations," "Celia," and "Oblivion."
Powell's grandfather was a flamenco guitarist, his father was a stride pianist, and his older brother William played the trumpet. His younger brother Richie was also an accomplished pianist. Powell was trained in classical music starting at age 5, but loved to play jazz, especially songs by his idol Art Tatum and stride pianist James P. Johnson. Thelonious Monk was another influence on young Powell becoming his teacher, mentor and a close friend throughout his life, dedicating the composition "In Walked Bud" to Powell. In the early 40's, Powell played in many bands on the Harlem club scene, including Cootie Williams' band. In 1944 he played on Monk's first recording, "'Round Midnight." Monk also introduced Powell to the bebop musicians hanging out at Minton's Playhouse, and other early recordings included sessions with Dexter Gordon, J. J. Johnson, Sonny Stitt, Fats Navarro and Kenny Clarke. Powell soon became renowned for his lightning fast right hand that could express on the piano what up to Powell's time had only been possible on a horn, and his inspired bebop soloing.
While on tour with Williams in 1945, the 21-year-old pianist received a severe beating on the head by police after he tried to help Monk from being harassed in a racially motivated incident. Taken to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation, he wrote on the admittance form that he was a “pianist and composer of over 1,000 songs.” The attending doctor thought he was suffering from “delusions of grandeur” and put him in a straitjacket. He spent most of the year recovering in the hospital from excruciating headaches, seizures and erratic behavior. Tragedy struck again in 1947 when Powell was hit on the head with a bottle in a bar fight. Because of his psychiatric record, he was sent to another mental institution, this time for 11 months. Bud underwent 40 treatments of a new technique called electro-convulsive (electroshock) therapy. He could barely remember the names of his friends including Monk. Despite the severity of this treatment, his career picked up right where it left off when he was released. Recognized as a great band leader and prolific composer, Powell collaborated with trumpeter Fats Navarro, a 19-year-old Sonny Rollins, bassist Tommy Potter, and drummer Roy Haynes in a 1949 session for the Blue Note label. Arrested again in 1951 on a narcotics charge, he was institutionalized at Pilgrim state hospital for another 11 months and underwent additional electroshock treatments. The doctors there only allowed Powell to play piano only once a week, supervised by an attendant. Once again he lost his memory. He was later transferred to Creedmore mental hospital, where he remained until 1953.
His playing throughout the 1950s was inconsistent -- sometimes great, most of the time not so great. Powell was now always accompanied by "Buttercup," a woman who called herself his wife and guardian. Because of his mental instability and tendency to wander aimlessly, he did need some supervision, but his compositions like "Glass Enclosure" made it clear that he mourned his loss of freedom. Buttercup moved Powell to Paris, France in 1959, where an adoring French public lavished praised on the pianist. He was befriended by a young jazz fan named Francis Paudras, whose role in Bud's life is described in his book "Dance of the Infidels," available in English translation. Francis' role in Powell's life was also the inspiration for the 1986 movie "Round Midnight," in which Dexter Gordon played the role of a jazz musician befriended and supported by a young fan. Paudras discovered that Powell’s companion, Buttercup, was slipping him little pink pills each day that turned out to be the powerful tranquilizer, Largactil – commonly known as Thorazine. Along with saxophonist Johnny Griffin, Paudras pulled Powell away from Buttercup and he began to write music again, including "In the Mood for a Classic," that he dedicated to the French people. In 1964 Bud made a triumphant six-week return to Birdland, organized by Paudras, but his success was short-lived as he quickly descended back into alcoholism and erratic behaviour.
In 1966 Powell died in obsurity and neglect of liver failure, TB and malnutrition at the age of 41. His family refused to claim the body but his friend Max Roach arranged for a New Orleans-style funeral procession. Barry Harris and Lee Morgan played Powell's compositions while riding in a "Jazzmobile" behind the casket. About 5,000 people lined up along Harlem's streets to pay tribute to the tragic life of one of the greatest figures in the history of jazz.
Red Rodney, Trumpet, 1927, Philadelphia, PA (d. 1994)
It didn't take long for Rodney to advance with his trumpet playing. He was only thirteen when he began his lessons, and within a couple of years he was playing and touring with Jerry Wald's band. He next spent short periods of time with the bands of Jimmy Dorsey, Elliott Lawrence, and Benny Goodman. Red was originally a swing player, (Harry James was a favorite) but he changed his style after being exposed to the modern sounds of Dizzy and Bird. During the late '40s he worked with Claude Thornhill, Woody Herman, and Gene Krupa, gaining his reputation as one of the finestof the new crop of young bop musicians.. His work with Charlie Parker was probably the high point of his professional career. Drug addiction interrupted Red's career several times during the '50s and '60s, and he spent a considerable amount of time in jail. Later he worked as a music booking agent and played with local dance bands in Philadelphia for several years. In the early '60s he made his home in Las Vegas where he worked in show bands for most of the decade. In 1972 he returned to jazz and gradually regained his former prominence in the field.. During the 1980s, while living in Florida, he formed an association with Ira Sullivan that lasted into the early '90s. Red Rodney died in 1994.
Sammy Benskin, Piano, 1922, New York, NY
Sammy received his training as a teenager with private teachers in New York. By the early '40s he was working with Stuff Smith's band and was also playing at Nicks, and Cafe Society in New York. During the mid '40s he was playing and recording with Billie Holiday, Freddie Green, and Don Redman. During this period he also made appearances as a soloist, and led his own swinging band in jazz clubs in and around New York. During the 1950s Benskin accompanied many singers, notably Al Hibbler, but thereafter he seldom performed and worked mainly as a singing teacher and occasionally as an arranger and record producer. He last played in public during the mid '80s, when he performed in New York with the Harlem Jazz and Blues Band.
