Bud Powell - Piano Interpretations by Bud Powell (Remastered Edition) (1956/2024) [Hi-Res]

“Piano Interpretations” by Bud Powell is a studio album by jazz pianist Bud Powell, released in 1956 by Norgran, featuring two sessions that Powell recorded at Fine Sound Studios in New York in April 1955.
“[T]his is one of Bud’s better sets in the last couple of years and indicates what is finally being realized by some of those who have control over him—that Bud is in increasing control over himself, and that it is no longer necessarily true that the best of Bud is behind him.” (DownBeat)
Although it was originally scheduled to be a short tour, Powell would remain for an extended period in the Old Continent, interrupted briefly in 1964, when he returned to the States for his final trip. The pianist was suffering from numerous problems at the time these albums were made. He was commited to a mental hospital from late 1951 to early 1953, following an arrest for possession of marijuana. He would be released into the guardianship of Oscar Goodstein, the owner of the Birdland nightclub. A 1953 trio session (with George Duvivier and Art Taylor) included Powell’s composition “Glass Enclosure”, inspired by his near-imprisonment in Goodstein’s apartment. Following his release from the hospital, Powell’s playing began to be seriously affected by Largactil, a drug prescribed for the treatment of schizophrenia, and by the late fifties his talent was clearly in eclipse. To add to his misfortunes, his brother Richie – the pianist in the celebrated Max Roach-Clifford Brown quintet – was killed in a 1956 car crash that also took the life of Brown. The accident took place on June 26, less than three months before the recording that produced the second album included here. Musically speaking, Powell’s problems were reflected in his playing, which became slower and more imperfect than his amazing work of the preceding years. However, even if the “deterioration” of his technical skills led to negative reviews at the time, it is clear that Bud Powell’s music remained extremely interesting and that the pianist’s genius was still present.