The Amazing Bud Powell. Vol. 2 (1954)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2001 Rudy Van Gelder Edition with 7 bonus tracks. Originally released as 8 track, 10-inch LP in 1954, this album was reconfigured and re-released as a 12-inch LP in 1955.

This CD reverts back to the original 8 track sequence, then adds one extra track and six alternate takes. All tracks recorded at WOR Studios, New York City, on August 14, 1953. Curiously, this recording session was engineered by Doug Hawkins and not Rudy Van Gelder. It appears as a RVG edition having been remastered by Van Gelder in 2001.

Like Volume 1, this album is superb. The trio plays with a combination of precision and looseness (if that dichotomy is possible - evidence here suggests it is). I hear Powell thinking in real time, moving from his bebop roots to something new. The chord substitutions and extensions are fascinating.

Powell - piano
George Duvivier - bass
Arthur Taylor - drums

Original liner notes by Leonard Feather. 2001 liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.

Reviews/ratings:

• DownBeat (★★★★★): "worth repeated listening"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1985): ★★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: My top picks today are Beets And I, Collard Greens And Black-Eyed Peas, Polka Dots And Moonbeams, and I Want To Be Happy.

Bonus tracks: I’ve Got You Under My Skin is a great take and it's omission on the original release is obviously a matter of Blue Note having limited space on the 10" record. The other bonus tracks are alternate takes that simply illustrate that the label could have used any take and it would have been the right call.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Inner Fires: The Genius Of Bud Powell (1982)
The Amazing Bud Powell. Vol. 1 (1956)