The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, and the Challenge of Bebop Volume 17 (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780520243910)

Bud Powell was not only one of the greatest bebop pianists of all time, he stands as one of the twentieth century's most dynamic and fiercely adventurous musical minds. His expansive musicianship, riveting performances, and inventive compositions expanded the bebop idiom and pushed jazz musicians of all stripes to higher standards of performance. Yet Powell remains one of American music's most misunderstood figures, and the story of his exceptional talent is often overshadowed by his history of alcohol abuse, mental instability, and brutalization at the hands of white authorities. In this first extended study of the social significance of Powell's place in the American musical landscape, Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr. shows how the pianist expanded his own artistic horizons and moved his chosen idiom into new realms. Illuminating and multi-layered, The Amazing Bud Powell centralizes Powell's contributions as it details the collision of two vibrant political economies: the discourses of art and the practice of blackness.

Author: Guthrie P. Ramsey
ISBN-10: 0520243919
ISBN-13: 9780520243910
Publisher: University of California Press
Language: English
Published: 05/28/2013
Pages: 254
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.30w x 1.00d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/17/2013
Library Journal 10/01/2013 pg. 78
Choice 11/01/2013