Tuesday, May 4, 2010

for bud powell (3)


for earl rudolph "bud" powell
(1924 –1966)

standing shoulder to shoulder with monk, u were
one of the twin towers of bop piano.
yr huge comping left hand let the odd bass note
outline the root & fifth, stretch to get the tenth,
& easily include the minor 7th.
yr homophonic right hand -- a storied blur
of dazzling arpeggios often spiced with
elaborations of or substitutions
for those bland white note scale tones -- turning chords out!
u had mad skills, bud. u walked in, the music
got into something, the jump started jointing!


© Joseph McNair; 2010

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