Stories of Standards: “Parisian Thoroughfare” by Bud Powell

Tune in to Jazz with Victor Cooper – weekdays from 6-9 a.m. MT – for Stories of Standards to hear our favorite versions of this song as presented by Rodney Franks all week long starting Monday, March 18!

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“Parisian Thoroughfare” was written by Bud Powell in 1951; the rhythms appear to reference the stop-and-go nature of big-city life. He recorded versions with two labels, first as a piano solo for Verve, and then in a trio version for Blue Note, which Powell stopped for unknown reasons. Clifford Brown’s recording with Richie Powell, Bud’s brother, and Max Roach includes references to Gershwin’s “American in Paris” and the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise”.

Earl Randolph “Bud” Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was the son of a stride pianist and started classical music lessons when 5 years old. Bud met Thelonious Monk about 1942 and soon became Monk’s protégé. Monk wrote “In Walked Bud” as a tribute to their time together. Despite this, Powell’s greatest influence was Art Tatum, whom he had followed starting in his early teens. In the early 1940s, Bud was the pianist in Cootie Williams’ swing band. Powell played on a few of Williams’ recordings, including the 1944 initial recording of Monk’s “Round Midnight”. Unfortunately, in January 1945 he became separated from his fellow band members after performing and was found by private railroad police, who first beat him, then turned him over to the Philadelphia police, who jailed him for a while before sending him to Bellevue, then to a state psychiatric ward for two and a half months. Subsequent hospitalizations failed to provide any positive results to his well-being, and medication for schizophrenia appears to have worsened his state and impaired his ability to play. In 1956 his brother Richie, also a pianist, was killed in the car wreck that also killed trumpeter Clifford Brown. Powell moved to Paris in 1959 and returned to the states in 1964, a year after contracting tuberculosis. On July 31, 1966, he died of tuberculosis, malnutrition, and alcoholism.

Bill Evans described Powell as his greatest influence, saying “If I had to choose one single musician for his artistic integrity, for the incomparable originality of his creation and the grandeur of his work, it would be Bud Powell. He was in a class by himself”. Herbie Hancock said, “He was the foundation out of which stemmed the whole edifice of modern jazz piano”.