Richie Powell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richie Powell
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Powell (standing) in 1956
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Powell |
| Born | September 5, 1931 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 26, 1956 (aged 24) Near Bedford, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, arranger |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1949–56 |
| Associated acts | Clifford Brown, Bud Powell, Max Roach |
Richard "Richie" Powell (born September 5, 1931 – died June 26, 1956) was an American jazz musician. He was a talented pianist, composer, and arranger. Richie played in the bebop style of jazz. His older brother, Bud Powell, was also a famous jazz pianist.
Richie started his music career in Philadelphia and New York City. He played with bands led by Paul Williams and Johnny Hodges. In 1954, he joined a very important jazz group. This was the quintet led by trumpeter Clifford Brown and drummer Max Roach. Richie played piano and also helped arrange the music for this band.
The Brown-Roach quintet traveled a lot across the U.S. for two years. They made many recordings, both in studios and live at concerts. One of their albums, Clifford Brown & Max Roach, is now in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Sadly, Richie Powell, his wife, and Clifford Brown died in a car accident. This happened while they were traveling for a concert. Richie was just starting to become well-known when he passed away. He had a fun and playful way of playing the piano. His style even influenced other pianists like McCoy Tyner.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Richie Powell was born in New York City on September 5, 1931. He was the youngest of three brothers. His older brothers were William, Jr., and Bud. Richie's parents, William, Sr. and Pearl Powell, loved music. His father, William, Sr., was a stride pianist. His brother William, Jr., played trumpet and violin. And his brother Bud became one of the most important leaders of the bebop jazz style.
Richie started playing piano in an interesting way. He kept asking the famous drummer Max Roach, who lived nearby, for drum lessons. Max eventually suggested he try the piano instead. Richie's older brother Bud did not teach him music. Instead, a great pianist named Bob Bunyan taught Richie how to play chords on the piano. Richie would study with Bob Bunyan. Then he would go home and watch his brother Bud practice. Richie also learned music from Mary Lou Williams, another famous jazz pianist. He also went to the City College of New York.
Becoming a Jazz Star
From 1949 to 1951, Richie Powell played music in Philadelphia and New York City. After that, he joined the bands of Paul Williams (from 1951 to 1952) and Johnny Hodges (from 1952 to 1954). With Paul Williams' band, which played R&B music, Richie recorded four songs in 1952. These songs were released as singles. He also played on a song for Johnny Hodges' album Used to Be Duke in 1954.
In the spring of 1954, Richie was with Hodges' band in Los Angeles. At that time, Max Roach needed a new pianist for his quintet. This group was co-led by Max and trumpeter Clifford Brown. Richie was offered the job and he took it. He also became the arranger for the quintet. This meant he helped organize the music for the band.
The band practiced a lot and then had many recording sessions in August 1954. These sessions were for EmArcy Records. They resulted in their first album, Brown and Roach Incorporated. In the same month, Richie also played piano for singer Dinah Washington during a live recording session. In September, the quintet played for two weeks at the Black Hawk club in San Francisco. Then they started a tour of the eastern United States.
More recording sessions for Richie with Brown and Roach happened in New York in early 1955. The songs recorded in January, with music arranged by Neal Hefti, became the album Clifford Brown with Strings. The sessions in February led to the albums Study in Brown and Clifford Brown & Max Roach. The Clifford Brown & Max Roach album was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. In July 1955, Richie played with Max Roach and others at the Newport Jazz Festival. They were backing Dinah Washington.
The quintet changed saxophonists, with Sonny Rollins joining the band. They recorded their last official album in early 1956. This album, Clifford Brown and Max Roach at Basin Street, had even faster songs than their earlier albums. Richie Powell wrote several of the songs on this album. On one song called "Time," Richie played the celeste (a keyboard instrument that sounds like bells) in addition to his piano. Another song he wrote was "Gertrude's Bounce." Richie said he named it after how artist Gertrude Abercrombie walked. His third original song, "Powell's Prances," was a special kind of jazz song. It allowed the musicians to improvise using a musical scale instead of just chord changes. This style became very popular later.
The band continued touring in 1956. In late February or early March, Richie and Sonny Rollins were in a car crash near Philadelphia. Richie's car was destroyed, but they were not badly hurt. The quintet also recorded an album with Sonny Rollins as the leader in March. This album was called Sonny Rollins Plus 4. They also played live on CBS Radio from the Basin Street club in April and May. After two years with the famous Brown-Roach group, Richie Powell was starting to become well-known on his own.
On June 26, 1956, Richie Powell, his wife Nancy, and Clifford Brown were traveling by car. They were driving overnight from Philadelphia to Chicago. Near Bedford, Pennsylvania, in heavy rain, Nancy lost control of the car. The car crashed off the road and rolled down a hill. All three of them died instantly. Nancy was 19, Clifford Brown was 25, and Richie Powell was 24.
Richie's Playing Style
Richie Powell was best known as a bebop jazz player. He also played swing and R&B. In his bebop playing, he often used single notes with his right hand. When he played with Brown and Roach, he liked to add short musical parts from other songs. These could be from nursery rhymes or even operas.
Richie usually played as part of the rhythm section in bigger bands. So, there are not many recordings of him playing in smaller groups. In one 1954 recording session, he played a trio version of "I'll String Along with You." On this song, he used "heavily chorded patterns with intriguing flourishes." Another time Richie played a more solo role was in a 1954 recording of "Autumn in New York" with Johnny Hodges. A music critic later said that Richie's playing on this song was "regal, bouncy and appropriately lush." It showed that he was a playful pianist who was quickly becoming an amazing talent.
His Influence on Other Musicians
Pianist McCoy Tyner grew up near the Powell brothers in Philadelphia. He was influenced by how Richie and Bud played the piano. They had a strong, "heavy" touch on the keys. Tyner also got ideas for his chord voicings (how notes in a chord are arranged) from hearing Richie use "left-hand fourths." Tyner's way of playing chords became very popular for young jazz pianists. When Harold Mabern was starting his career, he copied the harmonies in Richie Powell's comping (the chords and rhythms a pianist plays to support a soloist).
Discography
Richie Powell did not make any recordings as the main leader of a band. He mostly played as a "sideman," which means he played with other famous musicians.
Albums as a Sideman
- 1954 – Johnny Hodges – Used to Be Duke
- 1954 – Dinah Washington – Dinah Jams
- 1954 – Various Artists – Jam Session
- 1954 – Clifford Brown and Max Roach – Brown and Roach Incorporated
- 1954 [released in 1970s] – Clifford Brown and Max Roach – Daahoud
- 1954–55 – Clifford Brown and Max Roach – Clifford Brown & Max Roach
- 1955 – Clifford Brown and Max Roach – Clifford Brown with Strings
- 1955 – Clifford Brown and Max Roach – Study in Brown
- 1956 – Clifford Brown and Max Roach – Clifford Brown and Max Roach at Basin Street
- 1956 – Sonny Rollins – Sonny Rollins Plus 4
