Bud Powell Research Paper

In order to better understand and appreciate Powell’s music, especially his “Tempus Fugue-It” composition, we need to take a look at his background and learn about inspirations behind his creativity. Bud Powell was born in 1924 into a family of musicians; his father was a stride pianist, his older brother played trumpet, and his younger brother played piano as well. Following in his family’s footsteps, Powell began instruction for classical piano as early as the age of five. Even though his father wished for him to learn the ways of Chopin and Bach, Powell leaned more towards the bluesy tunes of jazz. Around the time that Powell hit his adolescent years, he began to appear at a club, Minton’s Playhouse, where he met the jazz musician Theolonious
According to Davis (2017), “Powell took the sheer speed of Art Tatum and added quirks and flourishes.” While Powell continued to suffer from the consequences of that ill-fated night in Philadelphia, he also continued to soar to the top of the jazz world, often using his mental health issues as an inspiration for his compositions. His originality and uncanny fast tempo playing earned him “The Charlie Parker of Piano” nickname, since the two were both viewed as virtuosos of the era. Powell is known for many intriguing compositions that are very original and faithful to his style, but “Tempus Fugue-It,” an interestingly titled composition, is one of his most-known pieces. Powell’s “Tempus Fugue-It” carries a very interesting double meaning behind its title, and the composition resembles the classical music influences in his life; however, “Tempus Fugue-It” has a distinguished tone, dark theme, upbeat tempo, and polyphonic texture, which, despite some differences, is similar to Powell’s other composition “Un Poco
As mentioned, Powell was originally trained to play classical piano, specifically Baroque era polyphony. Polyphonic texture in “Tempus Fugue-It” are easily noticeable by Powell’s interchangeable flourishes and Max Roach’s consistent rhythm on the drums. It is no surprise that his childhood training would overflow into his later works in life; many of his pieces have been said to reflect past eras of the classical music genre. “Fugue” also has a psychiatric definition, a state or period of loss of awareness of one's identity, often coupled with flight from one's usual environment, associated with certain forms of hysteria and epilepsy” (dictionary.com), which I theorize is also a possible meaning behind the strange spelling of this particular composition.
Despite “Tempus Fugue-It” inclusions of classical music elements, this composition is distinguished by its modern tone. As quoted in Jazz: Essential Listenings, “Powell’s translation of bebop soloing to piano” brought in the the evolutionary sounds of the time (Deveaux & Giddins, 2011, p. 224). Powell was known for bringing a bit of everything into his music. Old, new, and totally unheard