This is a study of pianist and composer Bud Powell�s contributions to modern jazz

(a.k.a. bebop or �bop�). The methodology combines a series of interviews with

professional jazz musicians and musical analysis focusing mainly on the rhythmic
and harmonic implications of Powell�s linear improvisations. The aim of this
project is to present a cogent technical and theoretical account of Powell�s
musical style that is grounded in the values of the contemporary jazz community and
reflects that community�s continued passion for and engagement with Powell�s music.
The analysis is supported by original notated transcriptions of Powell recordings.
This dissertation reflects my efforts as a scholar and as a jazz pianist striving
to raise my level of performance, and accordingly combines and adapts the research
and analytical tools I�ve acquired as a doctoral student with my experiences as a
working musician and goals as an artist. Before entering the ethnomusicology Ph.D.
program at the City University of New York, I earned a Masters in Music degree in
Jazz Studies and Performance from William Paterson University, where I was
fortunate to study briefly under the late and truly great pianist Mulgrew Miller.
After hearing me play, Mulgrew told me that in order to take my improvising to the
next level, one of the things that I needed to do was to �put my lines under the
microscope� and carefully examine the harmonic and rhythmic implications of my
linear construction. He often
spoke about Bud Powell�s melodic inventiveness and ability play chorus after chorus
of linear improvisation without much repetition and without losing the listener�s
interest, and recommended that pianists study Bud Powell for this.
Eventually, in the midst of studying the styles of McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Herbie
Hancock, Chick Corea, Wynton Kelly, Red Garland, Ahmad Jamal and others, I began to
listen to and eventually transcribe Bud Powell solos. I found Powell�s
improvisations to be shockingly profound in their melodic richness, lyricism, and
rhythmic vitality. Especially compelling were his solo piano bop recordings like
�The Fruit,� Parisian Thoroughfare,� and �Hallucinations,� the 1949 quintet works
like �Bouncing with Bud,� �Wail,� and �Dance of the Infidels,� and trio recordings
like �Celia,� �Reets and I,� and �Ornithology.� As I transcribed and played through
these, I was consistently surprised by the complex relationship between rhythm and
harmony, both in the lines themselves and between Powell�s hands. I marveled at the
many dissonant rubs dotting Powell�s rhythmic stream, and at the hauntingly
romantic lyricism that permeates even his fastest improvised solos. The
invigorating and sometimes disorientating feeling of Powell�s rhythm in my body led
me to realize that I had seriously overestimated my understanding of jazz rhythm
and its relationship to harmony�a realization that shaped the analytical framework
in this dissertation.
Like many pianists, my initial aim in studying Powell�s music was to understand his
linear concept, especially with regard to the relationship of rhythm, harmony, and
voice leading in his bebop-oriented solos. However, early in the research process
it became clear that if I was to produce a meaningful analysis of Powell�s bebop
playing, I needed to engage with the elements of his work that differed from that
style. Accordingly, I began a parallel study of Powell�s lush ballad recordings
like �I�ll Keep Loving You,� �Polka dots and Moonbeams,�
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�Dusk in Sandi,� as well as more reaching works like �Un Poco Loco,� �Sure Thing,�
and of course, �The Glass Enclosure.� If these pieces are less present in this
dissertation, transcribing and studying them has certainly shaped my conception of
Powell�s linear-bebop solos and has opened many doors in my own musical
development.
Chapter One, �Contemporary Pianists and Bud Powell�s Music,� summarizes the ways
that ten professional musicians, including two saxophonists who heard Powell live
several times and eight prominent pianists, conceive of Powell�s contributions to
contemporary performance practice and to their individual musical styles and paths
of development. The participants are given voice to explain the ways in which they
engage with Bud Powell�s music as listeners, students, teachers, and performers.
This chapter provides a foundation which guides the musical analyses presented in
Chapters Two, Three, Four, and Five. The musicians interviewed not only spoke
passionately about Powell�s genius, but also gave insightful accounts of how their
study of Powell�s music contributed to their own development as artists, discussing
the specific musical obstacles that Powell recordings helped them to address.
Further, since most of these players themselves teach and mentor aspiring jazz
professionals, several discussed the usefulness of Bud Powell�s music in
pedagogical terms.