Richie Powell

[Teasing the Korean]

I know his playing only from the Clifford Brown-Max Roach albums, and don't know what (if anything) he did beyond those.

What was Bud's relationship like with Richie? I don't remember ever reading anything specific about the two of them, and I'm not even sure if I've seen a photo of them together.

I know this is hypothetical, but how do you think Richie may have evolved as a player had he not died so young? At times, he comes across like he's imitating his older brother, but not always.

[JSngry]

McCoy Tyner cited him as an early influence, his voicings.

[Teasing the Korean]

Yes, the voicing of the chords in fourths, I've heard about that.

[Cyril]

What was Bud's relationship like with Richie? I don't remember ever reading anything specific about the two of them, and I'm not even sure if I've seen a photo of them together.

I'm sure you have seen this photo.

[Teasing the Korean]

Well, yes, I know about that photo, but I was wondering if there were photos of them together in, say, the 1950s, when they were both working. I realize Richie's premature death combined with Bud's hospital stays probably got in the way of this.

[Chuck Nessa]

Well, yes, I know about that photo, but I was wondering if there were photos of them together in, say, the 1950s,

Some say Bud wasn't "together" in the '50s, let alone together with his brother.

[Teasing the Korean]

Some say Bud wasn't "together" in the '50s, let alone together with his brother.

Ha!

I'm on a Brown/Roach kick, which inspired me to post this thread. The coda of one of the tunes has Richie playing five-note major chords in fourths - the five notes of the pentatonic scale - and it indeed sounds very like the kind of thing that McCoy would do in later years.

It's interesting when you consider that this kind of voicing was done frequently with strings on pop records of the 1950s, often conveying a happy, optimistic, bustling metropolis kind of sound, but when jazz pianists started using these very same voicings in a jazz combo setting, they took on a completely different vibe.

Yet another reason that the five notes of the pentatonic scale are so amazing and versatile.

[Justin V]

What was Bud's relationship like with Richie? I don't remember ever reading anything specific about the two of them, and I'm not even sure if I've seen a photo of them together.

I'm sure you have seen this photo.

That photo is new to me. Did William ever record? A few sites say that he played trumpet.

[jlhoots]

There's some discussion of the relationship of Richie & Bud in Wail.

[dankarlsberg]

My memory tells me Bud recorded "I remember Clifford" more then once. It sounds so sad when he plays it. I makes me think Bud thought of this song as a memorial to his brother too.

[king ubu]

McCoy Tyner cited him as an early influence, his voicings.

Not that I understand the technical aspects of it, but purely from listening, this makes perfect sense to me! There's a freshness to Richie Powell's playing in the Brown-Roach Quintet that I adore! And a very similar freshness turns up in the first Coltrane sessions with McCoy (those Oct. 1960 Atlantic dates).

[AllenLowe]

Richie Powell's wife, IIRC, was driving when they got killed. Sadly, Curley Russell told me that everyone warned them that she was a terrible and dangerously incompetent driver.

[Gheorghe]

In Ira Gitler´s book "Jazz Masters from the 40´s " is an extended story where Jackie McLean tells, how he was introduced to Bud through his brother Richie, who during that time didn´t play but started later.

I find a lot of Bud´s influence in Richies playing especially on the Mercury LP "At Basin Street" (Brown/Roach). On the faster tracks he comes very near to Bud´s groove, but not as good as Bud.

As was told here, Richie had interesting voicings of his own and he could have been a very good composer, had he lived longer. He´s originals on the mentioned Brown/Roach album are very very nice tunes....