Live at the Blue Note Café, Paris 1961

Personnel: Bud Powell (piano), Pierre Michelot (bass), Kenny Clarke (percussion).
Personnel: Bud Powell (piano); Kenny Clarke (drums).
Liner Note Author: Steve Holdje.
Recording information: The Blue Note Café, Paris (1961).
One of the premiere architects of bebop, Bud Powell had long disappeared from the spotlight by the early 1960s, largely due to his mental illness. Yet one would never know the difficulties Powell suffered from listening to LIVE AT THE BLUE NOTE CAFÉ, PARIS 1961. The set finds Powell in fine form, leading a tight trio through an exuberant set, and peeling off superior, agile piano solos all the while.
Drummer Kenny Clarke and bassist Pierre Michelot add supple rhythmic support, but this is Powell's show through and through. The repertoire includes jazz standards, among them "Lover Man" and "There Will Never Be Another You," as well as a number of tunes by Thelonious Monk, including "'Round Midnight." Playful, lyrical, and technically impressive, Powell hadn't lost any of his verve even at this late date (he died a few years after this recording).