Earl "Bud" Powell (1924-1966) was one of the pioneers of bebop, the modern jazz that originated in Harlem clubs such as Minton's Playhouse and Clark Monroe's Uptown House in the early 1940s, and became widely known and appreciated later in the decade when musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Powell performed at clubs on 52nd Street such as the Onyx, the Three Deuces and Kelly's Stables. Unlike many of his far more famous colleagues, Powell had a short and troubled career, which was checkered by mental illness and substance abuse that led to numerous prolonged stays in institutions, and physical illness that led to his premature death at the age of 41.

Powell was born in Harlem, and he learned how to play the piano from his father, a talented stride pianist, and a neighborhood classic piano teacher. He disappointed his father's and mentor's hopes by dropping out of high school and following the nascent bebop scene. His best friend was Elmo Hope, who would also become a noted but troubled jazz pianist, and he was tutored by Thelonious Monk. Monk was impressed by his protégé; he wrote songs with Powell in mind, as he was the only one who could play them, and he insisted that Powell be allowed to participate in the jam sessions at Minton's and other clubs. Thanks in part to his classical training and influence by Monk and others Powell developed into a brilliant pianist, who could play at blazing speed with either hand and follow the changes in the often difficult to grasp music written by Monk, Tadd Dameron and other notable bebop composers. After performing in small group settings throughout the mid 1940s Powell performed mainly in trios that he headed, both in the clubs and in the studios. His most notable performances are those on the Blue Note and Verve labels, particularly The Amazing Bud Powell, Volumes 1-5 and The Genius of Bud Powell, along with the famed 1953 Jazz at Massey Hall concert, which is arguably one of the finest live jazz performances of all time.

Powell's descent began after a fight with a customer in a club in Philadelphia in January 1945, when he was a member of Cootie Williams' orchestra. when he was repeatedly beaten in the head by several of the city's notoriously brutal cops. Upon his return to Harlem he was taken to Bellevue Hospital, and later transferred to Pilgrim State Hospital, a psychiatric inpatient facility on Long Island, where he was spent 10 weeks before he was released into convalescent care. After his release he was increasingly erratic, undependable and often drunk, and his condition worsened over the years as he underwent electroconvulsive treatments and was placed on antipsychotic medications in subsequent hospitalizations in mental institutions. His playing also suffered, due to restrictions on his playing the piano when he was institutionalized along with his mental illness and the effect of the medications he took, although occasionally glimpses of his former brilliance shone brightly. He moved to Paris in 1959, where his health was compromised by tuberculosis, his frequent substance abuse and the effect of overdoses of an antipsychotic medication administered by his common law wife, which she gave him to keep him under her control. With the help of a friend he returned to the United States in 1964, in an effort to resurrect his career. However, he was only a shell of his former self and performed poorly on the stage, and he died two years later from the effects of tuberculosis, alcoholism and poor nutrition.

Guthrie Ramsey, Jr., a professor of music and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania, explores the technical contributions of Bud Powell and his contemporaries to jazz; the role of bebop as a form of modern art, one that derived directly from swing music but also was in opposition to it and captured the growing awareness of young African Americans during and after World War II; the masculine features of modern jazz and its artists, who often competed against their contemporaries in jam sessions, cutting sessions and during live performances, similar to gladiators in Roman arenas; and the role played by music critics in shaping the view of modern jazz as a valid art form, one worthy of analysis in universities and schools of music. At the same time, Ramsey provides a brief biography of Powell, using his own research and the sources of others, and in doing so he resurrects him from the relative obscurity that he has fallen into compared to Gillespie, Parker and Monk.

The Amazing Bud Powell is a valuable addition to jazz and African American history, one that is accessible to all readers, although it would be best appreciated by music students and academicians. ( )