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Wail: The Life of Bud Powell
*Wail* is the exhaustive exploration of the life and times of an extraordinary musician. Pianist-composer Powell's classical training and upbringing in Harlem in the midst of its great renaissance prepared him well to emulate the solo virtuosity of Art Tatum and to become Thelonious Monk's most loyal disciple.
The biography examines all aspects of Powell's career but, more at, looks at the struggles that all modern musicians (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis, among others) had, in trying to put across their ideas in a jazz world that had become stuck in its swing-band conventions.
The book situates Powell not only in the nightclub milieu, first in uptown New York City and, then, in midtown; the story also quotes dozens of musicians on the informal scene, of what went on offstage -- in the recording studios and, privately, in people's homes.
Then, as Powell's success brought with it unwelcome attention, the narrative doesn't flinch from documenting his involvement with alcohol and heroin. Further, through requests made of the police, FBI, and New York State health-department officials, Powell's life in psychiatric hospitals is detailed, the story carefully narrating his years in detention.
Powell's fortunes improved when, at the end of the Fifties, he moved to Paris. The book has the same eye for detail here, as many French musicians and fans spoke to the author of the more public, and easygoing, life that Powell led there.
Throughout, *Wail* provides the colorful anecdotes of the jazz musician's life, as based as it is on so many eyewitnesses' accounts.
But it is a fair-minded, demystifying, complete biography, one with constant reference to Powell's recording sessions and live appearances -- but also as these events took place against the larger, social milieux of New York, Paris, and the other cities where Powell performed.
A scholarly appendix examines the bizarre, punitive regulations that hampered many performers from appearing in New York nightclubs. This story unfolded uniquely in New York, against the backdrop of the evolution of the nightclub and its unique brand of entertainment.
****
Peter Pullman worked in the music industry throughout the Nineties. One of the projects that he shepherded to publication was a 150-page booklet, which accompanied five CDs of Bud Powell performances. The booklet canvased the opinions of a dozen musicians who had known Powell personally or who had been much influenced by him.
The project got Pullman a Grammy nomination. From that time, he sought to understand as much of Powell's life as he could. After 300 formal interviews and 500 informal ones; research in private archives, the police record, and FBI files; successful petitioning of New York state psychiatric hospitals; and a series of fact-finding trips to Europe -- this last, including visits with Powell obsessive Francis Paudras, and scouring of his archive -- finally yielded *Wail*, the culmination of a dozen years' effort.
*Wail* is Pullman's first book.
The biography examines all aspects of Powell's career but, more at, looks at the struggles that all modern musicians (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis, among others) had, in trying to put across their ideas in a jazz world that had become stuck in its swing-band conventions.
The book situates Powell not only in the nightclub milieu, first in uptown New York City and, then, in midtown; the story also quotes dozens of musicians on the informal scene, of what went on offstage -- in the recording studios and, privately, in people's homes.
Then, as Powell's success brought with it unwelcome attention, the narrative doesn't flinch from documenting his involvement with alcohol and heroin. Further, through requests made of the police, FBI, and New York State health-department officials, Powell's life in psychiatric hospitals is detailed, the story carefully narrating his years in detention.
Powell's fortunes improved when, at the end of the Fifties, he moved to Paris. The book has the same eye for detail here, as many French musicians and fans spoke to the author of the more public, and easygoing, life that Powell led there.
Throughout, *Wail* provides the colorful anecdotes of the jazz musician's life, as based as it is on so many eyewitnesses' accounts.
But it is a fair-minded, demystifying, complete biography, one with constant reference to Powell's recording sessions and live appearances -- but also as these events took place against the larger, social milieux of New York, Paris, and the other cities where Powell performed.
A scholarly appendix examines the bizarre, punitive regulations that hampered many performers from appearing in New York nightclubs. This story unfolded uniquely in New York, against the backdrop of the evolution of the nightclub and its unique brand of entertainment.
****
Peter Pullman worked in the music industry throughout the Nineties. One of the projects that he shepherded to publication was a 150-page booklet, which accompanied five CDs of Bud Powell performances. The booklet canvased the opinions of a dozen musicians who had known Powell personally or who had been much influenced by him.
The project got Pullman a Grammy nomination. From that time, he sought to understand as much of Powell's life as he could. After 300 formal interviews and 500 informal ones; research in private archives, the police record, and FBI files; successful petitioning of New York state psychiatric hospitals; and a series of fact-finding trips to Europe -- this last, including visits with Powell obsessive Francis Paudras, and scouring of his archive -- finally yielded *Wail*, the culmination of a dozen years' effort.
*Wail* is Pullman's first book.
- GenresMusic
403 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 5, 2012
18 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 2, 2020
An amazing journey into the life and times of Bud Powell. If you are not a fan of jazz, or even know who Bud Powell was, you will not appreciate this book as much. However, if you are a Powellian, and somebody who is not only familiar with Bud's undeniable, prodigious piano skills, but has found themselves swept away into his mind through the 88 keys, you will love the effort and lengths Peter Pullman went through in order to set the record straight on Bud's life. And it was no picnic, while being much too short. But what Bud was able to do musically, while overcoming racism and some medieval mid-twentieth century medical malpractice inside pyschiatric hospitals, was nothing short of a spiritual intervention. And it's all on display in his many recordings that would follow.
Away from the piano Bud was a lost soul, who never knew how to manage himself, his money or his well-being. So the genius of Bud's music was sometimes overshadowed by his well-know personal troubles. But Peter does his story justice by detailing what it was like growing up with the music of Harlem in the 1930's, with music being of the utmost importance in the eyes of his parents. Until an affiliation with Thelonious Monk and the new music arriving on the scene in the early-mid 40's, would seduce his skills in another direction, and seal his legacy as one of Be-Bops most gifted and influential pianists, even with all the trouble he encountered along the way.
It makes me happy to know that Bud will not be forgotten, not through his compositions and recordings, nor through his complicated, inspired, and yet ultimately tragic life. One that was detailed with great care and research by Peter Pullman. It is a wonderful read that will add new light to all of Bud's recordings, while giving the reader a better understanding of what Bud was going through and his general state of mind during each phase of his life along the way.
Away from the piano Bud was a lost soul, who never knew how to manage himself, his money or his well-being. So the genius of Bud's music was sometimes overshadowed by his well-know personal troubles. But Peter does his story justice by detailing what it was like growing up with the music of Harlem in the 1930's, with music being of the utmost importance in the eyes of his parents. Until an affiliation with Thelonious Monk and the new music arriving on the scene in the early-mid 40's, would seduce his skills in another direction, and seal his legacy as one of Be-Bops most gifted and influential pianists, even with all the trouble he encountered along the way.
It makes me happy to know that Bud will not be forgotten, not through his compositions and recordings, nor through his complicated, inspired, and yet ultimately tragic life. One that was detailed with great care and research by Peter Pullman. It is a wonderful read that will add new light to all of Bud's recordings, while giving the reader a better understanding of what Bud was going through and his general state of mind during each phase of his life along the way.
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September 26, 2023Whatever you do don't bother reading the Bud Powell bio by Peter Pullman named "Wail". It's everything I hate about jazz writing. When I read a bio I want to know some in depth details about the man and the musician but in this book your spending more time reading about everyone else of the era. Not in relation to Bud Powell but just the authors opinions about them. It doubles as a jazz history book but from this dudes perspective. Tons of corny descriptions of the music that was played at the gigs. Irritating critiques of the authors favorite recordings by Bud.
Last night I read about Bud's first date on Blue Note and the author wrote a derogatory comment about his version of "It Could Happen To You" saying it was ruined by too many florid Tatumesque runs. THAT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CUTS ON THAT RECORDING WHEN I WAS A KID! It's so relaxed and beautiful I remember thinking that that was how solo piano was supposed to sound. Too often he makes statements about Bud's drug use that start out with "probably". He was probably using a lot of heroin at the time. Was he or wasn't he? Why write something like that if you don't know.
And there are disrespectful comments about Sonny Stitt, Oscar Peterson and many about Bud himself. It's at the point where I don't know if I can believe anything written in this book that I didn't already know about before I read it.
So save yourself the trouble and move on to another.
Last night I read about Bud's first date on Blue Note and the author wrote a derogatory comment about his version of "It Could Happen To You" saying it was ruined by too many florid Tatumesque runs. THAT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CUTS ON THAT RECORDING WHEN I WAS A KID! It's so relaxed and beautiful I remember thinking that that was how solo piano was supposed to sound. Too often he makes statements about Bud's drug use that start out with "probably". He was probably using a lot of heroin at the time. Was he or wasn't he? Why write something like that if you don't know.
And there are disrespectful comments about Sonny Stitt, Oscar Peterson and many about Bud himself. It's at the point where I don't know if I can believe anything written in this book that I didn't already know about before I read it.
So save yourself the trouble and move on to another.
June 19, 2023
An essential source, not only for insights into Powell's life but also into the milieu his work grew out of.
November 12, 2014
Truly enjoyed this. This is strictly for jazz lovers who are ready to get inside Powell's elusive and misunderstood legacy. So much great research about a convoluted and troubled man yielded a number of revelations that helped me appreciate Powell's music better. And really that's the point: understanding as much as possible the story behind a genius so that the songs take on greater depth. Mission accomplished.
September 10, 2015
I put this by. The book seemed shallow and much less authoritative than I'd anticipated. furthermore, i found it to be of much less interest than I had anticipated, just gliding over the surface without presenting much that I wasn't already aware of. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone interested in factual data regarding Powell or his era. Little or no primary source material.mostly hearsay.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews