![]() ![]() Legend has it that in one of these hospitals Powell drew a piano keyboard on the wall with chalk in order to practice away from his instrument. Tragically, Powell received a racially motivated beating early on in his career that caused the mental disturbances that kept him in and out of mental hospitals his entire life. Consider each pianist's approach to "Sweet Georgia Brown" Peterson's is all about style and finesse Powell rips through it fiendishly with avalanches of arpeggios and ragged chords, daring your ears to keep up. Powell too is influenced by Tatum, but only as filtered through Monk whereas Peterson always seemed driven to create perfect renditions of songs, Powell always seemed to be wrestling with personal problems, sawing away at melodies as away of expressing him innermost thoughts. If Oscar Peterson's piano style is like a painter creating a landscape out of swirls and dabs of colorful paint, Bud Powell's approach is more like a sculptor working with a slab of black marble.
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