A Portrait of Thelonious
Encyclopedia
A Portrait of Thelonious is a studio album by jazz pianist
Bud Powell
, released on Columbia
in 1965, featuring a session recorded at Studio Charlot in Paris on 17 December 1961, with Pierre Michelot
on bass and Kenny Clarke
on drums. The session was the second of two produced by Cannonball Adderley with Powell, following the A Tribute to Cannonball
session recorded two days earlier.
The album was digitally remastered and re-released on CD in 1997 with one additional take and without the fake applause added to the original LP.
), recorded in January 1947 – its first ever recording since Monk himself only recorded it in October the same year (see Genius of Modern Music
).
, except where noted.
Jazz piano
Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instrument's combined melodic and harmonic capabilities...
Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
, released on Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in 1965, featuring a session recorded at Studio Charlot in Paris on 17 December 1961, with Pierre Michelot
Pierre Michelot
Pierre Michelot was a French bebop and hard bop double bass player.Born in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, Michelot studied piano from 1936 until 1938, but switched to playing bass at the age of sixteen...
on bass and Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming...
on drums. The session was the second of two produced by Cannonball Adderley with Powell, following the A Tribute to Cannonball
A Tribute to Cannonball
A Tribute to Cannonball is a studio album by jazz pianist Bud Powell and tenor saxophonist Don Byas, released on Columbia in March 1979, featuring a session recorded at the Studio Charlot in Paris on 15 December 1961, with Pierre Michelot on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums, and trumpeter Idrees...
session recorded two days earlier.
The album was digitally remastered and re-released on CD in 1997 with one additional take and without the fake applause added to the original LP.
History
The album features four Monk compositions, only one of which had previously been recorded by Powell, and the album fittingly begins with this, "Off Minor", a song which Powell included in his first session as leader (see Bud Powell TrioBud Powell Trio
Bud Powell Trio is a studio album by jazz pianist Bud Powell, released on Roost in 1957, featuring two sessions that Powell recorded in 1947 and 1953...
), recorded in January 1947 – its first ever recording since Monk himself only recorded it in October the same year (see Genius of Modern Music
Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1
Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1 is the name given to at least four different compilation albums by jazz pianist, Thelonious Monk. Each version comprises some of Monk's first recordings as band leader for Blue Note, recorded in 1947 . The original LP with this title was compiled in 1951.Two...
).
Track listing
All songs were written by Thelonious MonkThelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, except where noted.
- "Off Minor" – 5:20
- "There Will Never Be Another YouThere Will Never Be Another You"There Will Never Be Another You" is a popular song with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Mack Gordon for the Twentieth Century Fox musical Iceland starring Sonja Henie...
" (Harry WarrenHarry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
, Mack GordonMack GordonMack Gordon was an American composer and lyricist of songs for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times, including six consecutive years between 1940 and 1945, and won the award once, for "You'll Never Know"...
) – 4:17 - "Ruby, My Dear" – 5:46
- "No Name Blues" (Earl BosticEarl BosticEarl Bostic was an American jazz and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist, and a pioneer of the post-war American Rhythm and Blues style. He had a number of popular hits such as "Flamingo", "Harlem Nocturne", "Temptation", "Sleep", "Special Delivery Stomp", and "Where or When", which showed off his...
) – 6:38
- "Thelonious" – 3:46
- "Monk's Mood" – 7:06
- "I Ain't Fooling" (Charles Albertine) – 3:19
- "Squatty" (Brian Fahey) – 5:48
- "Squatty" [unissued alternate] (Fahey) – 5:04 (not on original LP)
Performance
- Bud PowellBud PowellEarl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Pierre MichelotPierre MichelotPierre Michelot was a French bebop and hard bop double bass player.Born in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, Michelot studied piano from 1936 until 1938, but switched to playing bass at the age of sixteen...
– bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Kenny ClarkeKenny ClarkeKenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Production
- Cannonball Adderley – producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Orrin KeepnewsOrrin KeepnewsOrrin Keepnews is an American writer and jazz record producer. In June 2010, he received a lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.- Career :...
– liner notesLiner notesLiner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
, reissue producer - Nica de KoenigswarterNica de KoenigswarterBaroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter was a British-born jazz patroness and writer. She was a scion of the prominent Rothschild international financial dynasty.-Personal:...
– cover art - Dan MorgensternDan MorgensternDan Morgenstern is a jazz critic and librarian.Morgenstern moved to the United States in 1947, and attended Brandeis University from 1953-1956. He wrote for jazz publication Jazz Journal from 1958–1961, and following this edited several jazz magazines: Metronome in 1961, Jazz from 1962–1963, and...
– liner notes (original LP) - Mark Wilder – remasteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...