Seldon Powell
Encyclopedia
Seldon Powell was an American
soul jazz
, swing and R&B tenor saxophonist and flautist
born in Lawrenceville, Virginia
, probably best remembered for his early work with musicians like Tab Smith
(1949), Lucky Millinder
1949-51), Neal Hefti
or Louis Bellson. During the 1960s he ventured into the soul jazz idiom and worked with musicians like Clark Terry
, Lou Donaldson
, Johnny Hammond Smith and Buddy Rich
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soul jazz
Soul jazz
Soul jazz is a development of jazz incorporating strong influences from blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often an organ trio featuring a Hammond organ.- Overview :Soul jazz is often associated with hard bop. Mark C...
, swing and R&B tenor saxophonist and flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
born in Lawrenceville, Virginia
Lawrenceville, Virginia
Lawrenceville is a town in Brunswick County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,275 at the 2000 census. Located by the Meherrin River, it is the county seat of Brunswick County and home to historically black Saint Paul's College, founded in 1888 and affiliated with the Episcopal Church...
, probably best remembered for his early work with musicians like Tab Smith
Tab Smith
Talmadge "Tab" Smith , was an American swing and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist. He is best known for the tracks, "Because Of You" and "Pretend". He variously worked with Count Basie, the Mills Rhythm Boys and Lucky Millinder.-Biography:Smith was born in Kinston, North Carolina, United States...
(1949), Lucky Millinder
Lucky Millinder
Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder was an American rhythm and blues and swing bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical taste made his bands successful...
1949-51), Neal Hefti
Neal Hefti
Neal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
or Louis Bellson. During the 1960s he ventured into the soul jazz idiom and worked with musicians like Clark Terry
Clark Terry
Clark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
, Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
, Johnny Hammond Smith and Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
.
As leader
- Seldon Powell Featuring Jimmy ClevelandJimmy ClevelandJimmy Cleveland was an American jazz trombone born in Wartrace, Tennessee.Cleveland worked with many well-known jazz musicians, including Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Quincy Jones, Lucky Thompson, Gigi Gryce, Oscar Peterson, Oscar Pettiford and James Brown...
(Roost/Vogue, 1956) with Roland HannaRoland HannaRoland Hanna was an American Jazz pianist.Hanna studied classical piano as a boy, but was strongly interested in jazz. This increased after his time in military service.He studied at Eastman School of Music and Juilliard School...
, Freddie GreenFreddie GreenFrederick William "Freddie" Green was an American swing jazz guitarist. He was especially noted for his sophisticated rhythm guitar in big band settings, particularly for the Count Basie orchestra, where he was part of the "All-American Rhythm Section" with Basie on piano, Jo Jones on drums, and...
, Aaron BellAaron BellSamuel Aaron Bell was an American jazz double-bassist.As a child, Bell played piano, and learned brass instruments in high school. He attended Xavier University, where he began playing bass, and graduated in 1942; following this he joined the Navy, completing his service in 1946...
, Osie JohnsonOsie JohnsonJames "Osie" Johnson was a jazz drummer.He first worked with Sabby Lewis and then, after service in the United States Navy freelanced for a time in Chicago...
, Gus JohnsonGus JohnsonGus Johnson may refer to:* Gus Johnson , Hall of Fame professional basketball player* Gus Johnson , American drummer who played various notable jazz bands... - Rhythm Plus One (Fresh Sounds Rec., 1956, Anthology)
- At the Hop (PMI)
- Messin' with Seldon Powell (Encounter Records, 1973)
As sideman
- Neal HeftiNeal HeftiNeal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
: Hot'n Hearty (Epic, 1955) - Tony Aless: Long Island Suite (Roost, 1955)
- Friedrich GuldaFriedrich GuldaFriedrich Gulda was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields.Born in Vienna as the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano from Felix Pazofsky at the Wiener Volkskonservatorium, aged 7...
: At Birdland (RCA, 1956) - Billy Ver Planck: Jazz for Playgirls (Savoy, 1957)
- Eddie SauterEddie SauterEdward Ernest Sauter was a composer and jazz arranger who achieved renown among musicians during the swing era.-Biography:...
: The Sauter-Finnegan Orchestra – Directions in Music (RCA, 1952–58) - Aaron Bell: Music from Peter Gunn (Lion, 1959)
- Aaron Bell: Music from Victory at Sea (Lion, 1959)
- Bobby Donaldson:Jazz Unlimited (Golden Crest, 1960)
- Ernie WilkinsErnie WilkinsErnest Brooks Wilkins Jr. was a jazz arranger and writer who also played tenor saxophone. He might be best known for his work with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie...
: The Big New Band of the 60's (Everest, 1960) - Panama Francis: The beat behind million sellers (ABC, 1960)
- Reuben PhillipsReuben PhillipsReuben Phillips was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and bandleader, born in Providence, Kentucky....
: Manhattan...3 a.m. (Poplar, 1960) - Buddy RichBuddy RichBernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
: The Driver (EmArcy, 1960) - Sy OliverSy OliverMelvin "Sy" Oliver was a jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader...
: Annie Laurie (Sesac, 1960) - Clark TerryClark TerryClark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
: Color Changes (Candid, 1960) - Johnny "Hammond" Smith: Look out (New Jazz, 1962)
- Sy OliverSy OliverMelvin "Sy" Oliver was a jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader...
: Easy Walker (Sesac, 1962) - Johnny "Hammond" Smith: Black Coffee (Riverside, 1962)
- Billy TaylorBilly TaylorBilly Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and since 1994, he was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in...
: Brazilian Beat (Sesac, 1963) - Johnny "Hammond" Smith: Open House (Riverside, 1963)
- Clark TerryClark TerryClark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
: What makes Sammy swing (20th Century Fox, 1963) - Willie Rodriguez: Flatjacks (Riverside, 1964)
- Panama Francis: Tough Talk (20th Century Fox, 1964)
- Chico O'FarrillChico O'FarrillArturo "Chico" O'Farrill was a composer-arranger best known for his work in the Latin idiom, although he also composed straight-ahead jazz pieces and even symphonic works....
- Nine FlagsNine FlagsNine Flags is an album by Cuban composer-arranger Chico O'Farrill featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:...
(Impulse!, 1966) - Oliver NelsonOliver NelsonOliver Edward Nelson was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger and composer.-Early life and career:...
- The Spirit of '67 with Pee Wee RussellPee Wee RussellCharles Ellsworth Russell, much better known by his nickname Pee Wee Russell, was a jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but eventually focused solely on clarinet....
(Impulse!, 1967) - Albert AylerAlbert AylerAlbert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
: New GrassNew GrassNew Grass is a 1968 album by jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler released on Impulse! Records.The album mixed Ayler's vocals and tenor saxplaying with elements from R&B and other genres, including a soul horn section, backing singers, rock electric bass, and boogaloo drumming...
(Impulse!, 1968) - Ronnie FosterRonnie FosterRonnie Foster is an American funk and soul-jazz organist, and record producer. His albums recorded for Blue Note Records in the 1970s has obtained a cult following after the emergence of acid-jazz.-Biography:...
- Sweet RevivalSweet RevivalSweet Revival is the second album by American organist Ronnie Foster recorded in 1972 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4 stars and stated "Although the album sounds dated, the grooves are funky, and Sweet Revival remains...
(Blue Note, 1972) - Groove Holmes: Night Glider (Groove Merchant, 1973)
- Looking GlassLooking Glass (band)Looking Glass was an American pop music group of the early 1970s that was part of the Jersey Shore sound. They are best remembered for their million selling 1972 song, "Brandy ".-Career:...
: Subway SerenadeSubway SerenadeSubway Serenade was the second and final album released by the band Looking Glass.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Elliot Lurie--Guitars, vocals*Larry Gonsky—Keyboards, vocals*Piet Sweval—Bass, vocals, harp*Joe Dube--Traps...
(Epic, 1973) - Millie Vernon: Over the Rainbow (CBS, 1986)
- The Basie Alumni: Swinging for the Count (Candid, 1992)