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Take Five With Roy Powell
Meet Roy Powell:Roy Powell studied piano and avant-garde composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester England, before defecting to jazz. He first came to prominence in 1994 with his debut recording, A Big Sky, which was hailed as "a real benchmark in British contemporary electric jazz" by Jazz on CD. He then emigrated to Oslo, Norway, where he collaborated on an album of free improvised music, Holus, which was described as "an outstanding success" by Jazz Journal International. His next release as a leader—North by Northwest,, featuring Norwegian bassist
Arild Andersen
bass, acousticb.1945
Solace, which was released in 2003 received lavish praise including 4 stars in Downbeat. His piece, "Bow Out," has been performed by Oakland, Richmond, Cincinnati and Florida ballet companies, and has had performances all over the globe from Japan, Australia, and USA to Europe and Scandinavia. His recordings have appeared in the Gramophone Jazz Good CD guide, Gramophone Classical Good CD guide, the Lord Discography, The new Grove Dictionary of Jazz as well as jazz magazines in Europe and the US and radio shows in the UK, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Holland Scandinavia and the US. Powell has recorded with and played concerts with many significant musicians including
Art Farmer
flugelhorn1928 - 1999
Eddie Daniels
clarinetb.1941
Jeff Berlin
bass, electricb.1953
Reggie Washington
bassb.1962
Bobby Shew
trumpetb.1941
Anthony Braxton
woodwindsb.1945
Vince Mendoza
composer / conductorb.1961
Iain Ballamy
saxophone, tenorb.1964
Martin France
drumsb.1964
Terje Rypdal
guitarb.1947
Jacob Young
guitarb.1970
Terje Gewelt
bass, acousticb.1960
Cuong Vu
trumpetb.1969
Joel Harrison
guitar, electricb.1957
Dan Weiss
drums
Dominique di Piazza
bass, electricb.1959
Roy Hargrove
trumpet1969 - 2018
Dave Liebman
saxophoneb.1946
Instrument(s):
Organ, piano, keyboards.
Teachers and/or influences? JS Bach, Olivier Messiaen,
Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
Wayne Shorter
saxophone1933 - 2023
I knew I wanted to be a musician when... as a kid I played "drums" with pencils on Tupperware while my dad played
Fats Waller
piano1904 - 1943
Your sound and approach to music: Coming from Europe I like to have a sound which references Messiaen as much as
Larry Young
organ, Hammond B31940 - 1978
Your teaching approach: Less "scale to chord," "painting by numbers," and more "learning by listening" and "opening up the ears" to hearing new possibilities. Wayne Shorter and
Kenny Wheeler
flugelhorn1930 - 2014
Your dream band:
To be honest, I don't go in for that type of thinking, because I think your music is the result of the people you work with, and hopefully they are the best for that kind of music. I guess I feel I have my ideal band working now.
Road story: Your best or worst experience: Eastern European tour sticks out with many crazy episodes including playing a concert for the local organized crime boss (unknown to us at the time), and then being stopped for speeding by the cops, who, when we name-dropped the "Godfather" for whom we had just played, gave the driver back his license and sent us hurriedly on our way.
Favorite venue:
Ronnie Scott's London;
Nasjonal Jazzscene Victoria, Oslo.
Your favorite recording in your discography and why? My latest of course! Anthem is my first full Hammond organ CD, and I'm proud that it sounds good! Great sound from the mics, mixing and mastering!
The first Jazz album I bought was: A George Shearing compilation LP—loved it! Also Oscar Peterson and the Trumpet Kings on Pablo.
What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically? A European perspective on an African-American art form Specifically, playing the Hammond in a different way to my idols Larry Young, Dr.Lonnie Smith whilst still referencing them.
Did you know...
My saxophone quartet piece "Bow Out" was made into a ballet. Performed in Oakland, Florida, Richmond and Cincinnati.
CDs you are listening to now: Miles Davis, Tribute to Jack Johnson/em>; Washed Out, Life Of Leisure;
Tony Williams
drums1945 - 1997
Desert Island picks:
Glenn Gould
pianoOlivier Messiaen, Le Corps Glorieux;
Larry Young, Unity .
How would you describe the state of jazz today? Seems like many interesting new artists are emerging and that the music is thriving in many different places, globally.
What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing? crazy idealistic jazz people—musicians, club owners, record labels, and, of course, not least, fans!.p> What is in the near future? Looking forward to the next couple of months dates with the organ trio, including the Maijazz festival in Stavanger, Norway, as well as looking forward to hearing the mixes from a CD I did in NYC with Joel Harrison, Lorenzo Feliciati, Dan Weiss and Cuong Vu.
By Day:
Couple of days a week I teach, which I enjoy—so life is good!
If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a: Painter, writer or other equally difficult artistic professions. Only ever been interested in the arts really so I guess it's just as well that I'm doing my thing with music.
Photo Credit
Courtesy of
Roy Powell
keyboardsb.1965
Tags
Roy Powell
Take Five With...
Arild Andersen
Art Farmer
eddie daniels
Jeff Berlin
Reggie Washington
Bobby Shew
anthony braxton
Vince Mendoza
Mike Gibbs
Iain Ballamy
Martin France
Terje Rypdal
Jacob Young
Terje Gewelt
Cuong Vu
Joel Harrison
Dan Weiss
Dominique Di Piazza
Roy Hargrove
Dave Liebman
Miles Davis
Wayne Shorter
Fats Waller
Larry Young
Kenny Wheeler
Tony Williams
Glenn Gould
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