Powell was perhaps the first pianist to vocalize on the piano, meaning that he transfered his vocalized improvisations directly through his hands to the instrument. This gave his music a deep connection to time, which is an artifact of the human voice. Previously, horn players were more likely to express their improvisations vocally, as the mouth and breath are directly tied to the performance of horn players.
Powell suffered from Bi-Polar Disorder, and in November 1947, Powell was admitted to Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, where he stayed for more than a year, receiving electroconvulsive therapy which caused severe memory loss. The young Jackie McLean and Sonny Rollins became friendly with Powell on his release from the hospital, and Powell recommended McLean to Miles Davis. However, Powell suffered from mental illness throughout his life, and had a reputation for his strange behaviour. In fact his problems, exacerbated by a beating from the police in 1945 for being disorderly, could all be attributed to being a manic depressive, although his illness was almost certainly a key driver of his immense creative talent. He was also an alcoholic, and even small quantities of alcohol had a profound effect on his character, making him aggressive. Powell's continued rivalry with Charlie Parker, while essential to the production of brilliant music, was also the subject of disruptive feuding and bitterness on the bandstand, as a result of Powell's troubled mental and physical condition. He spent all of 1952 (and parts of many subsequent years) in a hospital. When he was out of the hospital, he was often locked up in a hotel room and was usually denied receiving the money he earned performing.
It is generally agreed that his best recordings are those made prior to 1954, both for Blue Note Records and for Norman Granz (at Mercury Records, Norgran Records, Clef Records and later on Verve Records).
After 1953 (when Powell attempted suicide), his style became darker and slower. Many jazz critics pronounced him "washed up" during the last decade of his career. There were a few recordings which never should have been issued (Verve from January 1955 and Roulette Oct. 1964). Still, he continued to play with great intensity even without the speed that made him famous in the 1940s. His late 1950s Blue Note recordings are recommended. Bud performed regularly with drummer Kenny Clarke and bassists Oscar Pettiford or Pierre Michelot. He performed brilliantly as a sideman for Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, and Dexter Gordon on recordings in the early 1960s. As late as 1962 he recorded concerts in Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland, in which he played as brilliantly as he had played in the late 1940s. Powell moved to France in 1959, when his life was extended by several years under the care of a fan named Francis Paudras, whose book "Dance of the Infidels" is required reading for any Powell fan. Paudras' friendship produced many impromptu recordings and was the basis for the 1987 Bernard Tavenier film "Round Midnight", for which Dexter Gordon received a best actor Oscar nomination (as a fictional composite of Bud Powell and Lester Young).
Paudras and Powell returned to Birdland in the fall of 1964 to initial critical acclaim. Bud despised the drummer he had to play with and soon lost his regular engagement at Birdland. After Paudras returned to France without Powell, ESP-disk's founder became Bud's legal guardian, but let Bud self-destruct from late 1964 until his death in July, 1966. Bud's last recordings were a haunting, sparse "Round Midnight" from Carnegie Hall in March 1965 and other trio tracks from January 1966 on the mysterious "Ups 'n Downs" album.
He is survived by his daughter Celia, who has been reissuing Paudras' recordings of her father on the Pablo and Piadrum labels.
How High the Moon
Bud Powell Lyrics
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How faint the tune
Somewhere there's heaven
How high the moon
There is no moon above
When love is far away too
Till it comes true
That you love me as I love you
Somewhere there's music
How near, how far
Somewhere there's heaven
It's where you are
The darkest night would shine
If you would come to me soon
Until you will, how still my heart
How high the moon
Somewhere there's music
How faint the tune
Somewhere there's heaven
How high the moon
The darkest night would shine
If you would come to me soon
Until you will, how still my heart
How high the moon
The lyrics to Bud Powell's song, How High the Moon, express a longing for love and a sense of hope that it exists somewhere, even if it seems distant or unattainable. The opening line, "Somewhere there's music, how faint the tune," suggests that the music of love is barely audible, perhaps because it has not yet been experienced or because it is not present in the singer's life at the moment. The next line, "Somewhere there's heaven, how high the moon," uses the image of the moon to represent the height and depth of true love. Love is something that can lift us up to Heaven, but it is also something that can feel out of reach, like the moon in the sky.
The second stanza of the song continues to describe the power of love to transform the world. "Somewhere there's music, how near, how far," captures the sense of anticipation and uncertainty that comes with the search for love. The next line, "Somewhere there's heaven, it's where you are," suggests that love is not an abstract idea, but something that is embodied in a particular person. The final lines of the song, "The darkest night would shine, if you would come to me soon, until you will, how still my heart, how high the moon," express a sense of longing and impatience for the beloved to return. The darkest night can only be illuminated by the light of love, and until that happens, the singer's heart remains still.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere there's music
Music exists in some place, but its presence is not clearly audible.
How faint the tune
The melody is weak and difficult to hear amidst the other noises.
Somewhere there's heaven
A place that is perfect and idyllic beyond imagination exists somewhere.
How high the moon
This wonderful place is so high above that we can't reach it, and seems unattainable, like the moon.
There is no moon above
When love is absent, even the moon, a symbol of hope and beauty, disappears.
When love is far away too
When love is absent, it feels like there is no one to depend on, and we feel lost and alone.
Till it comes true
Hope is always alive, and we anticipate the moment when love will be found.
That you love me as I love you
The love should be mutual and genuine, only then it can be sustained.
How near, how far
The music and heaven, both of them seem to be within arm's reach, but in reality, it's difficult to reach them.
It's where you are
Heaven and an ideal place is wherever the beloved person is present to make it a paradise.
The darkest night would shine
The gloomiest and depressing moments of life would seem bright and cheerful when the beloved person is beside us.
If you would come to me soon
The only hope during the dark times is to have the loved one nearby to comfort us.
Until you will, how still my heart
The absence of the loved one creates an internal void and the heart feels immobile, longing for their return.
How high the moon
The world is perfect when we have the presence of loved ones, and such longevity and happiness seem high like the moon, but is it not impossible to achieve.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Morgan Lewis, Nancy Hamilton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind