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.
Lover Come Back To Me
Bud Powell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I let you
We broke the ties that bind
I wanted to forget you
And leave the past behind
Still, the magic of the night I met you
Seems to stay forever in my mind
And high above
The moon was new
And so was love
This eager heart of mine was singing
Lover where can you be
You came at last
Love had its day
That day is past
You've gone away
This aching heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
When I remember every little thing
You used to do
I'm so lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely
The sky is blue
The night is cold
The moon is new
But love is old
And while I'm waiting here
This heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
When I remember every little thing
You used to do
I grow lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely
The sky is blue
The night is cold
The moon is new
But love is old
And while I'm waiting here
This heart of mine is singing
Lover come back to me
The lyrics of "Lover Come Back to Me" by Bud Powell are about heartbreak and the longing for lost love. The song is in the form of a lament, expressing the pain and loneliness that the singer feels as a result of a breakup. The opening lines, "You went away, I let you, we broke the ties that bind," suggest that the singer may have been the one to end the relationship, but now regrets it. The chorus of the song is a plea for the lover to return, with the singer singing, "Lover come back to me" multiple times.
The verses of the song describe the night when the singer first met the lover, with the sky being a vibrant blue and the moon being new. This imagery creates a sense of nostalgia and makes the loss of the lover all the more painful. The lines "This eager heart of mine was singing, lover where can you be?" express the singer's eagerness and hopefulness in finding a new love, which is now replaced with a desperate yearning and sadness.
Overall, "Lover Come Back to Me" conveys the emotional turmoil that comes with lost love and the desire for a second chance.
Line by Line Meaning
You went away
The person addressed in the song has left the singer's life.
I let you
The singer acknowledges their role in the other person's departure.
We broke the ties that bind
The relationship between the singer and the other person has been severed.
I wanted to forget you
The singer was trying to move on from the other person.
And leave the past behind
The singer wanted to move forward with their life.
Still, the magic of the night I met you
Despite wanting to forget the other person, the memory of when they first met remains vivid in the singer's mind.
Seems to stay forever in my mind
The memory of the first meeting is a lasting one.
The sky was blue
The sky had a blue hue.
And high above
The sky was elevated.
The moon was new
It was the beginning of a new lunar cycle.
And so was love
The love between the singer and the other person was also new.
This eager heart of mine was singing
The singer's heart was full of joy and anticipation.
Lover where can you be
The singer is looking for the other person.
You came at last
The other person finally arrived.
Love had its day
The relationship between the two had its moment of glory.
That day is past
The moment of glory has passed.
You've gone away
The other person has left again.
This aching heart of mine is singing
The singer's heart is full of pain and yearning.
Lover come back to me
The singer wants the other person to return.
When I remember every little thing
The memories of their time together are still vivid in the singer's mind.
You used to do
Memories of things the other person used to do still linger in the singer's mind.
I'm so lonely
The singer is feeling lonely without the other person.
Every road I walk along
The singer sees the other person in every aspect of their life.
I walk along with you
The other person is still present in the singer's life.
No wonder I am lonely
Having the other person so present in their thoughts and memories makes the singer feel more lonely.
The night is cold
The temperature outside is low.
But love is old
The love between the two has existed for a while.
And while I'm waiting here
The singer is waiting for the other person to come back.
This heart of mine is singing
The emotions of the singer are strong and genuine.
Lover come back to me
The singer still wants the other person to return.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, DistroKid, TuneCore Inc., CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ONErpm, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, II, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN, SIGMUND ROMBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
jackie hard-bop lady brown
Thanks a lot is a good upload !
Bud Powell is my favorite of all the great JAZZ pianists . I appreciate his contributation to the JAZZ and admire his genius . Briefly i love everything about Bud Powell , - his personality , humanly and artisically . The horrible that happened through the police violence , the application of electro - schock in the psychiatric clinic to him , with the negativ influence on his health and further life , is unbearable to me and torments my soul .
I take here my liberty of saying : The system racism is the worst of hatred and disdain aganst human and the humanity . Takes More Than Guns To Kill A Man - from the song Joe Hill .
Post Scriptum : if anybody is interested on YT you can see the good document about Bud Powell title : The inner exile .
Thomas Myles
:< such an indignity, for the finest of the 20th century. Compelling film, have seen, I share your views on most things it would seem.
Ronald Unkel
Very well said, Jacqueline. Cin Cin!
harri2626
This was recorded a few months before the famous Massey Hall, Toronto concert (15 May 1953) with Bird and Diz. Bud's wonderful rendition of "Embraceable You" on this session is almost identical to that at Massey Hall.
Grisel Trigo
Bud was a genius plain and simple, bebop pianist Supreme, and really one of the creators, alongside Bird, Diz and Monk, of this incredibly creative and prodigious music. These were all musicians well versed on Westetn classical, stride and other traditional piano styles, who came up with a totally non traditional way of approaching the music. Bud had his personal medical and abuse problems, but his music speaks for itself. His Music will live forever. Every little bit of it is worth listening to, each, a little bit of a peak into his genius, and of his particular state of mind at that space in time. I wish he wouldn't have suffered as much, who knows where he might have taken the music.
Ronald Unkel
The shining intensity of be-bop piano genius Bud Powell. I’m somewhat confused because he also recorded, that same year (a long) live-gig at Birdland. Point is that Bud, after his horrible devastating accident, only liked to play his chosen repertoire. And the tunes here are (almost) identical selected. But what remains is the genius of this master Jazz great who died much to young. We can therefore be grateful about his legacy via these unique recordings. Dig/Enjoy & Cheers!
jackie hard-bop lady brown
Good ! 👌👍👌 many cheers ! 😘 🍷🍾🍸💝
Paul Robertz
Amazing! These were Bud Powell's first performances after being off the scene for more than a year and a half.
George McFetridge
Listening thru the entire 3 discs, I hear BP in a kind of ecstasy likely at being recently sprung free from the hospital on the feb/53 tracks - incredibly heartfelt! Later months show him at times with nothing to say in his improvs - a kind of pain-filled withdrawnness. The sense is that of Elvin Jones's description of him as like a delicate piece of china. Bud Powell had no chance in the world, really. How heavily he 'paid' for his giant stature in music.
George McFetridge
Thanks for this really satisfying BP album. No one had or has that brimming -over fierce vitality, emotional honesty, and deep song. Even the cover photo really enhances the imaginative sense of being there.