The Amazing Bud Powell by Bud Powell

The Amazing Bud Powell, also called The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1, is an album by jazz pianist Bud Powell, first released on Blue Note in April 1952, as a 10" vinyl. It is part of a loosely connected series with the 1954 companion The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 2 and the 1957 Bud! The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 3), all released on Blue Note. The album details two recording sessions. In the first, recorded on August 9, 1949, Powell performed in quintet with Fats Navarro, Sonny Rollins, Tommy Potter and Roy Haynes, and in trio with Potter and Haynes. In the second, on May 1, 1951, Powell performed in trio with Curley Russell and Max Roach, and solo. The album is critically prized among Powell's releases. Among the more discussed of the album's tracks is the pianist's composition "Un Poco Loco" ("A Little Crazy"), which has been singled out by critics and cultural historians for its musical and cultural significance. The album was remastered and re-issued on CD in 1989 in chronological order with additional, alternate takes. This version is also available along with Powell's 1947 Roost session on the first disc of The Complete Blue Note and Roost Recordings, a 4 disc box set. The album was remastered again in 2001 by Rudy Van Gelder and re-issued as part of Blue Note's The RVG Edition series, with further expansion and reorganization.