Discographers show
Jimmy Powell slowing down from his recording session duties in the late '70s, at that point having cut well over 100 albums with major figures in classic jazz such as
Fats Waller,
Count Basie,
Benny Carter, and
Sidney Bechet.
Powell dealt with much of the woodwind family -- several saxophones, clarinet, and flute among his axes -- but actually started out as a violinist. On this instrument he was something of a prodigy, performing a recital at New York Town Hall in 1928 when he was only 14 years old. He became a force in the reed sections of various New York City bands beginning in the mid-'30s.
In the '40s,
Powell was part of
Waller's touring outfit, then spent nearly four years with
Basie beginning in 1943. Through the ensuing decade he could be found in a dizzy roster of bands, needless to say including
Dizzy Gillespie's overseas activities as well as stints with players of a more traditional ilk such as
Hot Lips Page,
Don Redman, and
Lucky Millinder. The unfettered side of
Powell's blowing brought him into the R&B and even early rock & roll scheme of things, partnering with organ wildman
Bill Doggett and blowing solos on
Otis Redding records. In the late '50s and '60s
Powell played Latin jazz with
Machito and was a somewhat regular face on-stage at Harlem's Apollo Theatre in a house band fronted by
Reuben Phillips. Saxophone snobs insist
Powell's best work, at least on alto, takes place on
Count Basie records. ~ Eugene Chadbourne