The Bud Powell Collection

Piano Transcriptions

By Bud Powell

Really nice book, Powell's right hand style fairly transcribed. For confirmed pianists, and recommended for improvisation learning. Five big stars.

Bud Powell wasn't just one of the bop pianists - he invented bop piano and the piano hasn't been the same since. For someone who cares about how we got to where we are today, these transcriptions are a must, containing many of the true classical pieces of piano...

jazz. Parisian Thoroughfare is as important as a Chopin Etude and one gets the same giddy excitement from playing it. One doesn't have to master all this stuff - it's importance is that you never see the keyboard the same way after working on it. And these pieces are a treasurehouse of lines and ideas that can be used elsewhere. This is so much more fun than a boring book of jazz licks. (For instance, compare a book of Shakespeare quotes to a full play.) And if you want to learn how to construct an intro, this is the place. As with all the Leonard transcriptions these are accurate and clear. With these transcriptions to go along with a few of the classic recordings, there are many happy moments ahead.