Bud Powell: I Should Care

Bud Powell was still a young man when he recorded this track -- he would turn 32 two weeks later -- but he had already entered a period of decline. He starts with an intro that is more cocktail piano bombast than jazz, and when he falls into a proper tempo, he tinkles where a younger Powell would have burned up the keyboard. But the worst thing is the submersion of his own musical personality in mannerisms that sound like bits of Oscar or Erroll or Thelonious. Powell devotees may still want to check out this track, but if you haven't heard this artist before, start with the great recordings from 1947-1951.