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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZPOWELL, Mel(b 12 Feb. '23, NYC; d 24 April '98) Pianist, arranger, composer, teacher. Led dixieland sextet at twelve; joined Benny Goodman '41, Raymond Scott CBS band '42, Glenn Miller AAF band '43, quit film and studio work to study composition at Yale with Paul Hindemith. Compositions for Goodman incl. 'The Earl' and 'Mission To Moscow' (latter no. 12 hit '42); he could play anything on the piano and won five down beat polls; his first stint with Goodman was one of the musical highlights of Goodman's career, comparable to the addition of Charlie Christian and Cootie Williams to Goodman's sextet. He played with Goodman again late '40s, '54, '57; occasionally sat in with Bobby Hackett in Connecticut mid-'60s, but concentrated on composition, incl. electronic music. He taught at Queens College NYC, then at Yale '54--69, was Dean of Music at California Institute of Arts in Valencia from '69, fellow since '76; many pieces incl. a concerto for harpsichord. He played on the SS Norway's Floating Jazz Festival out of Miami '86, jamming with Ruby Braff, Mel Lewis, Bob Wilber, Warren Vach‚, Svend Asmussen, others; partly disabled by a muscular disease in his legs, but there was nothing wrong with his hands: Wilber said, 'What astounds me is that it's like he never stopped playing -- it's all there.' Albums: The World Is Waiting with Joe Bushkin on Commodore Classics, The Unavailable Mel Powell from late '40s on Pausa, trio LP Bouquet on French Vogue; Thingamajig '54 with Ruby Braff and Bobby Donaldson, rated by some as his peak; Trio with Paul Quinichette on Vanguard; The Return Of Mel Powell '87 on Chiraroscuro. His classical pieces are on Musicmasters, Harmonia Mundi, New World (a woodwind quintet) and Music and Arts (a string quartet). Duplicates for two pianos and orchestra was a Pulitzer prize '90. |