The Complete Blue Note and Roost Recordings is a four-disc box set, released on October 4, 1994, containing the bulk of jazz pianist Bud Powell's recordings as leader for Blue Note Records, plus two early sessions for Roost Records.
Although pianist Bud Powell recorded some great albums elsewhere (most notably his first couple of sessions for Verve), on the whole his Blue Note records were his most significant and definitive. This four-CD set has all of the music from his five Blue Note albums, his two sessions for the Roost label, and all known alternate takes. Powell literally changed the way that the piano is played in jazz, and this magnificent set has more than its share of classics. In addition to the many trio performances, trombonist Curtis Fuller sits in on three numbers, there are a few solo cuts, and one date features Powell at the head of a quintet with trumpeter Fats Navarro and the young tenor Sonny Rollins. Although there are a few faltering moments in the later dates, this essential release (unlike the similar Verve reissue) is quite consistent.
Disc 1
01. I'll Remember April (2:54)
02. Indiana (2:45)
03. Somebody Loves Me (2:56)
04. I Should Care (3:02)
05. Bud's Bubble (2:36)
06. Off Minor (2:24)
07. Nice Work If You Can Get It (2:20)
08. Everything Happens to Me (2:41)
09. Bouncing with Bud (alt tk #1) (3:05)
10. Bouncing with Bud (alt tk #2) (3:15)
11. Bouncing with Bud (3:03)
12. Wail (alt tk) (2:43)
13. Wail (3:06)
14. Dance of Infidels (alt tk) (2:52)
15. Dance of Infidels (2:54)
16. 52nd Street Theme (2:50)
17. You Go to My Head (3:15)
18. Ornithology (2:24)
19. Ornithology (alt tk) (3:11)
20. Un Poco Loco (alt tk #1) (3:50)
21. Un Poco Loco (alt tk #2) (4:32)
22. Un Poco Loco (4:45)
23. Over the Rainbow (2:57)
Disc 2
01. A Night in Tunisia (4:17)
02. A Night in Tunisia (alt tk) (3:53)
03. It Could Happen to You (alt tk) (2:24)
04. It Could Happen to You (3:15)
05. Parisian Thoroughfare (3:26)
06. Autumn in New York (2:55)
07. Reets and I (3:22)
08. Reets and I (alt tk) (2:34)
09. Sure Thing (2:42)
10. Collard Greens and Black Eyed Peas (alt tk) (2:13)
11. Collard Greens and Black Eyed Peas (3:05)
12. Polka Dots and Moonbeams (4:04)
13. I Want to Be Happy (2:53)
14. Audrey (2:58)
15. Glass Enclosure (2:24)
16. Embraceable You (2:51)
17. Burt Covers Bud (3:07)
18. My Heart Stood Still (3:20)
19. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To (2:41)
20. Bags' Groove (2:14)
21. My Devotion (3:05)
22. Stella by Starlight (2:10)
23. Woody 'n You (3:00)
Disc 3
01. Blue Pearl (3:49)
02. Blue Pearl (alt tk) (4:04)
03. Keepin' In The Groove (2:55)
04. Some Soul (6:59)
05. Frantic Fancies (4:54)
06. Bud On Bach (2:31)
07. Idaho (5:18)
08. Don't Blame Me (7:33)
09. Moose The Mooche (5:47)
10. John's Abbey (alt tk) (2:26)
11. Sub City (alt tk) (2:35)
12. Sub City (4:33)
13. John's Abbey (5:39)
14. Buster Rides Again (5:30)
Disc 4
01. Dry Soul (6:43)
02. Marmalade (4:32)
03. Monopoly (4:51)
04. Time Waits (5:07)
05. The Scene Changes (4:04)
06. Down With It (4:02)
07. Comin' Up (alt. tk) (5:31)
08. Comin' Up (8:00)
09. Duid Deed (5:10)
10. Cleopatra's Dream (4:25)
11. Gettin' There (5:06)
12. Crossin' The Channel (3:32)
13. Danceland (3:45)
14. Borderick (2:02)
15. Like Someone In Love (6:18)
Personnel
Bud Powell - plays piano on all tracks.
• January 10, 1947, New York. Disc 1, tracks 1-8. Roost session.
Curly Russell – bass
Max Roach – drums
• August 9, 1949, WOR Studios, New York. Disc 1, tracks 9-19.
Fats Navarro – trumpet (tracks 9-16)
Sonny Rollins – tenor sax (tracks 9-16)
Tommy Potter – bass
Roy Haynes – drums
• May 1, 1951, WOR Studios, New York. Disc 1, tracks 20-23 and disc 2, tracks 1-5.
Curly Russell – bass (except disc 1, track 23 and disc 2, tracks 3-4 – Powell solos)
Max Roach – drums (except disc 1, track 23 and disc 2, tracks 3-4 – Powell solos)
• August 14, 1953, WOR Studios, New York. Disc 2, tracks 6-15.
George Duvivier – bass
Art Taylor – drums
• September 1953, New York. Disc 2, tracks 16-23. Roost session.
George Duvivier – bass
Art Taylor – drums
• August 3, 1957, Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey. Disc 3, tracks 1-9.
Curtis Fuller – trombone (tracks 7-9)
Paul Chambers – bass (except track 6 – Powell solo)
Art Taylor – drums (except track 6 – Powell solo)
• May 24, 1958, Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey. Disc 3, tracks 10-14 and disc 4, tracks 1-4.
Sam Jones – bass
Philly Joe Jones – drums
• December 28, 1958, Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey. Disc 4, tracks 5-14.
Paul Chambers – bass
Art Taylor – drums
• May 23, 1963, CBS Studios, Paris. Disc 4, track 15.
Pierre Michelot – bass
Kenny Clarke – drums
