Editing Bud Powell (section)

== Career ==

=== 1943–1945: Cootie Williams's band ===
In his youth Powell listened to the adventurous performances at [[Clark Monroe's Uptown House]], a venue near his home. This was where [[Charlie Parker]] first appeared as a solo act when the saxophone player briefly stayed in New York between stints with swing bands.<ref name="Patrick 1983">Patrick, pp. 159–161.</ref> [[Thelonious Monk]] played at Uptown House. When Monk met Powell<ref name="Hentoff 1956 p=16">Hentoff p. 16.</ref> he introduced Powell to musicians who were starting to play bebop at [[Minton's Playhouse]]. Monk was a resident pianist, and he presented Powell as his protégé. Their mutual affection grew, and Monk wrote "[[In Walked Bud]]" as a tribute to their time together in Harlem.<ref name="Martin-Waters">''Jazz: The First 100 Years''. Henry Martin and Keith Waters. Cengage Learning, 2005; {{ISBN|0-534-62804-4}}, p. 215.</ref> Monk, Powell, and Hope held jam sessions together at Monk's home in [[San Juan Hill, Manhattan|San Juan Hill]], but as they only had one piano, they had to alternate playing.{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|p=61}}

Powell worked as a pianist for [[Big band|dance bands]], his incubation culminating in becoming the pianist for the swing orchestra of trumpeter [[Cootie Williams]]. Powell was the pianist on a handful of Williams's recording dates in 1944 and embarked on a tour of the South with his band.<ref name=":4" /> Among the tracks released was the first recording of Monk's "[['Round Midnight (song)|'Round Midnight]]",<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/1941-1944-classics-mw0000177060 |title=1941-1944 [Classics] - Cootie Williams & His Orchestra |website=AllMusic |access-date=April 22, 2017}}</ref> a tune Powell requested that Williams' band play.<ref name=":7" /> Powell frequently clashed with Williams over what tunes the band would play, and by the mid-1940s the pianist had shifted toward the [[bebop]] scene on [[52nd Street (Manhattan)|52nd Street]].<ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" /> By the end of his time with Williams, Powell was the musical director and arranger for the trumpeter's band.{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|p=74}}

=== 1945–1948: Hospitalizations ===
[[File:Creedmore Psych Cen jeh.jpg|thumb|Creedmoor State Hospital]]
After a performance with Williams's band, Powell wandered near [[Broad Street Station (Philadelphia)|Broad Street Station]] and was apprehended, drunk, by the private railroad police. He was beaten up by them and incarcerated briefly by the city police,<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 7, 2015 |title=Jazz Pianist Bud Powell & His Guardian Angel |url=https://www.kcrw.com/music/articles/jazz-pianist-bud-powell-his-guardian-angel |access-date=December 2, 2023 |website=KCRW |language=en}}</ref> but as his headaches persisted, he moved to his family's second home in [[Willow Grove, Pennsylvania]].<ref name=":11" /> He suffered constant pain from his head wounds and turned to alcohol to relieve the pain, as a result, developing an addiction that would haunt him for the rest of his life. After attempts by Powell's mother and his girlfriend Frances Barnes to treat his severe headaches, he admitted himself to [[Bellevue Hospital]].{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=2}}<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Bud Powell: The Agony and the Ecstacy |url=https://www.jazzwise.com/features/article/bud-powell-the-agony-and-the-ecstacy |access-date=November 22, 2023 |website=Jazzwise |language=en}}</ref>

Following medical evaluation at Bellevue, he was transferred to [[Creedmoor Psychiatric Center|Creedmoor State Hospital]] and was institutionalized<ref name=":4" /> with alcoholics, drug addicts, and permanently institutionalized residents.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=3}} Fellow pianist and composer [[Elmo Hope]], who visited Powell regularly while he was hospitalized, became concerned by Creedmoor's forced administration of [[Sedative|tranquilizers]] and sleeping pills and their negative impact upon Powell's health. Hope arranged for his medical care to be transferred to a jazz aficionado who let him play piano regularly and even perform a concert to show his lucidity.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|pp=4–5}} After the concert, he was released and resumed playing in Manhattan.<ref name=":4" />

In 1945–1946 Powell recorded with [[Frank Socolow]], [[Sarah Vaughan]], [[Dexter Gordon]], [[J. J. Johnson]], [[Sonny Stitt]], [[Fats Navarro]], and [[Kenny Clarke]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.jazzdisco.org/bud-powell/discography/|title=Bud Powell Discography|website=Jazzdisco.org |access-date=April 22, 2017 }}</ref> Powell became known for his [[sight-reading]] and his skill at fast tempos.<ref name=":1" /> In an incident in 1945, Monk falsely confessed to using drugs Powell had used in order to protect his friend from losing his [[New York City Cabaret Card|cabaret card]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2017 |title=Bud Powell Revisited |url=https://www.nepm.org/jazz-world/2017-09-27/bud-powell-revisited |access-date=December 2, 2023 |website=New England Public Media |language=en}}</ref>

In January 1947, Powell recorded the first volume of his 10" album ''[[Bud Powell Trio]]'' for [[Roost Records]] with [[Curley Russell]] and [[Max Roach]]; both musicians would play in his trio regularly during succeeding years.<ref name=":1" /> Charlie Parker chose Powell to be his pianist on a May 1947 quintet recording session with [[Miles Davis]], [[Tommy Potter]], and [[Max Roach]]; this was the only studio session intended for release in which Parker and Powell played together.<ref name=":2">{{cite book|last=Ramsey|first=Guthrie P. |title=The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, and the Challenge of Bebop |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g1YYaqWNehUC&pg=PA75 |access-date=March 29, 2019 |date=May 28, 2013 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24391-0 |page=75}}</ref> The two did reunite, however, in late 1947 with fellow saxophone player [[Allen Eager]] at Milton Greene's studio for an informal recorded [[jam session]] that was released under Eager's name.<ref name=":1" />

In November 1947, Powell had an altercation with a customer at a bar in Harlem. In the ensuing fight, Powell was hit over his eye with a bottle. He was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he was found to be "incoherent and rambunctious", and so was moved to Bellevue, which had a record of his previous confinement there and at a psychiatric hospital.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.beachamjournal.com/p/bebop-jazz-pianist-bud-powell-was|title=Bebop jazz pianist Bud Powell was born 99 years ago today|first=Frank|last=Beacham|website=www.beachamjournal.com}}</ref> He spent eleven months at Creedmore.<ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" /> Attempts to tell hospital staff he was a pianist who had "made records" led to his dismissal as a [[Fantasy (psychology)|fantasist]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bud Powell |url=https://www.jazzwise.com/artists/article/bud-powell |access-date=November 25, 2023 |website=Jazzwise |language=en}}</ref> and in psychiatric interviews, he expressed feelings of persecution founded in [[Racism in the United States|racism]].<ref name="Dyer2014">{{cite book|author=Geoff Dyer|title=But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_eyAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA219|date=June 24, 2014|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=978-1-4668-6985-1|page=219}}</ref> He received [[electroconvulsive therapy]] while institutionalized, but was released after eleven months.<ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" /><ref name=":8" /> [[Jackie McLean]], a young alto saxophone player who admired the pianist's ability and helped protect him,<ref name=":4" /> befriended Powell around 1947.<ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" />

Powell may have been religious at this time; in a 1947 letter to fellow pianist and Catholic [[Mary Lou Williams]], he lamented the challenges of his early life but felt that "God had used a spy" that "lifted me out of the depth of shame."{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=178}} He became increasingly frustrated with life as a musician because he felt that he was being hired to play dinner music by white audiences that did not appreciate his talent.{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|pp=68–69}} However, he remained known in musical circles as his mother had an apartment where she allowed musicians to stay. Hotels where Black musicians could stay were still in short supply, even in New York.{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|p=75}}

Powell's only daughter, Celia, was born in 1948; Powell named one of his compositions after her. Following her father's death in 1966 she worked as a movie consultant for ''[[Round Midnight (film)|Round Midnight]]''{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|pp=92–93}} and founded the [[Mythic Sound]] record label.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Richard |title=[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz]] |last2=Morton |first2=Brian |date=1994 |publisher=Penguin |pages=1063}}</ref>

=== 1949–1951: ''Jazz Giant'' ===
After a brief hospitalization in early 1949, Powell made several recordings over the next two and a half years, most of them for [[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]],<ref name="Founder">{{cite web |title=Alfred Lion, 78, the Founder of the Blue Note Jazz Label |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/09/obituaries/alfred-lion-78-the-founder-of-the-blue-note-jazz-label.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=March 30, 2019 |date=February 9, 1987}}</ref> [[Mercury Records|Mercury]], [[Norgran Records|Norgran]], and Clef.<ref name="Davis2002">{{cite book|last=Davis|first=Francis|title=Like Young: Jazz, Pop, Youth And Middle Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsNOAQAACAAJ|date=October 24, 2002|publisher=Hachette Books|isbn=978-0-306-81186-9|page=58}}</ref> He also recorded that summer for two independent producers, a session that resulted in eight [[Master recordings|masters]]; [[Max Roach]] and [[Curly Russell]] were his accompanists. The recordings were released in 1950, when [[Roost Records]] bought the masters and released them on a series of [[Phonograph record|78 rpm records]].<ref name="Pullman 2012">Pullman, p. 120.</ref> Musicologist Guthrie Ramsey wrote of the session that "Powell proves himself the equal of any of the other beboppers in technique, versatility, and feeling."<ref>{{cite book |last=Ramsey |first=Guthrie P. |date=2013 |title=The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, and the Challenge of Bebop |publisher=University of California Press |page=69 |isbn=9780520243910 }}</ref>[[File:Fats Navarro (Gottlieb 06551).jpg|left|thumb|173x173px|Navarro, who recorded with Powell for Blue Note]]The first Blue Note session in August 1949 included trumpeter [[Fats Navarro]], saxophone player [[Sonny Rollins]], bassist [[Tommy Potter]] and drummer [[Roy Haynes]], and it introduced Powell's compositions "Bouncing with Bud" and "Dance of the Infidels". He went to the studio again, this time for [[Prestige Records|Prestige]], in December, with alto saxophone player [[Sonny Stitt]] to record four sides for a quartet album.<ref name=":1" /> Powell and Stitt did a concert together on Christmas Day at [[Carnegie Hall]] with [[Miles Davis]] on trumpet that was titled "[[Symphony Sid]]'s Christmas Party". The event was announced and produced by Sid and [[Leonard Feather]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Session details: Carnegie Hall (December 25, 1949) |url=http://www.plosin.com/milesAhead/Sessions.aspx?s=491225a |access-date=November 23, 2023 |website=Plosin.com}}</ref>

In January 1950, Powell was back in the studio with Stitt to record more of their joint album, but it was Powell's trio recording the following month that contributed to his famous album ''[[Jazz Giant]]'' (1950).<ref name=":1" /> Part of the album had been recorded with bassist [[Ray Brown (musician)|Ray Brown]] on a daytime release from hospital in 1949, while the 1950 session was recorded with Curley Russell. Roach was present on drums for both sessions.<ref name=":1" /> Tracks from the two sessions included his compositions "Tempus Fugit" and "Celia", an up-tempo version of the jazz standard "[[Cherokee (Ray Noble song)|Cherokee]]", "[[Get Happy (song)|Get Happy]]", and "[[All God's Chillun Got Rhythm|All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm]]". The first session was described by critic John White as "feverish" while the later session was "restrained but moving".<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=John |date=August 25, 2021 |title=Bud Powell: Jazz Giant |url=https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2021/08/25/bud-powell-jazz-giant/ |access-date=November 23, 2023 |website=Jazz Journal |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Powell joined Charlie Parker and Fats Navarro at [[Birdland (New York jazz club)|Birdland]] for ''[[One Night in Birdland]]'', a live album performed shortly before Navarro's death from tuberculosis in July 1950. The live engagement was noted for its "brilliant...all-star lineup [that] clearly inspired" the musicians in the quintet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charlie Parker - One Night at Birdland Album Reviews, Songs & More|website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/one-night-at-birdland-mw0000870913 |access-date=November 23, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> A trio recording with [[Buddy Rich]] on drums and a big band session with [[Sarah Vaughan]] and [[Norman Leyden]]'s Orchestra concluded Powell's recording schedule in 1950.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Birdland club entrance.jpg|left|thumb|The [[Birdland (New York jazz club)|Birdland]] jazz club as it appeared {{Circa|1950}}, presenting Powell's friend [[Ella Fitzgerald]]]]
Powell was once again recorded at Birdland for the live album ''Summit Meeting at Birdland'' (1978) with [[Dizzy Gillespie]] on trumpet and Parker on saxophone. The half of the album featuring Powell was described by critic [[Scott Yanow]] as "stirring" and was noted for its renditions of "[[Blue 'n' Boogie|Blue 'n Boogie]]" and "[[Anthropology (composition)|Anthropology]]."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charlie Parker - Summit Meeting at Birdland Album Reviews, Songs & More |website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/summit-meeting-at-birdland-mw0000731256 |access-date=November 23, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> A second Blue Note session attended by Powell in 1951 was a trio with Russell and Roach that included his originals "[[Parisian Thoroughfare]]" and "[[Un Poco Loco]]".<ref name=":1" /> The latter was selected by literary critic [[Harold Bloom]] for his short list of the greatest works of twentieth-century American art.<ref>''Modern Critical Interpretations: Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow''. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986.</ref>

=== 1951–1955: Marijuana bust and guardianship ===
After a bout of alcoholism and narcotic use in August 1951, he was arrested on what ''The Complete Bud Powell on Verve'' author Peter Pullman describes as false [[Cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] charges. While incarcerated he had an emotional outburst, leading to hospitalization at [[Pilgrim Psychiatric Center|Pilgrim State Hospital]].<ref name=":11" /><ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" /> Powell was interrupted by another stay in a psychiatric facility from late 1951 to mid-1952 after being arrested for possession of [[heroin]]. He was transferred to Creedmoor Hospital in 1952 and was not permanently released until 1953.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=David |title=Burning With Bud: Bud Powell Live 1944-1953 |url=https://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/burning-bud-bud-powell-live-19441953.php |access-date=December 2, 2023 |website=Night Lights Classic Jazz - Indiana Public Media }}</ref> Although Powell's only daughter with Frances Barnes, Celia, had been born around the time of his hospitalization, his alleged mental incompetency made him legally unable to recognize her as his daughter.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=331}}

Creedmoor again administered electroconvulsive therapy on Powell, and his ability to practice piano was restricted by hospital staff. By the end of his hospitalization, he had become [[Sterility (physiology)|sterile]]{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=20}} and suffered from severe [[amnesia]], and was unable to remember details of his life prior to hospitalization.<ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" /> The [[New York Supreme Court]] declared Powell [[competence (law)|mentally incompetent]], making him entirely dependent upon guardians to manage his money and performance schedule.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=23}}
[[File:Bud Powell (1953 publicity photo - cropped).jpg|thumb|174x174px|Powell in a publicity photo, 1953]]
In February 1953, Powell entered the guardianship and financial management of Oscar Goodstein, owner of the [[Birdland (jazz club)|Birdland]] nightclub,<ref name=":6" /> but saw his health and piano playing affected by the antipsychotic medication [[Chlorpromazine|Largactil]], which he was prescribed as treatment for [[schizophrenia]].<ref name="Davis" /> A 1953 trio session for Blue Note with bassist [[George Duvivier]] and drummer [[Art Taylor]] included Powell's composition "[[Glass Enclosure]]", a composition that critics have suggested was related to his near-imprisonment in Goodstein's apartment.<ref name="Davis">{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Francis |title=Bud's Bubble |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1996/01/buds-bubble/376517/ |website=The Atlantic |access-date=March 30, 2019 |date=January 1, 1996}}</ref> [[Ira Gitler]], however, attributes the "desolation, melancholy, and anxiety" of this composition to his time in [[Lunatic asylum|asylums]].<ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" />

Powell played at [[Massey Hall]] in [[Toronto]] with The Quintet, including [[Charlie Parker]], [[Dizzy Gillespie]], [[Charles Mingus]], and [[Max Roach]], on May 15, 1953. The performance was recorded and released by [[Debut Records]] as the album ''[[Jazz at Massey Hall]]''<ref name=":1" /> and was marketed as "The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever - A 1992 Interview With Drummer Max Roach {{!}} Billboard Canada |url=https://ca.billboard.com/fyi/greatest-jazz-concert-ever-1992-interview-drummer-max-roach |access-date=February 27, 2024 |website=ca.billboard.com |language=en}}</ref> While the concert is best known for its first half performed by the full quintet, six of the tunes from the latter half of the performance were performed by the core trio of Powell, Mingus, and Roach and subsequently released on record.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CELEBRATING THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF "THE GREATEST JAZZ CONCERT EVER" WITH DEFINITIVE COLLECTION HOT HOUSE: THE COMPLETE JAZZ AT MASSEY HALL RECORDINGS |url=https://craftrecordings.com/blogs/news/hot-house-the-complete-jazz-at-massey-hall-recordings |access-date=November 22, 2023 |website=Craft Recordings |language=en}}</ref>

Powell's manager Goodstein arranged a regular gig at his Birdland club. However, Powell's alcoholism was a constant problem, and he recruited several [[groupie]]s from Utah to prevent him from buying alcohol or stealing drinks.<ref name=":11" /><ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" /> The club tape-recorded sessions from February to September of that year, and they were produced by Michael Anderson and received a positive review from critic Thom Jurek.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bud Powell - Birdland: 1953 Album Reviews, Songs & More |website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/birdland-1953-mw0000442962 |access-date=December 8, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> It was during his Birdland gig in 1953 that, according to Gitler, Powell began to show signs of mental illness; later accounts by Gitler and Seattle Ph.D. Fredric Harris indicate that the illness could have been [[epilepsy]].{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|p=31}} Gitler also cites 1953 and 1954 as when Powell became less talkative, more withdrawn, and less technically able as a pianist.{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|p=45}} Powell was briefly married to Audrey Hill, but they separated and divorce proceedings were never finalized.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=313}}

Powell and Charlie Parker developed a rivalry that resulted in feuding and bitterness on the bandstand, likely caused at least in part by the pianist's worsening physical and mental health.<ref name="MartinWaters2015">{{cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YnCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA207 |title=Jazz: The First 100 Years, Enhanced Media Edition |last2=Waters |first2=Keith |date=January 1, 2015 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1-305-54503-8 |page=207 |access-date=March 29, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Reisner1977">{{cite book|last=Reisner|first=Robert|title=Bird: The Legend of Charlie Parker |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AT8IAQAAMAAJ|date=August 22, 1977|publisher=Hachette Books|isbn=978-0-306-80069-6|page=81}}</ref> One of his few New York engagements during this time, with Parker and [[Kenny Dorham]] in March 1955 shortly before the former's death, ended early when Parker and Powell had an argument.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charlie Parker Chronology 1951 |url=http://www.plosin.com/milesAhead/Bird/Charlie%20Parker%20Chronology%201955.html |access-date=November 22, 2023 |website=Plosin.com}}</ref>

By mid-1954,<ref name=":1" /> Powell had resumed sessions for Norgran and Verve, recording alongside Duvivier, Taylor, Roach, [[Percy Heath]], [[Lloyd Trotman]], [[Art Blakey]], [[Kenny Clarke]], and [[Osie Johnson]], in a series of albums produced for the two labels.<ref name=":1" /> Despite regular recording dates, the owners of Birdland maintained complete control over Powell's schedule, and they even introduced him to his later girlfriend Altevia "Buttercup" Edwards.<ref name=":8" /> In early 1955, he led a series of recording dates on which he first played his composition "[[Mediocre (composition)|Mediocre]]". The recording was notable because Powell chose to follow its first [[refrain|chorus]] with "increasingly outré variations on the melody rather than soloing over the chords."<ref>{{cite web |last=Burnett |first=Patrick |title=Bud Powell Box Collections |date=March 1997 |url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=2377 |accessdate=June 13, 2009 |publisher=[[All About Jazz]]}}</ref> The playing of these recording dates as a whole, however, was troubled, with a reviewer for ''[[DownBeat]]'' remarking, "his playing mirrors many of the tensions and many of the fearful perspectives that are with him in his more difficult times."<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=April 20, 1955 |title=Bud Powell: Jazz Original |magazine=[[DownBeat]] |pages=24}}</ref> He had forgotten standards he had played fluently prior to his 1951 hospitalization and relied upon others to serve as musical directors. Additionally, Powell was still under a guardianship and therefore lacked control over the release of his recordings, leading many to be released where he was confused or unable to play.{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|p=123}}

Powell and his trio recorded an album, ''[[Piano Interpretations by Bud Powell]]'', in April 1955 that included interpretations of jazz standards "[[Crazy Rhythm]]" and [[George Shearing]]'s "[[Conception (song)|Conception]]" among a total of eight tunes produced by Norgran Records and re-released by Verve in 1957.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Norgran Records Catalog: 1000 series |url=https://www.jazzdisco.org/verve-records/norgran-records-catalog-1000-series/#mgn-1077 |access-date=November 22, 2023 |website=Jazzdisco.org}}</ref> The album led to a re-evaluation of Powell by ''DownBeat''<nowiki/>'s columnists, who remarked, "Bud is in increasing control over himself... [and] may be beginning a second career. I know that everybody in jazz hopes so."<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 8, 1956 |title=Bud Powell - Piano Interpretations |magazine=[[DownBeat]] |pages=24}}</ref>

=== 1956–1958: Birdland All-Stars and return to Blue Note ===
[[File:Bud Powell.jpg|left|thumb|229x229px|Powell, {{Circa|1955–1960}}]]
Powell's long-running gig at [[Storyville (nightclub)|Storyville]], a jazz club in [[Boston]], ended in January 1956. On the last night of the gig he met [[Toshiko Akiyoshi]], a pianist who had recently moved to the U.S. from Japan. She became a friend of his in his later years and contributed to the [[liner notes]] of ''[[The Complete Bud Powell on Verve]]''.{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|pp=35–36}} In March of the same year, "Buttercup" Edwards in a [[Paternity law|paternity suit]] accused Powell of being the father of her son. Powell was arrested but later released on the basis that he was not biologically capable of being a father. Around the same time as this incident, the [[New York Supreme Court]] rescinded its claim that Powell was mentally incompetent, again enabling him to tour.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=20}} Jazz historian Pierre-Emmanuel Seguin suggested that the removal of guardianship was an intentional move by Goodstein to marry Powell to Edwards and continue to control his musical engagements by proxy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Seguin |first=Pierre-Emmanuel |date=2015 |title=''Wail: The Life of Bud Powell'', and ''The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, and the Challenge of Bebop'' |journal=Jazz Research Journal |pages=96}}</ref>

Powell took part in the spring 1956 Birdland Tour organized by [[Morris Levy]], for which he was joined by bassist [[Joe Benjamin]] and drummer [[Roy Haynes]]. [[Nat Hentoff]], writing for ''DownBeat'', noted that during the Tour, Powell's style appeared to have become calmer and more lucid, contrasting with the turbulence of his playing in previous years.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hentoff |first=Nat |date=March 7, 1956 |title=Birdland Tour in Fast Start |magazine=[[DownBeat]] |pages=24}}</ref> According to pianists [[Barry Harris]] and [[Michael Weiss (pianist)|Michael Weiss]] and writer Peter Pullman, who analyzed all of Powell's recordings on Verve, his playing improved dramatically between the January 1955 and September 1956 sessions he recorded for the label with his trio.{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|p=130}} In the 1956 ''DownBeat'' critics' poll of jazz pianists, Powell took a narrow second, slightly edged out by [[Art Tatum]]; but he placed higher than [[Erroll Garner]], [[Earl Hines]], [[John Lewis (pianist)|John Lewis]], and [[Count Basie]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 8, 1956 |title=It's Basie And The MJQ Again |magazine=[[DownBeat]] |pages=11}}</ref>

In June 1956, Powell's younger brother [[Richie Powell|Richie]] and trumpeter [[Clifford Brown]] were killed in a car crash.<ref name="Catalano2001">{{cite book |last=Catalano |first=Nick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjUfAQAAQBAJ |title=Clifford Brown: The Life and Art of the Legendary Jazz Trumpeter |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-514400-0 |page=167}}</ref> Bud, saddened by the loss of his brother, fell from the public view of American jazz musicians and critics, particularly after his Verve contract ended in September.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|pp=20, 23}} In November, he began a tour of Europe with the Birdland All-Stars in addition to [[Miles Davis]], the [[Modern Jazz Quartet]], and [[Lester Young]] starring throughout the performances.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Session details: Salle Pleyel (November 2, 1956) |url=http://www.plosin.com/milesAhead/Sessions.aspx?s=561102 |access-date=December 2, 2023 |website=Plosin.com}}</ref> His performances in Paris, and particularly at the [[Salle Pleyel]], were short due to his ill health, but they influenced pianists [[René Urtreger]] and [[Francis Paudras]] and contributed to the growing jazz scene in France.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=18}} Hentoff remarked that, in his opinion, Powell's constant touring was bad for his mental health, and that he needed [[psychotherapy]] while traveling due to the "grueling" nature of nightly performances.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hentoff |first=Nat |date=February 6, 1957 |title=Notes Between Sets |magazine=[[DownBeat]] |pages=17}}</ref> Attorney Cohen responded that Powell was the one who wanted to tour, and wrote that the pianist was recovering from his illness.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cohen |first=Maxwell |date=March 4, 1957 |title=Full Report... |magazine=[[DownBeat]] |pages=4}}</ref>

Powell continued to perform at Birdland throughout fall 1956 and recorded for [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] in late 1956 and early 1957. He returned to his trio with Duvivier and Taylor but, according to later comments from Duvivier, refused to talk to his bandmates, who played entire sets entirely by ear. According to Guthrie Ramsey Jr., the reason for Powell's uncommunicativeness was a need to focus more intently on his playing and to avoid losing his way throughout song forms.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jazz |first=All About |date=June 6, 2013 |title=Jazz news: Bud Powell: The RCA Sessions |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/bud-powell-the-rca-sessions/ |access-date=May 23, 2024 |website=All About Jazz |language=en}}</ref>

In late 1957, Powell recorded [[Bud! The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 3)|volume 3]] of his series ''The Amazing Bud Powell'' with [[Paul Chambers]], Art Taylor, and trombonist [[Curtis Fuller]] for what jazz critic [[Scott Yanow]] described as an "inspiring" and "strong set".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bud Powell - The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 3: Bud! Album Reviews, Songs & More |website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-amazing-bud-powell-vol-3-bud!-mw0000657871 |access-date=November 22, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Powell's ''Vol. 3'' composition "[[Bud on Bach]]" included a medley of [[Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach]]'s "[[Solfeggietto]]" and a composition of his own.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 4, 2020 |title=The Party Trick {{!}} Hear Me Out |url=https://www.wqxr.org/story/hear-me-out-bud-powell-bach |access-date=March 12, 2024 |website=WQXR |language=en}}</ref> Further productive sessions with Blue Note yielded ''[[Time Waits: The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 4)|Time Waits]]'' and ''[[The Scene Changes: The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 5)|The Scene Changes]]'', becoming volumes 4 and 5 of ''The Amazing Bud Powell'', respectively.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Bud Powell Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bud-powell-mn0000640675 |access-date=November 22, 2023 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> Volumes 4 and 5 were notable for introducing new compositions to the pianist's repertoire including "Time Waits", "John's Abbey", and "Cleopatra's Dream".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bud Powell - Time Waits: The Amazing Bud Powell Album Reviews, Songs & More |website=[[AllMusic]] |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/time-waits-the-amazing-bud-powell-mw0000669423 |access-date=November 23, 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bud Powell - The Scene Changes Album Reviews, Songs & More |website=[[AllMusic]] |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-scene-changes-mw0000188663 |access-date=November 23, 2023 }}</ref>

A November 1957 gig at a [[Paris]] nightclub with [[Pierre Michelot]] on bass and Kenny Clarke was well-received, but upon Powell's return to New York, his nightclub ban due to the [[New York City Cabaret Card|cabaret card system]] in the American city made finding work difficult. He experienced further hospital stays in the U.S. before being convinced by Edwards to move to France in the spring of 1959.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 9, 2021 |title=Stories of Standards—Parisian Thoroughfare by Bud Powell |url=https://www.kuvo.org/stories-of-standards-parisian-thoroughfare-by-bud-powell-2/ |access-date=December 2, 2023 |website=KUVO |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== 1959–1964: Living in France ===
Powell moved to Paris in 1959 with Altevia "Buttercup" Edwards and her son, John.<ref name="Pullman 2012 chapt=10">Pullman, chapter 10.</ref> The couple and child moved into the [[Hotel La Louisiane]],<ref name="Wilmer1989">{{cite book|last=Wilmer|first=Val|title=Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This: My Life in the Jazz World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ay9LAAAAYAAJ |year=1989 |publisher=Womens Press |isbn=978-0-7043-5040-3|page=102}}</ref> and she managed his finances and his medicine. The pianist received long-running club engagements upon arriving in Paris, and he began recording for [[Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française]] in several French cities with his trio.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=66}} In December, Powell joined [[Art Blakey]]'s [[The Jazz Messengers|Jazz Messengers]] for a recorded concert released as ''[[Paris Jam Session]]'' (1961) and contributed two of his compositions, "Dance of the Infidels" and "[[Bouncing with Bud]]", to the performance. Critic [[Betsy Reed]] noted the pianist's "pungent bop solos" and the concert's atmosphere of "heated live-show informality".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fordham |first=John |date=August 17, 2007 |title=Art Blakey, Paris Jam Session |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/aug/17/jazz.shopping2 |access-date=November 22, 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>[[File:Hans Rossbach (links) mit Kenny Clark und Bud Powell, circa 1960.jpg|thumb|Bud Powell (right) with Hans Rossbach (left) and Kenny Clarke]]In 1960, Powell was joined by [[Oscar Pettiford]] and [[Kenny Clarke]] on a German tour including the [[Essen]] Jazz Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 8, 2018 |title=Jazztrack |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/jazztrack/bud-powell-essen-jazz-festival-1960/10166762 |access-date=November 19, 2023 |website=ABC listen }}</ref> The Essen concert, on which [[Coleman Hawkins]] was also featured on some tunes alongside the bebop pianist, was recorded live at the [[Grugahalle]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Go Live In Essen With Bud Powell |url=https://www.vinylmeplease.com/blogs/magazine/bud-powell-liner-notes |access-date=November 19, 2023 |website=Vinyl Me, Please }}</ref> and released as ''[[The Essen Jazz Festival Concert]]'' (1988) on [[Compact disc|CD]]. The album received high marks from jazz critic [[Scott Yanow]] as a "fine example" of his piano playing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bud Powell - The Essen Jazz Festival Concert Album Reviews, Songs & More |website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-essen-jazz-festival-concert-mw0000652540 |access-date=November 19, 2023 }}</ref> In July of that year, Powell joined Charles Mingus' band for a filmed concert at [[Antibes]] alongside [[Eric Dolphy]] and [[Booker Ervin]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Charles Mingus - Mingus at Antibes Album Reviews, Songs & More|website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/mingus-at-antibes-mw0000196761 |access-date=November 22, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Pettiford's death in 1960 was a major blow for Powell, and he played in a memorial concert for the young bass player.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=75}}

In December 1961, Powell recorded two albums for [[Columbia Records]] while in France: and ''[[A Portrait of Thelonious]]'' (1965) and ''[[A Tribute to Cannonball]]'' (1979). The ''Tribute to Cannonball'' session, which was recorded first, featured [[Don Byas]] and [[Cannonball Adderley]] on tenor and alto saxophone respectively, while [[Pierre Michelot]] on bass and drummer [[Kenny Clarke]] were present on both sessions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bud Powell Catalog |url=https://www.jazzdisco.org/bud-powell/catalog/#columbia-cl-2292 |access-date=November 19, 2023 |website=Jazzdisco.org}}</ref> Meanwhile, Powell formed the Three Bosses Trio with Clarke and Michelot for a regular gig at the Blue Note Club in Paris, and a compilation of recordings at the venue supplied the music for the album ''[['Round About Midnight at the Blue Note]]''.<ref>{{Citation |title='Round About Midnight at the Blue Note - Bud Powell {{!}} Album |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/round-about-midnight-at-the-blue-note-mw0000117431 |access-date=April 13, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> Powell's performances at the club were mixed; Gitler claimed that he played his best music when other jazz musicians visited.<ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" />

In early 1962, Powell began a tour of Central Europe. After playing concerts in [[Geneva]] and [[Lausanne]], he performed a seven-week opening gig at [[Jazzhus Montmartre|Cafe Montmartre]] in [[Copenhagen]] with [[Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen]] on bass.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Myers |first=Marc |date=January 4, 2022 |title=Bud Powell: Stockholm and Oslo, 1962 |url=https://www.jazzwax.com/2022/01/bud-powell-stockholm-and-oslo-1962.html |access-date=December 6, 2023 |website=JazzWax}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Palle |first=Henrik |date=2024-11-11 |title=Henrik Palle: Det er en fantastisk tidsmaskine at dykke ned i|url=https://politiken.dk/kultur/set_og_hoert/art10084582/Det-er-en-fantastisk-tidsmaskine-at-dykke-ned-i |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=politiken.dk}}</ref> A recording session in Copenhagen in 1962 produced another album, ''[[Bouncing with Bud (album)|Bouncing with Bud]]'', and the track "[[Hot House (composition)|Hot House]]" from this album was listed as one of the "Five Essential Bud Powell Recordings" by [[NPR]] contributors Peter Pullman and Simon Rentner.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Peter |first1=Pullman |last2=Rentner |first2=Simon |date=September 27, 2012 |title=Five Essential Bud Powell Recordings |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/ablogsupreme/2012/09/27/161890387/five-essential-bud-powell-recordings |access-date=November 22, 2023 |website=NPR}}</ref> [[SteepleChase Records]] released a five-volume CD of the pianist's trio from a two-night April engagement at the Golden Circle, a nightclub in [[Stockholm]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bud Powell - At the Golden Circle, Vol. 1 Album Reviews, Songs & More |website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/at-the-golden-circle-vol-1-mw0000436584 |access-date=November 23, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

Following a summer touring [[Scandinavia]], Powell returned to Paris in the fall of 1962 but was kept under the guardianship of Edwards. He was tracked down by biographer and pianist [[Francis Paudras]], who believed that Powell had been abused by his common-law wife Edwards during the couple's preceding years together.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=53}} Paudras noted in his biography that she had kept control over his finances and clothes and given Powell tranquilizers to make him dependent.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Jazz |first=All About |date=March 8, 2004 |title=Dance of the Infidels: A Portrait of Bud Powell article @ All About Jazz |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/dance-of-the-infidels-a-portrait-of-bud-powell-bud-powell-by-larry-koenigsberg/ |access-date=November 23, 2023 |website=All About Jazz |language=en}}</ref> Edwards, for her part, claimed in a letter to then-boyfriend [[Kansas Fields|"Kansas" Fields]] that Powell was suicidal, writing, "He told us before that he wanted to die, so there's not much I can do."<ref>{{Citation |last=birch from memphis |title=1964 letter from Altevia Bowser "Buttercup" Edwards to Kansas Fields (jazz drummer) discussing other jazz figures in Europe and the U.S. |date=January 31, 2019 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/51992558@N00/46888579312/ |access-date=January 12, 2024}}</ref>

While in Edwards's guardianship, Powell's health declined rapidly due to self-neglect and poor living conditions, and he was hospitalized at Laennec Hospital after escaping his guardianship. Powell was examined by a doctor; he claimed to be suffering from fatigue and revealed that he suffered from nightmares and heard voices. He was released under the care of Paudras, who incrementally took him off Largactil, an antipsychotic that may have contributed to his fatigue.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=104}}

Powell made a series of record dates throughout spring and early summer 1963, including a [[Frank Sinatra]]-sponsored and [[Duke Ellington]]-produced trio recording with Gilbert Rovere and [[Kansas Fields|"Kansas" Fields]] in February<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Richard |title=[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz]] |last2=Morton |first2=Brian |date=1998 |pages=1247}}</ref> and an album with tenor saxophonist [[Dexter Gordon]] in May.<ref name=":1" /> The latter became the album ''[[Our Man in Paris]]'' (1963) and received the highest possible ratings from ''[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz]]'',<ref name="PGJ">Cook, Richard and Morton, Brian (2008) ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings'' (9th ed.), Penguin, p. 581.</ref> ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'',<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |title=Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide |publisher=Random House/Rolling Stone |year=1985 |isbn=0-394-72643-X |editor-last=Swenson |editor-first=J |location=USA |pages=163–164}}</ref> and ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Larkin |first=Colin |title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0195313734 |edition=4th}}</ref> In July Powell recorded with his Three Bosses Trio of Michelot and Clarke, plus Gillespie, on the album ''[[Dizzy Gillespie and the Double Six of Paris]]'' (1963),<ref name=":1" /> but he subsequently became ill with [[tuberculosis]] and was again hospitalized.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collection: Francis Paudras collection on Bud Powell {{!}} Archives and Special Collections at Rutgers |url=https://archives.libraries.rutgers.edu/repositories/6/resources/285 |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=archives.libraries.rutgers.edu}}</ref> After treatment, he was transferred to [[Bouffémont]] Sanitorium – later renamed the Jacques-Arnaud Medical Center<ref name="Flohic">{{cite news |last1=Cavard |first1=Jean-Claude |last2=Gasser |first2=Stéphane |editor=Flohic Éditions |title=Le patrimoine des communes du Val-d'Oise Bouffémont |work=Collection Le Patrimoine des Communes de France |location=Paris |pages=178–182 |publication-date=October 1999 |volume=I |isbn=2-84234-056-6}}</ref> – to recover, and he performed several [[Concert|recitals]] for the students and staff during his stay.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=202}} A benefit concert was held to raise funds for his hospital stay; [[Johnny Griffin]], [[Donald Byrd]], [[Sonny Criss]], and [[Jean-Luc Ponty]] performed. [[Jef Gilson]] played Powell's most recent composition.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=March 26, 1964 |title=Europe |magazine=[[DownBeat]] |page=41}}</ref>

Powell completed further recording dates, including two with Paudras on makeshift [[Percussion mallet|brushes]], during his last year in France; a further live engagement with Griffin in [[Jullouville]] was released on [[Mythic Sound]] as ''[[Holidays in Edenville]]''.<ref name=":1" /> Accompanied by Paudras, Powell returned to New York on August 16<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 5, 1964 |title=Jazz: Bud Powell Returns to Birdland; Pianist's 6-Year Stay in Paris Is Ended; Introspective Artist Is Attracting Buffs |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/05/archives/jazz-bud-powell-returns-to-birdland-pianists-6year-stay-in-paris-is.html |access-date=December 2, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and met Goodstein at [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|JFK Airport]].<ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" />

===1964–1966: Return to New York===
His engagement at Birdland with drummer [[Horace Arnold]] and bassist [[John Ore]] began on August 25<ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" /> and included a repertoire of both jazz and classical music, particularly Bach.{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|p=37}} ''[[DownBeat]]''<nowiki/>'s [[Dan Morgenstern]] wrote an article on Powell following the engagement, noting, "the Bud Powell of 1964 is still a creative jazzman and pianist of the first rank." Morgenstern praised the pianist's loyalty to the bebop genre and the rapid recovery of his technique as the weeks of his long-running engagement passed.<ref name=":13">{{Cite magazine |last=Morgenstern |first=Dan |date=October 22, 1964 |title=Bud Powell Now |magazine=[[DownBeat]] Magazine |pages=19–22}}</ref> Powell recorded, albeit hesitantly, with Ore and drummer [[J. C. Moses]] in September 1964 for his album ''[[The Return of Bud Powell]]'' (1964), but disagreements between Powell and Moses plagued the recording session. After a severe illness prevented Powell from completing scheduled nights at Birdland, he was fired on October 11. Paudras and [[Barry Harris]] arranged for Powell to return to France to recover, but Powell – who feared the medical checkups that were scheduled prior to leaving – went missing by hitching rides, possibly in search of his old friend Elmo Hope, who took him to his home shortly after Powell went missing.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=322}}<ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" />{{Sfn|Pullman|1994|p=62}} Paudras returned to France on October 27 without Powell, who decided to stay in New York with Frances Barnes, his girlfriend from the late 1940s, and the couple's daughter Celia.<ref name="Gitler 1966 p=112" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=January 14, 1965 |title=Bud Powell Still in United States |magazine=[[DownBeat]] |pages=8}}</ref>
[[File:Downstate Medical Ctr jeh-2.jpg|thumb|A modern photograph of [[Kings County Hospital Center]], where Powell died in 1966]]
Powell's guardianship was transferred from Paudras to [[Bernard Stollman]] of [[ESP-Disk|ESP Records]] upon returning to New York,<ref name=":3" /> and with the exception of hospital visits, he remained at Barnes's home until shortly before his death in 1966.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|pp=332–335}} His few public performances between the end of 1964 and his death were adversely affected by his alcoholism and ongoing lung problems.<ref name=":2" />{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=340}}

Between Paudras's departure and Powell's final hospitalization in the summer of 1966, several recording sessions were made with Powell, but with the exception of the album ''[[Ups 'n Downs (album)|Ups 'n Downs]]'', the recordings from these dates were not released.<ref name=":1" /> A Charlie Parker tribute concert at Carnegie Hall in March 1965<ref name=":1" /> and a May performance at the New York Town Hall revealed his poor health and its effect on his ability to play.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=NPR's Jazz Profiles: Bud Powell |url=https://news.npr.org/programs/jazzprofiles/archive/powell.html |access-date=November 23, 2023 |website=news.npr.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Douglas |first=Ann |date=August 28, 1998 |title=Feel the City's Pulse? It's Be-bop, Man! |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/28/arts/feel-the-citys-pulse-its-bebop-man.html |access-date=November 23, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> However, his Town Hall performance received positive feedback from attendee [[Dan Morgenstern]], who noted, "his final selection, '[[I Remember Clifford (song)|I Remember Clifford]]', was extremely moving ... Powell hasn't lost his marvelous touch and sound, and everything he played revealed a sense of balance and proportion."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Morgenstern |first=Dan |date=July 15, 1965 |title=Caught in the Act |magazine=[[DownBeat]] |pages=12}}</ref> His last studio recordings, with [[Rashied Ali]] on drums, also went unreleased by the ESP label due to Powell being in "terrible shape".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lewis |first=David |date=2015 |title=Bud Powell: Live at the Blue Note Cafe Paris 1961 |journal=ARSC Journal |volume=46 |issue=1}}</ref>

Several musicians visited Powell while he was ill, including [[Toshiko Akiyoshi]] and [[Art Taylor]]. Akiyoshi noted in a letter to Paudras that Powell played an opening night at Birdland in spring 1965, but also remarked that he was unwell.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|pp=341–342}} He was admitted to [[Kings County Hospital Center|Kings County Hospital]] in early autumn 1965, where he played a small performance for producer Alan Bates and wrote four compositions, but after his release he became extremely ill.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|pp=346–350}}

He was hospitalized again in 1966 following weight loss, erratic behavior, and self-neglect. In a letter from Kings County Hospital, where staff attempted to give him further electroconvulsive treatments, he wrote days before his death: "I'm a writer and composer, and these [electroconvulsive] treatments are destroying my brain." His final composition, written on his deathbed, was a poem called "Eternity", foreshadowing his impending death.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|pp=350–51}}

On July 31, 1966, he died of tuberculosis, malnutrition, and alcoholism.<ref>[http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/powell-bud-1924-1966 "Powell, Earl 'Bud' (1924–1966)"], Blackpast.org</ref> He was given the [[last rites]] of the [[Catholic Church]]<ref>{{Cite book  |author=Ramsey, Guthrie |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/940310606 |title=The amazing Bud Powell : Black genius, jazz history, and the challenge of bebop |date=2013 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24391-0 |oclc=940310606}}</ref> and was visited by his family and Jackie McLean on his deathbed.{{Sfn|Paudras|1998|p=352}} Several other musicians remained close to him until his death including Bob Bunyan, George Duvivier, Thelonious Monk, and Art Taylor.<ref name=":11" />

His funeral was celebrated on August 8, 1966, with several bands playing through the streets of [[Harlem]] and arriving at Powell's former church; performers included trombonist Benny Green, trumpeter [[Lee Morgan]], saxophonist Jim Gilmore, pianist [[Barry Harris]], bassist [[Don Moore (musician)|Don Moore]], and drummer [[Billy Higgins]]. The funeral was televised.<ref name=":15" /> Powell was buried in an unmarked grave. In 2024 a campaign was launched to have his remains moved to a marked grave, with a headstone, at [[Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)|Woodlawn Cemetery]] in the [[The Bronx|Bronx]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-08 |title=Arts Investigation: Mortality and Jazz Artists – Do We Honor the Dead? - The Arts Fuse |url=https://artsfuse.org/292288/arts-investigation-mortality-and-jazz-artists-do-we-honor-the-dead/ |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=artsfuse.org/ |language=en-US}}</ref>