Editing Bud Powell (section)

=== 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>