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Roy Powell

Roy Powell studied piano and avant-garde composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester England before defecting to jazz. He first came to prominence in 1994 with his debut recording A Big Sky which was hailed as “a real bench mark in British contemporary electric jazz” by Jazz on CD He then emigrated to Oslo, Norway where he collaborated on an album of free improvised music �" Holus which was described as “ an outstanding success” by Jazz journal International. His next release as a leader- North by Northwest featuring Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen has also been a critical success as well as being selected as Best Jazz CD of 2001 by Amazon.co.uk. Solace which was released in 2003 received lavish praise including 4 stars in Downbeat. His piece Bow Out has been performed by Oakland, Richmond, Cincinnati and Florida ballet companies and has had performances all over the globe from Japan, Australia, and USA to Europe and Scandinavia. His recordings have appeared in the Gramophone Jazz Good CD guide, Gramophone Classical Good CD guide, the Lord Discography, The new Grove Dictionary of Jazz as well as jazz magazines in Europe and the US and radio shows in the UK, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Holland Scandinavia and the US.Powell has recorded with and played concerts with many significant musicians including

Art Farmer, Eddie Daniels, Jeff Berlin, Hadrian Feraud, Lorenzo Feliciati, Reggie Washington, Bobby Shew, Anthony Braxton, Vince Mendoza, Mike Gibbs, Iain Ballamy, Martin France, Frode Berg, Erik Smith, Arild Andersen, Terje Rypdal, Mike Walker, Sigurd Køhn, Jarle Vespestad, Jacob Young, Terje Gewelt, Cuong Vu, Pat Mastelotto Joel Harrison, Dan Weiss, Nils Olav Johansen, Dominique Di Piazza, Per Mathisen, Roy Hargrove and Dave Liebman amongst others.

Awards

Best Jazz CD of 2001 by Amazon.co.uk


Tags

7
Album Review

This Celestial Engine: This Celestial Engine

Read "This Celestial Engine" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


This self-titled debut album is a masterful concoction of genres, melding psychedelic nuances with avant jazz and progressive rock elements. It showcases the talents of Ted Parsons on drums, Dave Sturt on bass, and Roy Powell on keyboards. These musicians are celebrated for their extensive contributions across jazz, metal, rock, and experimental music genres. Operating out of Oslo, Norway, the band draws on their varied musical backgrounds to create immersive soundscapes that transport listeners across cosmic distances.The album ...

321
Take Five With...

Take Five With Roy Powell

Read "Take Five With Roy Powell" reviewed by Roy Powell


Meet Roy Powell:Roy Powell studied piano and avant-garde composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester England, before defecting to jazz. He first came to prominence in 1994 with his debut recording, A Big Sky, which was hailed as “a real benchmark in British contemporary electric jazz" by Jazz on CD. He then emigrated to Oslo, Norway, where he collaborated on an album of free improvised music, Holus, which was described as “an outstanding success" by ...

123
Album Review

Roy Powell: Solace

Read "Solace" reviewed by Dr. Judith Schlesinger


Solace came in through the mail slot with two strikes against it: an unfamiliar leader and a program of all originals. Too often, this turns out to be a bad combination – an ego fest of little musical interest – but for once, it was a happy surprise. Pianist/composer Roy Powell is better-known in Europe; born in England in 1965, he was trained there and later moved to Oslo. Powell has worked with Anthony Braxton, Art Farmer, and Vince Mendoza, ...

140
Album Review

Roy Powell Trio: Holus

Read "Holus" reviewed by Javier AQ Ortiz


Quick and to the Point: A rarity: spontaneous Jazz... .

For all the talk of improvisation in jazz, it is not widespread to have musicians draw together at a recording studio and just go with the flow. For all the talk of spontaneous virtuosity in jazz, the percentage of musicians who can gather jointly – and pull it off with fallout of note – is likewise somewhat limited. The Norwegian release Holus, featuring the Roy Powell Trio, is ...

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1

Recording

RareNoise To Release Album "Doctoring The Dead" With Eraldo Bernocchi & Colin Edwin, Joined By Ted Parsons And Roy Powell

RareNoise To Release Album "Doctoring The Dead" With Eraldo Bernocchi & Colin Edwin, Joined By Ted Parsons And Roy Powell

Source: hubtone PR

Metallic Taste Of Blood, the instrumental math-rock/outer rock unit lead by Italian guitarist and soundsculptor Eraldo Bernocchi and Australian bassist Colin Edwin is back with a vengeance, joined now by legendary drummer Ted Parsons, whose earlier ventures included Swans, Prong, Buckethead, Godflesh and Killing Joke, and British keyboard player extraordinaire Roy Powell, whose recent work includes InterStatic and Naked Truth. The vigor and inventiveness which characterized Metallic Taste Of Blood’s first release still sits center stage, a natural outflow of ...

1

Recording

Interstatic's Arise With Roy Powell, Jacob Young, Jarle Vespestad, To Be Released On Rarenoise In August

Interstatic's Arise With Roy Powell, Jacob Young, Jarle Vespestad, To Be Released On Rarenoise In August

Source: Antje Hübner

Interstatic Takes The Gloves Off On Third Recording For RareNoise. Arise Represents The Organ Trio's Most Intense Offering To Date. With each successive outing — first 2011ʼs Anthem followed by their raucous RareNoiseRecords debut, 2013ʼs InterStatic — the potent Norway-based trio of expatriate Brit organist Roy Powell, Norwegian guitarist Jacob Young and Norwegian drummer Jarle Vespestad has upped the ante on intensity and audaciousness while arriving at a nexus where rock organically meets jazz. Now the powerhouse unit has reached ...

157

Recording

Jacob Young/Roy Powell/Jarle Vespestad Release CD Anthem

Jacob Young/Roy Powell/Jarle Vespestad Release CD Anthem

Source: Michael Ricci

Organ jazz for today. Brooding, melancholic, lyrical, with intense ensemble playing. This collectively lead trio was born a little over a year ago as a project bringing together three of Norway's leading jazz musicians on Hammond B3 organ, drums and guitar. Jarle Vespestad and Jacob Young belong to the new generation of Norwegian musicians on ECM records. Roy Powell (UK) lives in Oslo with a background in British cutting-edge jazz having played with the Creative Jazz Orchestra and leading American ...

Jazz CD of the week **** (four Stars of 5) This is music from the heart and it encourages contemplation and finer thoughts in the listener.It’s also refreshing to hear such simple affecting playing from one so young. Peter Bacon The Birmingham post

Ronnie Scott’s Roy Powell, whose trio opened the show, is the Brit who made the unusual move from Lancashire to Norway, home of all things cutting edge. His piano style, though, remained surprisingly traditional. There was no electronica, no beat boxes, just acoustic double-bass, drums and the kind of technique that recalled early Bill Evans and that legendary octave-improve king, Phineas Newborn. Jack Massarik London Evening Standard

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

This Celestial Engine

Discus Music
2024

buy

Interstatic

Self Produced
2013

buy

Anthem

PVY Records Corp.
2011

buy

Solace

Nagel Heyer Records
2003

buy

Holus

Resonant Music
2003

buy

North By Northwest

Verve Records
2001

buy

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