Giving 2 Giants Their Props

It would be hard to find two more contrasting jazz musicians than Bud Powell and Louis Armstrong.

Powell, perhaps the most vital progenitor of bebop piano playing, was an uneven performer and a turbulent personality, qualities often reflected in his music. Sometimes brilliant in the extreme, he could also be uncertain, even mediocre. After a racial incident in the mid-’40 in which he was beaten by police authorities, he endured a series of mental problems that persisted until his death in 1966.

Armstrong, the virtual creator of improvisation and the idea of swing, was a success in everything he tried, from music, acting and singing to serving as America’s most loved cultural ambassador. His music was upbeat and optimistic, its darker, denser qualities always enhanced by a spirited sense of the sheer joy of music-making.

Pianist Chick Corea would initially seem to be an unlikely candidate for a Powell tribute. A determined modernist, he has not in recent years been especially forthcoming with the solid bop roots that reside beneath the surface of his music. But he breaks out here, with some of the finest straight-ahead playing he has produced in years, rich with the flavor and articulation of bebop.

Interestingly, Corea’s charts, as well as the music he urges from an all-star lineup of players, reach for the bright, upbeat qualities of Powell’s music. With one or two exceptions, these are not performances that dip into Powell’s turbulent inner workings, remaining instead within a musical arena that has the flavor of a ‘50s jam session.

But there’s no denying the compelling quality of the music, in part because Corea could not have asked for a better band of players with which to work. Tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman, as he often does in recordings in which he does not play a leadership role, plays superbly. Trumpeter Wallace Roney and alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett produce solid, workmanlike efforts.

And the unlikely rhythm team of the veteran Roy Haynes on drums and the virtuosic young bassist Christian McBride perfectly produce the smooth, urgent flow essential to the bop style. It may not be a complete picture of Powell, but it’s first-rate modern jazz.

Trumpeter Jones faces a daunting task with Armstrong. A New Orleans native who grew to maturity a few years before Wynton Marsalis, he has demonstrated his skill in previous mainstream outings. But dealing with classic Armstrong performances on such tunes as “West End Blues” and “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,” which are part of the lexicon of jazz trumpet playing, is a different matter.

To his credit, Jones imitates Armstrong directly only on occasion; otherwise, he simply incorporates occasional Armstrong licks, a similarly open tone and--above all--a comparable exuberance. The results, even with a group of relative unknowns (with the exception of Harry Connick Jr., playing piano on a few tracks), are sheer fun.

Although Jones, like Corea with Powell, does not especially capture Armstrong’s darker side, he does a convincing, constantly entertaining job (including jaunty vocals on such tunes as “Someday You’ll Be Sorry” and “Jeepers Creepers”) of illuminating Armstrong’s persistent appeal.

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