Carl Perkins (pianist)
Encyclopedia
Carl Perkins was an American jazz
pianist.
Perkins was born in Indianapolis but worked mainly in Los Angeles. He is best known for his performances with the Curtis Counce
Quintet, which also featured Harold Land
, Jack Sheldon
and drummer Frank Butler
. He also performed with the Clifford Brown
–Max Roach
group in 1954, and recorded with Frank Morgan in 1955. Perkins composed the standard
"Grooveline."
His playing was influenced by his polio-affected left arm, which he held sideways over the keyboard.
He died of a drug overdose at age 29, having recorded one solo album, Introducing Carl Perkins, in 1955 and 1956. Authors Paul Tanner
, Maurice Gerow, and David Megill cite Perkins as one of the best "funky," or hard bop
, piano players, but his early death prevented him from leaving a legacy.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist.
Perkins was born in Indianapolis but worked mainly in Los Angeles. He is best known for his performances with the Curtis Counce
Curtis Counce
Curtis Counce was an American hard bop and West Coast jazz double bassist. The fruit of his 1956 Contemporary Records studio collaboration with tenor saxophonist Harold Land, trumpeters Jack Sheldon and Gerald Wilson, pianist Carl Perkins and drummer Frank Butler was issued in 2007 on a double CD...
Quintet, which also featured Harold Land
Harold Land
Harold de Vance Land was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style. His tone was strong and emotional, yet displayed a certain fragility that made him easy to...
, Jack Sheldon
Jack Sheldon
Jack Sheldon is an American bebop and West Coast jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He is a trumpet player and was a comedian on The Merv Griffin Show, as well as the voice heard on several episodes of the educational music television series Schoolhouse Rock.-Biography:Sheldon was born in...
and drummer Frank Butler
Frank Butler (musician)
Frank Butler was an American jazz drummer. Butler was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but later moved west and was associated in large part with the West Coast school...
. He also performed with the Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings...
–Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
group in 1954, and recorded with Frank Morgan in 1955. Perkins composed the standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
"Grooveline."
His playing was influenced by his polio-affected left arm, which he held sideways over the keyboard.
He died of a drug overdose at age 29, having recorded one solo album, Introducing Carl Perkins, in 1955 and 1956. Authors Paul Tanner
Paul Tanner
-Career:Tanner gained fame by playing trombone with Glenn Miller's band from 1938 until 1942, later working as a studio musician in Hollywood. He was a professor at UCLA and also authored or co-authored several academic and popular histories related to jazz....
, Maurice Gerow, and David Megill cite Perkins as one of the best "funky," or hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
, piano players, but his early death prevented him from leaving a legacy.