js “Blues for Bouffemont” (also known as “The Invisable Cage”) was one of Bud Powell’s last recordings, and many consider it his last worthwhile recording. There is no doubt that Powell was one of the most influential jazz pianists ever, but due to mental health issues, his recordings can be inconsistent. Considering that this record came late in his career, it is surprisingly good, although not exactly a representation of Powell at his very best. On the plus side, Powell sounds very relaxed on here and his playing shows little traces of that bizarre stiffness that I’ve heard on other recordings that can make his playing unbearably loud and forceful. The relaxed feel in his playing is a welcome relief compared to some past recordings, but at the same time, I’ve heard Powell recordings that better show his abilities with ultra-fast tempos and complicated phrasing at high speed altitudes. Some have also complained of sloppiness in Powell’s playing on some cuts, but it only gets bad on “Relaxin at Camarillo”, which does sound a bit tipsy. So possibly “Bouffemont” falls on the plus side of the middle range when it comes to the up and down world of Bud Powell recordings.

Stylistically speaking you get a lot of variety on here ranging from up-tempo bop to ballads, swing, blues and even calypso jazz. Powell shows his dark humor on the sentimental ballad, “Like Someone in Love”, hamming it up like a Liberace. His crazy chord sequence that follows the bass solo packs in a lot in a few seconds. Much like Jimmy Smith and Keith Jarret, Bud Powell has been known to “sing” (sounds like an angry duck in the background) along with his playing. It doesn’t show up on some of his recordings, but it does on this album. It can be annoying at first, but not too hard to ignore after a while. Would you believe that in the late 70s, re-issues of this album on the Black Saint label could be found in the budget section at record stores for just a couple bucks., that’s how I got my copy.