Roy Powell

For the 1980s and 1990s rugby league footballer, see Roy Powell (rugby league).

Roy Powell (born 2 October 1965 in Langham, Rutland) is a British pianist, organist, keyboardist and composer.

Biography

Powell has lived and worked for many years in Norway and is best known for his involvement with the groups InterStatic and Naked Truth. InterStatic consists of Powell, Jacob Young, and Jarle Vespestad; and Naked Truth consists of Powell, Lorenzo Feliciati, Pat Mastelotto, and Graham Haynes. As of 2010, Powell has been shifting from acoustic jazz to a more progressive, jazz-inspired rock. Powell released an album called Mumpbeak with Bill Laswell, Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, Shanir Blumenkrantz, and Lorenzo Feliciati, and on it Powell plays Hohner Clavinet through guitar effect pedals and amps.

Powell first gained recognition for his first CD A Big Sky, which was released in 1994. The Gramophone Jazz Good CD Guide 1997 called it "extraordinarily accomplished". He has performed and recorded with groups in Scandinavia, Germany, France, Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and has made many appearances at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London.

His recordings have been noted in the Gramophone Jazz Good CD Guide, Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide, the Lord Discography, The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, and jazz magazines in Europe, Japan, and the United States. His composition "Bow Out" was adapted with a piece by David Bedford by the American choreographer Val Caniparoli to create a ballet piece also titled "Bow Out", which has been performed by ballet companies in Oakland, Richmond, Cincinnati, and Florida.

Selected recordings

• A Big Sky (Totemcd101)
• Holus (Resonant Music RM4-2), with Terje Gewelt and Jarle Vespestad
• North by Northwest (Nagel Heyer Records NH2013), featuring Arild Andersen
• Solace (Nagel Heyer NH2036), with Terje Gewelt and Jarle Vespestad
• Peak Experience Trio (Totemic Records 06-47N), with Per Mathisen and Ivan Makedonov
• Anthony Braxton Composition No.175/No.126 (Leo 2006)
• Rendezvous: Live in London (Nagel Heyer Records NH2075), with Terje Gewelt and Andreas Bye
• Napoli (Tapas Records Japan), with Lorenzo Feliciati and Maxx Furian
• Anthem (PVY Records Corp.), with Jacob Young and Jarle Vespestad
• Shizaru (RareNoise Records). with Cuong Vu, Lorenzo Feliciati and Pat Mastelotto
• Holy Abyss (Cuniform Records). with Cuong Vu, Lorenzo Feliciati, Dan Weiss and Joel Harrison
• InterStatic (RareNoise Records), with Jacob Young and Jarle Vespestad
• Ouroboros (RareNoise Records), with Graham Haynes, Lorenzo Feliciati and Pat Mastelotto
• Mumpbeak (RareNoise Records), with Bill Laswell, Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, Shanir Blumenkrantz and Lorenzo Feliciati
• "Arise InterStatic (RareNoise Records), with Jacob Young and Jarle Vespestad

External links

• Official website
• InterStatic website
• Mumpbeak website
• [1]
• RareNoise Records
• Norwegian Music information Centre
• National jazz organisation in the UK