Benny Powell, American jazz trombonist (April in Paris), has died from a heart attack following spinal surgery.he was , 80

Benny Powell was an African American jazz trombonist. He played both standard (tenor) trombone and bass trombone.

(March 1, 1930 – June 26, 2010)

Born Benjamin Gordon Powell Jr in New Orleans, Louisiana, he first played professionally at age 14, and at 18 began playing with Lionel Hampton. In 1951 he left Hampton's band and began playing with Count Basie, in whose orchestra he would remain until 1963. Powell takes the trombone solo in the bridge of Basie's 1955 recording of "April in Paris".

Born in New Orleans, Powell is, perhaps, best known for his 12-year tenure (1951-63) with Count Basie, and for his eight-bar contribution to the Count's all-time hit, “April in Paris.” But more than that, Powell, in his all-too-rare solos with the Basie band, displayed a blues-laced, story-telling approach to improvisation. Check out, for instance, his masterfully balanced two-chorus statement on “Blues Backstage” from 1954, or his fleet trip through “In a Mellotone,” recorded in a live performance five years later.

After leaving Basie, Powell embarked upon a rich, diverse musical career. A versatile and accomplished player, he has worked extensively on Broadway, television, on recordings, as well as leader.

During the 1960s and '70s, Powell graced the trombone sections of Duke Pearson's fine New York big band and the renowned Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. (His four-chorus solo on Jones'”Fingers” is a master class in modern jazz trombone improvisation.) He also began-and continues-to make his name as a leader in his own right, a respected teacher, and a dedicated activist in the cause of jazz.

After a decade in Hollywood, where he worked on The Merv Griffin Show, Powell returned to New York in the early 1980s and connected with two visionary instrumentalist-composers, the late clarinetist John Carter and pianist Randy Weston, with whom he still performs.

Although an unsuccessful kidney transplant in 1990 left him to undergo thrice weekly dialysis treatments until a second match was successfully transplanted in 1996, Powell never let it keep him from working-and even touring-with the likes of Weston, Benny Carter and Jimmy Heath.

He died in a Manhattan hospital at the age of 80, following back surgery.

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