Personnel :
Jesse Powell (Lead)
J. R. Bailey (Tenor)
Lavern Drake (Bass)
Roland Martinez (First Tenor)
Discography :
1958 - Ain't You Gonna / Turnpike (Inst.) (Jessie Powell) (Josie 834)
Biography :
Jesse Powell was born February 2, 1924. There is very little biographical information about his early years, other than his working with Hot Lips Page, Louis Armstrong, and Luis Russell. He joined Count Basie's Band in 1946, replacing the great sax player Illinois Jacquet, which says something about his abilities. Powell appears on a number of blues recordings in the late 1940s with people like Brownie McGhee, Willie Jordan, and Doc Pomus.
He also worked with Champion Jack Dupree and continued to play jazz, touring France with Howard McGee in 1948. He played bop and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie in 1949. During the 1950s, as bebop fell out of favor, Powell found steady work with a variety of R&B artists. He recorded as a leader for Federal in 1951 and 1953 and had established himself with the Josie label by 1954, which included groups like the Cadillacs.
