Biography
Keyboardist Doobie Powell has earned recognition both as a bandleader and as a supporting player through his deeply expressive explorations of gospel, funk, and jazz. After contributing to recordings with his father, Rev. Hubert Powell, Sr., during the 1990s, he began issuing his own emotionally resonant projects, among them the 2003 release For the Love of It All and Finding Myself Again, issued in 2019 with input from Snarky Puppy’s Robert “Sput” Searight.
Hubert Leander Powell III entered the world in 1975 in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was immersed in an environment shaped by both music and faith. His father, Hubert Powell, Sr., had performed alongside organist Richard “Groove” Holmes and helped establish the funk and disco ensemble Wood, Brass & Steel, a unit that later served as the core backing group for the Sugarhill Gang. By the late 1970s, Hubert Powell, Sr., and his wife, singer Jacquelyn Powell, had shifted their focus back to gospel, serving as pastors and musicians at their church in Hartford. This setting introduced the younger Powell to gospel music early on, and he began playing drums alongside his parents. During his teenage years he absorbed a broad spectrum of gospel, jazz, fusion, and funk, skills that quickly led to steady session work with artists including Kim Burrell, Musiq Soulchild, Robert Glasper, the Clark Sisters, Tonéx, Tye Tribbett, Kelly Price, and Tramaine Hawkins.
In addition to his recording and touring commitments, Powell serves as Minister of Music at Latter Rain Christian Fellowship, the congregation led by his parents. His first solo album, The Offspring, appeared in 2002 and was reissued three years later as The Offspring, Vol. 1; For the Love of It All followed in 2003. The 2007 project 4 Zoe preceded The Time Is Now, released in 2009. Ropeadope Records issued Finding Myself Again in 2019, an album that included contributions from Snarky Puppy drummer Robert “Sput” Searight and the track “Just Do It.”
Hubert Leander Powell III entered the world in 1975 in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was immersed in an environment shaped by both music and faith. His father, Hubert Powell, Sr., had performed alongside organist Richard “Groove” Holmes and helped establish the funk and disco ensemble Wood, Brass & Steel, a unit that later served as the core backing group for the Sugarhill Gang. By the late 1970s, Hubert Powell, Sr., and his wife, singer Jacquelyn Powell, had shifted their focus back to gospel, serving as pastors and musicians at their church in Hartford. This setting introduced the younger Powell to gospel music early on, and he began playing drums alongside his parents. During his teenage years he absorbed a broad spectrum of gospel, jazz, fusion, and funk, skills that quickly led to steady session work with artists including Kim Burrell, Musiq Soulchild, Robert Glasper, the Clark Sisters, Tonéx, Tye Tribbett, Kelly Price, and Tramaine Hawkins.
In addition to his recording and touring commitments, Powell serves as Minister of Music at Latter Rain Christian Fellowship, the congregation led by his parents. His first solo album, The Offspring, appeared in 2002 and was reissued three years later as The Offspring, Vol. 1; For the Love of It All followed in 2003. The 2007 project 4 Zoe preceded The Time Is Now, released in 2009. Ropeadope Records issued Finding Myself Again in 2019, an album that included contributions from Snarky Puppy drummer Robert “Sput” Searight and the track “Just Do It.”
Albums
Singles