Biography
A seasoned performer on tenor saxophone and flute, Seldon Powell refined his approach across decades, proving adaptable across swing, hard bop, and the range of styles between them. Neither an elite improviser nor a notably inventive writer or orchestrator, he functioned instead as a reliable, steady musician who navigated shifting fashions while staying professionally engaged from the late 1940s into the 1990s. After receiving classical instruction in New York, he spent a short period alongside Tab Smith in 1949, then joined Lucky Millinder’s organization and appeared on record with the band the following year. Military service occupied him through 1950 and 1951; afterward he established himself as a New York studio musician. During the middle and later 1950s he performed and recorded with Louis Bellson, Neal Hefti, Friedrich Gulda, Johnny Richards, and Billy Ver Planck, while also appearing with Sy Oliver and Erskine Hawkins and pursuing further studies at Juilliard. In 1958 he toured Europe as a member of Benny Goodman’s orchestra and spent a brief interval with Woody Herman. Throughout the 1960s he served as a staff musician for ABC television and continued to work and record with Buddy Rich, Bellson, Clark Terry, and Ahmed Abdul-Malik. Late in that decade and into the early 1970s he participated in numerous soul-jazz and pop sessions, including a date with Groove Holmes and large-ensemble dates supporting Gato Barbieri and Dizzy Gillespie. At the 1987 JVC Jazz Festival in New York he served as principal soloist in Gerry Mulligan’s sixteen-piece band. As a leader he recorded for Roost and Epic.
Albums