Roger Powell
Articles about Roger Powell:
Roger Powell’s Blue Note Ridge
Keyboardist Roger Powell (Utopia, David Bowie, Meat Loaf) is going unplugged with Blue Note Ridge, a collection of improvisations that embrace classical melody, contemporary harmony and impressionist forms on his debut solo piano album.
Powell is best known for his he electric work with Utopia & Todd Rundgren, and his synthesizer albums Cosmic Furnace (Atlantic) and Air Pocket (Bearsville).
“The inspiration behind the album was my desire to record some music in a very direct and simple setting: just me and the piano, no synthesizers, electronics or complex mixing,” says Roger. “All the tracks were completely improvised, spontaneously composed. I would just sit down at the piano, turn on the stereo recorder and play. From several hours worth of raw material, we selected a set of pieces that express the overall mood of introspection and exploration.”
Roger Powell – Fossil Poets
Many listeners will be most familiar with keyboardist Roger Powell from his days with Utopia. While he’s been relatively silent in terms of releases, Powell has been active, doing everything from developing early software sequencers to consulting for Apple’s pro audio area.
Fossil Poets, Powell’s latest solo CD, finds him paired up with producer Gary Tanin and guitarist and bassist Greg Koch. The CD is an collection of instrumentals that fall somewhere in the range between prog rock and jazz fusion. Keyboards and programmed percussion feature prominently on most tracks, but Powell also exercises his piano chops on several tracks.
