Mel Powell

Mel Powell (born Melvin Epstein) (February 12, 1923 – April 24, 1998) was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, and the founding dean of the music department at the California Institute of the Arts. He served as a music educator for over 40 years, first at Mannes College of Music and Queens College, then Yale University, and finally at CalArts. During his early career he worked as a jazz pianist. His classic Big Band compositions include “Mission to Moscow”, “My Guy’s Come Back”, “Clarinade”, “The Earl”, and “Bubble Bath”. Early life Mel Powell was born Melvin D. Epstein on February 12, 1923, in The Bronx, New York City, He began playing piano at age four, taking lessons from, among others, Nadia Reisenberg. Powell dreamed of life as a concert pianist until his older brother took him to see jazz pianist Teddy Wilson play, Career Powell’s style was rooted in the stride style that was the direct precursor to swing piano. One composition from his Goodman years, The Earl, is perhaps his best known from that time. The song—dedicated to Earl “Fatha” Hines, one of Powell’s piano heroes—was recorded without a drummer. prompting him to devote himself to composition rather than perfor