Carl Perkins

A fine bop-oriented pianist who overcame a slightly crippled left hand (due to polio), Carl Perkins was a victim of his drug problems, passing away when he was just 29. After stints with <a href="spotify:artist:70sHURBVOq2rwWkmBpDxYa">Tiny Bradshaw</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5K3FOIJ4gEZlPaJJpqaXmm">Big Jay McNeely</a>, he became a fixture on the West Coast. Perkins was with <a href="spotify:artist:0EHEobfyUnvT3fp0WMD2x6">Oscar Moore</a>'s trio (1953-1954) and briefly played with an early version of the <a href="spotify:artist:6jrlNnS5B830kpi40j3S6g">Max Roach</a>-<a href="spotify:artist:1HJHwWck1EY096ea2iPAHO">Clifford Brown</a> quintet (1954), but is best-known for his association with <a href="spotify:artist:5WtyRAZhrecjFZRNH1yTXn">Curtis Counce</a> (1956-1958). Perkins, who composed one jazz standard ("Grooveyard"), recorded with <a href="spotify:artist:5WtyRAZhrecjFZRNH1yTXn">Counce</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3rxeQlsv0Sc2nyYaZ5W71T">Chet Baker</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1nJ6xAezipbTOdKAqOKIoP">Jim Hall</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3GpMtIOC5ZLvMBMI7IxPvA">Art Pepper</a>, and as a leader for Savoy (1949), Dootone (1956), and Pacific Jazz (1957), but did not live long enough to realize his potential. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi