I've never listened to the early recordings, in which Powell is said to have an astounding level of precision; it is possible this recording has a lazier or gentler touch by comparison.  What I can say is that the playing here is inspired.  I found myself absolutely mesmerized by Powell's solos, which are dripping with ghost notes and delicately, yet rapidly tapped scales.  When he solos, it sounds like one long melody of many, many measures, cascading and careening on through an amazing amount of ideas.  You can hear him singing loudly along with his melody as it goes.  It's clear he knows exactly what direction to turn next, though he is improvising.  There are endless dimensions to the harmonies he plays.

The first of two sets included on this CD is the Bud Powell Trio with the addition of saxophonist Zoot Sims, whose charimisatic playing draws much of my attention for this first 30 minutes.  This re-issue is worth purchasing for this set alone, as it was not included on any previous recording sold as "Live at the Blue Note Cafe, Paris 1961".  If it was previously released at all, I can find no evidence of it.  It's quite well recorded, indeed, just as well as the 2nd half of the disk, the set people know as "Live at the Blue Note Cafe, Paris 1961", the LP they've been listening to since 1968.  The two sets were recorded at the same venue, at very near the same time, with very nearly the same line up, but contain entirely different songs (aside from the brief "52nd Street Theme").  Comparing them is fascinating.

Naturally, Powell's own voice stands out a bit more without the highly melodic lead playing of Zoot Sims.  Despite the darkness described in Powell's life in the liner notes, the music has an undeniably positive vibe, with sunshine itself emanating from the watery, gentle tone of Powell's piano.  It induces relaxation on par with "Kind of Blue".  Powell's pre-occupation with Thelonious Monk is evident, both in the song "Thelonious" and the Monk cover "Monk's Mood".  I can hear the influence of Monk's more jagged or aggressive bluesy iterations, but atonal or experimental jazz this is not; Powell's whole band is concerned primarily with sweet, memorable melody.

This is one of my favorite jazz albums.  Whether you're an experienced jazz listener or someone new to the genre, I highly recommend this album, as it's a classic recording perfectly coupled with an absolutely vital previously unreleased addition in the set with Zoot Sims.  Some of these ESP Disk 'from the vault' type recordings have suffered from bad quality, but this album is pleasant to the ear and sounds easily as good as many of the most famous albums in jazz.  I'm sure I'll be listening to this for years to come.