<p>Born Sept. 27, 1924, Powell helped set the style for jazz piano after WWII. While earlier pianists played busy bass patterns, he helped establish a more fragmented, punctuating role for the left hand.</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-24655' /><br /><br /> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/09/26/g-s1-24655/marking-the-centennial-of-jazz-pianist-bud-powell" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic">* This article was originally published here</a>