Roger Powell (musician)

Roger Powell
Roger Powell
Born	March 14, 1949 (age 77); Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Musician, software developer, magazine writer
Years active	Late 1960s–present
Known for	Keyboardist and synthesizer player for Utopia; creator of the Powell Probe and Texture MIDI sequencer; columnist for Keyboard magazine

Roger Powell (born March 14, 1949) is an American artist, software developer, and magazine writer, primarily recognized for his involvement with the rock group Utopia.

Musician

Powell's professional journey began in the late 1960s, focusing on programming analog synthesizers for advertising. As a mentee of Robert Moog, the creator of the Moog synthesizer, he played a role in the development of instruments for both Moog and their competitor ARP Instruments.

Between 1974 and 1985, Powell served as keyboardist and synthesizer player for Utopia, fronted by Todd Rundgren, participating in ten out of the band's eleven studio albums. He invented the Powell Probe, which was the pioneering remote polyphonic synthesizer controller allowing musicians to operate complex sequencer configurations from offstage locations—a technology subsequently adopted by artists such as Jan Hammer.

His first solo release, Cosmic Furnace (1973), was praised for its groundbreaking electronic soundscapes. Powell went on to produce multiple solo records and toured with renowned musicians including David Bowie.

Following a break from recording, he returned with Fossil Poets (2006), a collaborative effort with Gary Tanin and Greg Koch that merged electronic music with progressive rock influences. In 2009, Powell unveiled Blue Note Ridge, an album featuring solo piano improvisations produced by Tanin. He also performs regularly with folk artists in the Bay Area.

On September 7, 2009, Powell reunited with Rundgren in a reassembled Utopia lineup for a brief tour supporting Rundgren's A Wizard/A True Star. This event occurred after Powell left Apple Computer, where he had been employed as a programmer prior to joining Electronic Arts.

In 2011, Powell contributed Minimoog solos to Nashville musician Joe 'Guido Welsh's' album Nothing Left To Say, collaborating alongside former Utopia members John Siegler and Kevin Ellman.

Programmer

Powell created one of the earliest personal computer MIDI sequencers called Texture. Initially developed for the Apple II, this software allowed users to edit note sequences and save them digitally. Following the introduction of the MIDI protocol, Texture was adapted for the IBM PC and Amiga platforms using the Roland MPU-401 MIDI interface. Esteemed musicians such as Stevie Wonder and Bob James were among its users. Much of Powell's computing work predated MIDI; he performed on the first all-digital synthesizer at Bell Laboratories alongside Hal Alles, Douglas Bayer, and Gregory Sims. His technical expertise led to positions at WaveFrame—an "audio mainframe" synthesizer utilized by Peter Gabriel—as well as Silicon Graphics and Alias/Wavefront.

From 1997 until May 2009, Powell held the role of senior programmer and audio technical lead within Apple Professional Applications at Apple Computer. He currently acts as a Senior Producer at Electronic Arts, concentrating on advancing music-related technologies.

Writer

Powell authored a column on synthesizer techniques for Keyboard magazine. These writings were later compiled into books published by Hal Leonard: Synthesizer Basics, Synthesizer Technique, and Synthesizers and Computers.

Solo discography

Cosmic Furnace (Atlantic, 1973 — reissued on CD by Wounded Bird, 2005)
Air Pocket (Bearsville Records, 1980 — Wounded Bird CD reissue with bonus track, 2006)
"Connections To The Outside World" (Audion/Passport Records, 1986; unreleased except for a sampler featuring four tracks)
Fossil Poets (Inner Knot, 2006 Digipak CD edition)
Fossil Poets (Inner Knot, 2007 Limited Edition clear blue vinyl LP)
Blue Note Ridge (Unicorn Digital and Fossil Poet Records, 2009; available on CD and digital download)

External links