 Powell was with Hodges'band in Los Angeles in the spring of 1954 when Roach needed a new pianist for the quintet that he co-led with trumpeter Clifford Brown. Powell was offered, and accepted, the job. He also became arranger for the quintet. They performed and rehearsed a lot, then had several recording sessions that August for EmArcy Records, which resulted in their first album, Brown and Roach Incorporated. In the same month, Powell was involved as pianist for some tracks at a session arranged for singer Dinah Washington that featured a studio audience. In September the quintet played for a fortnight at the Black Hawk in San Francisco, then began a tour of the eastern United States the following month. The band's saxophonist, Harold Land, reported that, when touring, "Richie was a little busy with the ladies. He had harems in almost every city".
