Cecil Taylor

~ Person

Annotation

Mr Cecil Percival Taylor is one of the few legends of free jazz, arguably one of the major musicians of the second half of the 20th century, although his music is often considered hard to understand (some even say hard to hear).
A master pianist, he began his career in the mid 50's, at that time already an adventurous post-bop pianist, still somewhat under Monk's influence.
In a few major steps, from Jazz Advance to Love for Sale, to the Candid sessions that redefined the meaning of looking ahead, he developped an entirely unique approach of piano play, ultimately recording two Blue Note sessions (Conquistador and Unit Structures) that would establish him as one of the most radical, controversial and enraged cat of the "new" wave known as Free Jazz.
From then on he pursued goals he and his Unit only were able to reach, recording an impressive amount of material and featuring in incredible live sessions. He also recorded duets with both Mary Lou Williams (Embraced) and Max Roach (Historic Concerts).
Although nearly 80 years old now, Mr Taylor is still touring, with the very same unaltered energy and unique volubility.

Annotation last modified on 2006-05-22 00:01 UTC.

Album

Year Title Artist Rating Releases
1956 Jazz Advance Cecil Taylor 1
1959 Hard Drivin' Jazz Cecil Taylor 1
1959 Looking Ahead! Cecil Taylor 2
1962 Nefertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come Cecil Taylor 2
1966 Unit Structures Cecil Taylor 2
1967 Conquistador! Cecil Taylor 3
1978 The Cecil Taylor Unit Cecil Taylor 4 1
1989 Erzulie Maketh Scent Cecil Taylor 1
1989 In East-Berlin Cecil Taylor 1
1989 It Is In The Brewing Luminous Cecil Taylor 1
1989 Leaf Palm Hand Cecil Taylor 1
1989 Legba Crossing Cecil Taylor 1
1989 Pleistozaen Mit Wasser Cecil Taylor & Derek Bailey 1
1989 Spots, Circles, and Fantasy Cecil Taylor 1
1990 In Florescence Cecil Taylor 1
1990 Student Studies Cecil Taylor 1
1991 Jazz Advance Cecil Taylor 1
1994 Olu Iwa Cecil Taylor 1
1996 3 Phasis Cecil Taylor 1
1998 Love for Sale Cecil Taylor 1
2000 Nailed Cecil Taylor 1
2001 The World of Cecil Taylor Cecil Taylor 1
2002 The Willisau Concert Cecil Taylor 1
— Dreaming of the Masters Vol.2 Art Ensemble of Chicago with Cecil Taylor 1
— Momentum Space Dewey Redman, Cecil Taylor & Elvin Jones 1
— Port Of Call Cecil Taylor 1

Compilation

Year Title Artist Rating Releases
2005 Hard Driving Jazz Cecil Taylor 1
— Les Génies Du Jazz, VI 08 - Cecil Taylor (1960 - 1961) Cecil Taylor 1
— The Complete Candid Recordings of Cecil Taylor and Buell Neidlinger Cecil Taylor 1

Live

Year Title Artist Rating Releases
1972 Fondation Maeght Nights, Volume 3 Cecil Taylor 1
1973 Indent Cecil Taylor 1
1976 Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come Cecil Taylor 3
1982 Garden 1 Cecil Taylor 1
1982 Garden 2 Cecil Taylor 1
1989 The Hearth Cecil Taylor, Tristan Honsinger & Evan Parker 1
1998 The Tree of Life Cecil Taylor 1
2000 Silent Tongues Cecil Taylor 2
2006 The Eighth Cecil Taylor 1
— Historic Concerts: McMillin Theatre, Columbia U., NY, December 15, 1979 Cecil Taylor & Max Roach 1
— Historic Concerts: McMillin Theatre, Columbia U., NY, December 15, 1979 Cecil Taylor & Max Roach 1
— Historic Concerts: McMillin Theatre, Columbia U., NY, December 15, 1979 Cecil Taylor & Max Roach 1
— Historic Concerts: McMillin Theatre, Columbia U., NY, December 15, 1979 Cecil Taylor & Max Roach 1

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