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.

Legal name: Cecil Percival Taylor

Discography

Album

YearTitleArtistRatingReleases
1960The World of Cecil TaylorCecil Taylor12
1966Unit StructuresCecil Taylor4.58
1967Conquistador!Cecil Taylor312
1971Jumpin’ Punkins (aka Cecil Taylor All Stars featuring Buell Neidlinger)Cecil Taylor7
1972New York City R&BCecil Taylor / Buell Neidlinger6
1978The Cecil Taylor UnitCecil Taylor4.53
19793 PhasisCecil Taylor3
1981Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!Cecil Taylor4
1987ChinampasCecil Taylor3
1988Cell Walk for CelesteCecil Taylor5
1990AirCecil Taylor2
1990In FlorescenceCecil Taylor3
1991Dreaming of the Masters, Volume 2: Thelonious Sphere MonkArt Ensemble of Chicago with Cecil Taylor5
1999Momentum SpaceDewey Redman, Cecil Taylor & Elvin Jones3
2019Duets 1992Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor1

Album + Compilation

YearTitleArtistRatingReleases
1966Piano ModernArt Tatum, John Lewis, Bud Powell, Cecil Taylor, Oscar Peterson1
1975In TransitionCecil Taylor1
1978The New BreedCecil Taylor / Charles Tolliver / Grachan Moncur / Archie Shepp1
1989The Complete Nat Hentoff Sessions (aka The Complete Candid Recordings of Cecil Taylor and Buell Neidlinger)Cecil Taylor5
19911960 - 1961Cecil Taylor2
1997Jazz Masters: 100 ans de JazzCecil Taylor2
1998ConcreteCecil Taylor1
2010Three Classic AlbumsCecil Taylor1
2010The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint & Soul NoteCecil Taylor1
2013Seven Classic AlbumsCecil Taylor1
2014The Complete Collection 1956-1962Cecil Taylor1
2014The Complete Collection 1956-1962 Nine Original AlbumsCecil Taylor1
2014Jazz Heroes Collection 11The George Russell Sextet, Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor1
2014Three Classic Albums PlusCecil Taylor1
2018The Glorious StepCecil Taylor1
2018Mysteries:UntitledCecil Taylor2
2020New York City R&B / Jumpin’ PunkinsCecil Taylor-Buell Neidlinger1
2021Mixed to Unit Structures RevisitedCecil Taylor2
2022With (Exit) to Student Studies RevisitedCecil Taylor1

Album + Compilation + Live

YearTitleArtistRatingReleases
1971Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (The Great Concert of Cecil Taylor)Cecil Taylor2
1976Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come: Live at the Cafe MonmartreCecil Taylor7
1989In Berlin ’88Cecil Taylor2
1989CrossingCecil Taylor1
2019On Air 1976 (live 1976)Cecil Taylor1

Album + Live

YearTitleArtistRatingReleases
1963Live at the Cafe MontmartreCecil Taylor55
1971Nuits de la Fondation Maeght, Vol. 1Cecil Taylor3
1972InnovationsCecil Taylor3
1972Nuits de la Fondation Maeght, Vol. 3Cecil Taylor2
1972Nuits de la Fondation Maeght, Vol. 2Cecil Taylor2
1973IndentCecil Taylor48
1973Student Studies (The Great Paris Concert)Cecil Taylor11
1973SoloCecil Taylor6
1975Silent TonguesCecil Taylor511
1977Air Above Mountains ‹ Buildings Within ›Cecil Taylor48
1977Nachricht vom LandeFriedrich Gulda, Ursula Anders, Barre Phillips, John Surman, Cecil Taylor, Stu Martin, Albert Mangelsdorff1
1978EmbracedMary Lou Williams & Cecil Taylor13
1979Live in the Black ForestCecil Taylor36
1981It Is in the Brewing LuminousCecil Taylor5
1982GardenCecil Taylor2
1982PraxisCecil Taylor1
1983The EighthCecil Taylor5
1984Historic Concerts: McMillin Theatre, Columbia U., New York, December 15, 1979Max Roach and Cecil Taylor3
1987For OlimCecil Taylor4
1988Tzotzil / Mummers / TzotzilCecil Taylor2
1989Erzulie Maketh ScentCecil Taylor1
1989In East-BerlinCecil Taylor · Solo / Cecil Taylor & Günter Sommer2
1989Leaf Palm HandCecil Taylor & Tony Oxley3
1989Pleistozaen mit WasserCecil Taylor & Derek Bailey2
1989RiobecCecil Taylor & Günter Sommer2
1989Spots, Circles, and FantasyCecil Taylor & Han Bennink2
1989RegaliaCecil Taylor & Paul Lovens2
1989RemembranceCecil Taylor & Louis Moholo2
1989The HearthCecil Taylor with Tristan Honsinger & Evan Parker2
1990Looking (Berlin version) SoloCecil Taylor3
1990Garden 1Cecil Taylor2
1990Garden 2Cecil Taylor2
1991Looking (Berlin Version) CoronaCecil Taylor / Harald Kimmig / Muneer Abdul Fataah / William Parker / Tony Oxley3
1993Double Holy HouseCecil Taylor2
1994Olu IwaCecil Taylor2
1995Amewa: Live at Sweet BasilCecil Taylor1
1995Iwontunwonsi: Live at Sweet BasilCecil Taylor1
1998The Tree of LifeCecil Taylor2
2001ComplicitéPaul Plimley / John Oswald, Marilyn Crispell, Cecil Taylor4
2002Cecil Taylor / Bill Dixon / Tony OxleyCecil Taylor / Bill Dixon / Tony Oxley2
2002The Willisau ConcertCecil Taylor52
2003The Owner of the River BankCecil Taylor & Italian Instabile Orchestra3
2004AlgonquinCecil Taylor2
2004All the NotesCecil Taylor1
2008CT: The Dance ProjectCecil Taylor, William Parker, Masashi Harada2
2009Piano Solo at Town Hall 1971Cecil Taylor1
2009The Last DanceDominic Duval & Cecil Taylor1
2010Ailanthus / Altissima: Bilateral Dimensions of 2 Root SongsCecil Taylor & Tony Oxley1
2012Almeda (To Matie)Cecil Taylor1
2012Solo • Duo • PoetryCecil Taylor + Pauline Oliveros1
2018PoschiavoCecil Taylor2
2018Conversations With Tony OxleyCecil Taylor with Tony Oxley2
2018CoronaCecil Taylor2
2020Birdland, Neuburg 2011Cecil Taylor and Tony Oxley2
2020At AngelicA 2000 BolognaCecil Taylor2
2020....... Being Astral and All Registers – Power of Two......Cecil Taylor / Tony Oxley2
2021Live in Ruvo di Puglia 2000Cecil Taylor1
2021Music From Two Continents: Live at Jazz Jamboree ‘84Cecil Taylor2
2022The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert at The Town Hall NYC November 4, 1973Cecil Taylor1
2022RespirationCecil Taylor2

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