Cecil Taylor

Oblivion Records is delighted to announce the February 15, 2022 release of Cecil Taylor – The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert, marking the first chance for listeners to hear the legendary pianist’s 1973 return to live performance in full. The concert saw Taylor reunite with Cecil Taylor Unit members Jimmy Lyons (alto saxophone) and Andrew Cyrille (percussion), with the addition of Sirone on bass. This project, assembled by the original producer and recording engineer Fred Seibert, is a much-anticipated opportunity to hear the missing piece of a puzzle long-thought lost, that adds another chapter to the story of Taylor’s search for artistic freedom.

Cecil Taylor - The Cecil Taylor Unit (1978) {New World Records NW 201-2 rel 1987}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 317 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 140 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 49 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1978, 1987 New World Records | NW 201-2
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Piano

Whether he's playing solo piano or working in a group, Cecil Taylor creates whirlwinds of sound, layers of intricately detailed percussive patterns that form into long overlapping arcs and result in works of extraordinary scale and density. However controversial or demanding his work has been, in a career that stretches back to the early 1950s, it's rooted deeply in the jazz tradition of kinetic rhythmic dialogue. On this sextet recording from 1978, Taylor is joined by alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, trumpeter Raphé Malik, violinist Ramsey Ameen, bassist Sirone, and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson. Taylor's complex methodology here involves both written scores and free improvisation, but the elements are integrated into thick group textures in which lines of demarcation become blurred.

Strange as it sounds, this is a somewhat typical date by avant-garde master Cecil Taylor. Recorded live at a Minneapolis concert, the performance consists of three improvisations (two of which are quite lengthy) that have Taylor in mostly thunderous form, leavened by a few brief lyrical moments. Bassist Dominic Duval and drummer Jackson Krall do their best to keep up with Taylor but there is no doubt who the leader is. Taylor's remarkable technique and endurance are in evidence, as is his ability to build on the most abstract ideas and somehow have it all make musical sense…

Cecil Taylor has never compromised his ideals, and this recording is no exception. During the course of more than one hour, Taylor and his quartet perform only one piece, but do it with such exquisite finesse that it incorporates dozens of shades and styles of expression…