Cecil Touchon

Recorded in 1993 during the Free Music Workshop in Berlin, this date features Cecil Taylor playing in a septet setting with a group of musicians who both point back toward some of the Cecil Taylor units of old and look ahead at the possibilities for a future ensemble employing numerous instruments, not only for color and variance, but also as force creators in Taylor's wave field. ~ AllMusic

Cecil Payne - Cerupa (1995) {Delmark DE-478 rec 1993}
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© 1993, 1995 Delmark Records | DE-478
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Baritone Sax / Flute

At age 72, Cecil Payne makes a recorded comeback with this release. He sounds in fine form, playing with dexterity, clarity, and depth on baritone sax, and brings out his flute for two of the eight cuts. Six of the eight selections are his compositions. A mixed-generation band has old hands John Ore (bass) and the great Harold Mabern (piano) teamed with younger men Eric Alexander (tenor sax) and Joe Farnsworth (drums). Guest trumpeters Freddie Hubbard or Dr. Odies Williams III get cameos. As expected, this is a hard bop date, reflective of Payne's history with Dizzy Gillespie, J.J. Johnson, Tadd Dameron, and James Moody.

2 Blues For Cecil features three legends of modern improvised music, trumpeter Enrico Rava, bassist William Parker and drummer Andrew Cyrille. Rava and Cyrille are among the elders of improvised music with their careers going back to the 1960s whereas Parker rose to prominence during New York's loft jazz era of the 1970s. The three musicians share one major link in their respective careers. Namely, they all have, at various times, been members of Unit or other ensembles of another legend, the late pianist Cecil Taylor. Enrico Rava, William Parker and Andrew Cyrille first performed together as a trio in tribute to Cecil Taylor, with Taylor himself present, at the Whitney museum in April 2016 as part of an exhibit/program under the heading "Open Plan: Cecil Taylor." 2 Blues For Cecil was recorded on February 1 and 2 at Studio Ferber in Paris following the trio's concert on December 31, 2020 under the heading "Tribute to Cecil Taylor" as part of the Sons D'Hiver festival in Paris.

Cecil Taylor - Cell Walk For Celeste (1961) {Candid CCD79034 rel 1988}
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© 1961, 1988 Candid / Phonoco | CCD79034
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Creative / Piano

Originally recorded in the early 1960s and unreleased for a decade, these Cecil Taylor small group arrangements find the pianist at an intriguing stage of his musical development, encompassing the traditional post-bop jazz of "Jumpin' Punkins" (the difference between the two versions included here is instructive), and the more radical, yet still structured approach of the title track. Accompanied by an all-star lineup, including the drummer Billy Higgins, the trombonists Roswell Rudd and Clark Terry, and the soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, Taylor's playing is like aural modern ballet–fractured, flowing, and lyrical.

Cecil Taylor - Jazz Advance (1956) {Blue Note CDP 7 84462 2 rel 1991}
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© 1956, 1991 Transition / Blue Note / Capitol | CDP 7 84462 2
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano

One of the best pre-1960 sessions by Cecil Taylor, recorded in Boston in 1956, and originally issued on the totally rare Transition label in a very small pressing! Taylor's playing here with the great bassist Buell Neidlinger, one of his prime compaitriots in the early days, and the trio (with Dennis Charles) is joined by Steve Lacy on a few tracks. The session's a great way to hear Taylor's development at the beginning, as it includes a number of jazz standards – like "Azure", "Sweet & Lovely", and "Bemsha Swing" – all given an off-kilter twist by Taylor and group. This is probably best heard on one of the album's highlights – a 9 minute solo reading of Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To"!

Cecil Taylor - The Tree Of Life (1991) {FMP CD 98 rel 1998}
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© 1991, 1998 Free Music Production | FMP CD 98
Jazz / Modern Creative / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano

This "thank you" concert to the city of Berlin at the end of Cecil Taylor's six-month stay there in 1990 is a lovely, vibrant affair. In trademark fashion, "The Tree of Life" is one work, broken up into five "periods" or movements. The invocation in period one doesn't even feature a piano, just empty space and Taylor's voice creating a kind of spirit ground for him to play from. "Period 2" is where things actually begin. Taylor begins in ballad form; long eighths and ninths are extended into minor-key formations and distillations of mode and harmonic interval. There is a kind of distended harmony at work, with left and right hands playing opposite each other in perfect formation and rhythm: One idea, or theme, cancels out the previous one and sets up a new paradigm for consideration over the course of a 12 or 13 measures.

Cecil Taylor was a powerful and unforgettable music force—a fearless visionary and one of the greatest musicians of the past century. His visceral and intense performances influenced generations of musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers and creative minds of every description. This CD features six heartfelt tributes performed by the group Winged Serpents, which consists of six of the most original pianists and musical thinkers working today. Each touched by Cecil’s magic in different ways, they perform improvised tributes to this legendary genius who created a new music that transcended all genres.