Cecil+taylor

Cecil Taylor - The Complete Candid Recordings of Cecil Taylor and Buell Neidlinger (1989) {4CD Set, Mosaic MD4-127 rec 1960-1961}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.19 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 575 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 38 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960-61, 1989 Candid / Mosaic Records | MD4-127
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Piano / Bass

A bewildering collection of music, varying from the often quite difficult Taylor to bop fare with a twist. There is a twinge of masochism mounting this on the turntable but for me Taylor is a litmus test. Some people, whose judgement is impeccable in most things, tell me they are enraptured by Taylor, others class him somewhere between root canal treatment and filing tax returns. Punishment for some, but not as challenging as some later Taylor for others. Each time I play him, which I do from time to time, I am checking whether I have turned the corner, a zen moment, and finally “got” Cecil Taylor . So far he continues to elude me, but I keep trying.

Cecil Taylor - One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye (1978) {2CD Set, Hat Hut Records hat ART CD 2-6090 rel 1991}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 884 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 355 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 29 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1978, 1991 Hat Hut Records | hat ART CD 2-6090
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Piano

In 1978 Cecil Taylor not only formed a band, he took it into the recording studio (something he hadn’t done since Conquistador!, a dozen years earlier) and on a European tour. The Cecil Taylor Unit of spring and summer 1978 is not only one of the pianist’s most vital ensembles, it’s also unique in its instrumentation, and its development of a collective identity makes it a rarity among his groups. Fans of Cecil Taylor's unrelenting music will certainly enjoy this exuberant work. This is the best-recorded performance of the enlarged Cecil Taylor Unit at its creative and most unified peak.

Cecil Taylor - The World Of Cecil Taylor (1960) {Candid CD9006 rel 1987}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 277 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 117 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 25 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960, 1987 Candid | CD 9006
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Creative / Piano

From the opening patterns of Denis Charles' drums on the title cut, the listener knows he/she is in for something special. One can only imagine what the reaction of the average jazz fan was in 1960 when this session was recorded. This is a wonderful document from early in Taylor's career, when he was midway between modernist approaches to standard material and his own radical experiments that would come to full fruition a few years hence. The quartet, rounded out by the youthful Archie Shepp (playing only on "Air" and "Lazy Afternoon") and bassist Buell Neidlinger, is already quite comfortable at pushing the boundaries of the period, giving an almost cursory reading of the themes before leaping into improvisation.

Cecil Taylor - The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint & Soul Note (2010) {5CD Set, CAM Jazz BXS1007 rec 1979-1986}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.55 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 649 Mb
Full Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1984-86, 2010 CAM Jazz / Black Saint / Soul Note | BXS 1007
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Improvised Music / Piano

The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint & Soul Note is a monographic box-set collection aimed at recounting the most beautiful chapters that revolutionised the history of jazz. A deep philological work, beginning with the original recordings on original master tapes, patiently integrally remastered paying strict attention to sound quality.

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.

Cecil Taylor - The Complete Cecil Taylor in Berlin '88 (2015) {13CD Box Set, FMP–Destination-Out}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download (bandcamp.com) -> 4.12 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 2.03 Gb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 1988, 2015 FMP / Destination-Out
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Free Improvisation / Modern Creative / Spoken Word / Piano

We are proud to present this legendary and long out-of-print box set. One of the most important jazz releases of the past 25 years. A vital meeting of American and European jazz sensibilities. A testament to the genius of pianist and composer Cecil Taylor. This Complete version includes LEGBA CROSSING, a limited edition which was part of the first 200 copies of the box set. It also includes IN EAST BERLIN which was recorded at the same time as the other albums but was not part of the set.

Cecil Taylor - The Tree Of Life (1991) {FMP CD 98 rel 1998}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 268 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 175 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 44 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 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 - The Owner of the River Bank (2003) {Enja Records ENJ-9465 2 rec 2000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 356 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 145 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 26 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2000, 2003 Enja Records | ENJ-9465 2
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Creative / Piano

The single piece by Cecil Taylor lasts an hour. It was recorded during the second of two concerts given to celebrate the first ten years of the Italian Instabile Orchestra. This was part of the Talos Festival in Ruvo di Puglia, in Southern Italy, on September 10, 2000. From the sounds of an orchestra warming up, to a subdued conclusion that rumbles deeply and insignificantly, Taylor’s piece takes his audience on a journey through scenery that changes gradually and often. Indistinct human voices can be heard along the way; so can the sounds of trumpet valves clacking, saxophone keys tapping, reed mouthpieces chattering, brass mouthpieces kissing, and tympani rolling along.

Cecil Taylor - Double Holy House (1990) {FMP CD 55 rel 1993}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 236 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 147 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 19 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1990, 1993 Free Music Production | FMP CD 55
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Piano

Recorded in 1990 in Berlin upon his return to the city where he spent a month performing and recording two years before, this document of Taylor playing piano and percussion and reciting his poems is a mixed bag. Partially it's because Taylor's poetry doesn't translate well on record. His use of elliptical language and speech devices, which has read wonderfully on the page and comes off as dramatically beautiful live, is a cipher on a compact disc. Thankfully, that of the two cuts here, the poetry, which is on the longest part of the work, is brief.

Cecil Taylor - Michigan State University, April 15th 1976 (2015) {Hi Hat HHCD005}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 272 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 110 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 20 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2015 Hi Hat | HHCD005
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Piano

Capturing the groundbreaking Cecil Taylor Unit's second set at the Power Center, Michigan State University at Ann Arbor, on Thursday, April 15th 1976, this document was recorded for broadcast on WCBN-FM's Jazz Alive program. Featuring Taylor on piano, backed by his long-term sideman Jimmy Lyons (alto sax), David S. Ware (tenor sax), Raphe Malik (trumpet), and Marc Edwards (drums), it offers a fascinating glimpse into Taylor's uncompromising vision, and is presented here in its entirety, with digitally remastered sound, background notes, and rare images.