Cecil+taylor

Cecil Taylor - The Complete Candid Recordings of Cecil Taylor and Buell Neidlinger (1989) {4CD Set, Mosaic MD4-127 rec 1960-1961}
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© 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}
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© 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 & Dominic Duval - The Last Dance Volumes 1 & 2 (2009) {2CD Set Cadence Jazz CJR 1229~30}
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© 2009 Cadence Jazz Records / CIMP |CJR 1229~30
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Piano / Bass

Dance is a crucial factor, both in this music and in Cecil Taylor's life at large. His mother was a dancer, and he often described his technique as a way to reproduce choreography's leaps and movements on the keyboard. Moreover, bassist Dominic Duval refers to these improvisations — recorded at 2003's San Francisco Jazz Fest — as "a truly integrated dance in which there are two dancers, dancing and singing together in harmony and with love and respect for each other". This relationship dates back to 1995, this double CD marking the first time in which the artists' output as a bass/piano duo is released.

Cecil Taylor - The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint & Soul Note (2010) {5CD Set, CAM Jazz BXS1007 rec 1979-1986}
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© 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 World Of Cecil Taylor (1960) {Candid CD9006 rel 1987}
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© 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 Cecil Taylor Unit (1978) {New World Records NW 201-2 rel 1987}
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© 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 - 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 - Michigan State University, April 15th 1976 (2015) {Hi Hat HHCD005}
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© 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.

Cecil Taylor - The Eighth (1981) {Hat Hut Records hatOLOGY 622 rel 2006)
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© 1981, 2006 Hat Hut Records | hatOLOGY 622
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Piano

Recorded live in West Germany in 1981, THE EIGHTH is an aptly named Cecil Taylor concert. Listened to casually (though it's hard to imagine this music listened to casually), one hears four virtuosi–Taylor on piano, Jimmy Lyons (alto sax), William Parker (bass), and Rashid Bakr (drums)–playing maelstroms of dense music. Closer listening reveals symphonic ambition, mystical leanings, and the magic of numbers. The eighth can also refer to an octave, one of Taylor's favorite intervals.

Cecil Taylor Ensemble - Always a Pleasure (1993) {FMP CD 69 rel 1996}
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© 1996 Free Music Production | FMP CD 69
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Piano

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. Old Taylor stalwarts like bassist Sirone and drummer Rashid Baker are tossed into a mix that includes tenor titan Charles Gayle, cellist Tristan Honsiger, and soprano saxophonist Harri Sjöström, as well as French trumpet master Longineu Parsons.