UPC: 823564038827
Label: ENLIGHTENMENT
Format: CD
Release Date: January 17, 2025
In stock items ship within 48 hours

This new 4 CD set features the finest albums released by Cecil Taylor originally released between 1956 and 1962

Born March 25, 1929 in Long Island City, Queens, and raised in Corona, Queens, Cecil Percival Taylor, the American jazz musician, pianist and poet, was classically trained and is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterised by an energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and intricate polyrhythms. His piano technique has been likened to percussion, described as 'eighty-eight tuned drums' (referring to the number of keys on a standard piano). He has been compared to 'Art Tatum with contemporary-classical leanings.'

After taking initial steps in R&B and swing-styled small groups in the early 1950s, Taylor formed his own band with soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy in 1956. His first recording, Jazz Advance, featured Lacy and was released in 1956. It is described in the Penguin Guide to Jazz as follows; 'While there are still many nods to conventional post-bop form in this set, it already points to the freedoms which the pianist would later immerse himself in.' The quartet featuring Lacy also appeared at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival. He collaborated with saxophonist John Coltrane in 1958 on the album Stereo Drive.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Taylor's music grew more complex and moved away from existing jazz styles. Gigs were often hard to come by, and club owners found Taylor's approach to performance unhelpful in conducting business.

This new 4 CD set features the finest albums released by Cecil Taylor on which he performed as leader, originally released between 1956 and 1962. All featuring a host of other top musicians contributing too, this selection now becomes the best and most complete Cecil Taylor compilation available.

TRACK LIST:

Disc 1:

• Bemsha Swing
• Charge 'Em Blues
• Azure
• Song
• You'd Be So Nice To Come Home
• Rick Kick Shaw
• Johnny Come Lately
• Nona's Blues
• Tune 2

Disc 2:

• Luyah! The Glorius Step
• African Violets
• Of What
• Wallering
• Toll
• Excursion On A Wobbly Rail
• Shifting Down
• Just Friends
• Like Someone In Love
• Double Clutching

Disc 3:

• Get Out Of Town
• I Love Paris
• Love For Sale
• Little Lees
• Air
• This Nearly Was Mine
• Port Of Call
• E.B.
• Lazy Afternoon

Disc 4:

• O.P.
• Cell Walk For Celeste
• Cindy's Main Mood
• Things Ain't What They Used To Be
• Trance
• Call
• Lena
• D Trad, That's What