Cecil Taylor

Cecil Percival Taylor (born in New York City March 15, 1930) is an American pianist and poet now generally acknowledged to be one of the great innovative sources of free jazz (along with the better known

Cecil Percival Taylor (born in New York City March 15, 1930) is an American pianist and poet now generally acknowledged to be one of the great innovative sources of free jazz (along with the better known Ornette Coleman). His first recording Jazz Advance was released in 1956, and is described by Cook & Morton in the Penguin Guide to Jazz: "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".

Taylor is known for being an extremely energetic, physical player, producing exceedingly complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and intricate polyrhythms. He learned piano at six and went on to study at New York College and New England Conservatory. After first steps in R&B and swing-styled small groups in the early '50s, he formed his own band with soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy in 1956. Later collaborations included work with John Coltrane and Archie Shepp and the bassist William Parker. However the greatest part of his musical development occurred in the company of alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons (from 1961 until Lyons' death in 1986) and drummers Sunny Murray and then Andrew Cyrille. Within that group, the musicians developed often volcanic new forms of conversational interplay. From the early 1970s onwards, Taylor also began to find increasing opportunities for solo piano performance.