Editing Cecil Taylor

{{Short description|American composer and poet (1929–2018)}}
{{for|the Scottish playwright|C. P. Taylor}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Cecil Taylor
| image           = Cecil taylor E5122329-2.jpg
| caption         = Taylor at [[Moers Festival]] 2008
| birth_name      = Cecil Percival Taylor
| birth_date      = {{Birth date|1929|3|25}}
| birth_place     = [[Long Island City]], New York, U.S.
| death_date      = {{death date and age|2018|4|5|1929|3|25}}
| death_place     = [[Brooklyn]], New York, U.S.
| genre           = [[Jazz]], [[avant-garde jazz]], [[free jazz]], [[free improvisation]]
| occupation      = Musician, bandleader, composer, improviser, poet
| instrument      = Piano
| years_active    = 1956–2018
| label           = [[Transition Records|Transition]], [[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]], [[Freedom Records|Freedom]], [[Hathut Records|Hathut]], [[Enja Records|Enja]], [[FMP/Free Music Production|FMP]]
| associated_acts = [[Steve Lacy (saxophonist)|Steve Lacy]], [[Jimmy Lyons]], [[Archie Shepp]], [[Albert Ayler]], [[Buell Neidlinger]], [[Alan Silva]], [[William Parker (musician)|William Parker]], [[Sunny Murray]], [[Andrew Cyrille]], [[Tony Oxley]], [[Anthony Braxton]], [[Alan Silva]], [[Sirone (musician)|Sirone]], [[Art Ensemble of Chicago]], [[John Coltrane]]
}}

'''Cecil Percival Taylor''' (March 25, 1929{{snd}}April 5, 2018)<ref name="Such">{{cite book |last=Such |first=David Glen |title=Avant-garde Jazz Musicians: Performing "Out There" |publisher=University of Iowa Press |year=1993 |page=61 |isbn=978-1-58729-231-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPQMX8idVh0C&pg=PA61}}</ref><ref name="Feather">{{cite book|author1-last=Feather |author1-first=Leonard |author2-last=Gitler|author2-first=Ira |title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |page=638 |isbn=978-0-19-532000-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B4EjDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA638}}</ref><ref name="Seisdedos">{{cite news|last1=Seisdedos|first1=Iker|title=Muere el pianista Cecil Taylor, indomable leyenda del jazz|url=https://elpais.com/cultura/2018/04/06/actualidad/1523006133_515017.html|access-date=April 6, 2018|work=El Pais|publisher=Ediciones El Pais S.L.|date=April 6, 2018}}</ref> was an American pianist and poet.{{sfn|Such|1993|p=61}}<ref name="Yanow">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cecil-taylor-mn0000988386/biography|title=Cecil Taylor|last1=Yanow|first1=Scott|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=June 22, 2018}}</ref>

Taylor was [[classically trained]] and was one of the pioneers of [[free jazz]]. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex [[Musical improvisation|improvisation]] often involving [[tone clusters]] and intricate [[polyrhythms]]. His technique has been compared to [[Percussion instrument|percussion]]. Referring to the number of keys on a standard piano, [[Val Wilmer]] used the phrase "eighty-eight tuned drums" to describe Taylor's style.<ref>{{cite book | author=Wilmer, Val | title=As Serious As Your Life: The Story of the New Jazz | publisher=Quartet | year=1977|isbn=0-7043-3164-0|page=45}}</ref> He has been referred to as "[[Art Tatum]] with contemporary-classical leanings".<ref name="Tatum">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/jan/21/jazz.shopping1|title=Cecil Taylor, One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye|last=Fordham|first=John|author-link=John Fordham (jazz critic)|date=January 21, 2005|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=March 26, 2011|location=London|quote=Taylor plays the piano... like Art Tatum with contemporary-classical leanings...}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Cecil Percival Taylor was born on March 25, 1929, in [[Long Island City]], [[Queens]],<ref name="nytobit">{{Cite news|last=Ratliff|first=Ben|author-link=Ben Ratliff|date=April 6, 2018|title=Cecil Taylor, Pianist Who Defied Jazz Orthodoxy, Is Dead at 89|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/obituaries/cecil-taylor-dead.html|access-date=February 18, 2022|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and raised in [[Corona, Queens]].<ref name=NYT2012>[[Ben Ratliff|Ratliff, Ben]] (May 3, 2012). [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/arts/music/cecil-taylors-keyboard-legacy.html "Lessons From the Dean of the School of Improv"], ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved December 9, 2017: "I recently spoke with the 83-year-old improvising pianist Cecil Taylor for about five hours over two days. One day was at his three-story home in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, where he has lived since 1983.... Raised in Corona, Queens, he started out as a Harlem jam-session musician in the early 1950s and talks with intense loyalty about a line of particularly New York-identified piano players: Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams, Mal Waldron, John Hicks."</ref> As an only child to a middle-class family, Taylor's mother Almeda Ragland Taylor encouraged him to play music at an early age. He began playing piano at age six and went on to study at the [[New York College of Music]] and [[New England Conservatory]] in [[Boston]]. At the New England Conservatory, Taylor majored in popular music arrangement. During his time there, he also became familiar with contemporary European [[art music]]. [[Béla Bartók|Bela Bartók]] and [[Karlheinz Stockhausen]] notably influenced his music.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Jazz: the Basics|last=Meeder|first=Christopher|page=150}}</ref>

In 1955, Taylor moved back to New York City from Boston. He formed a quartet with soprano saxophonist [[Steve Lacy (saxophonist)|Steve Lacy]], bassist [[Buell Neidlinger]], and drummer [[Denis Charles|Dennis Charles]].<ref name=":0" /> Taylor's first recording, ''[[Jazz Advance]]'', featured Lacy and was released in 1956.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jul/11/jazz.johnfordham|title=CD: Cecil Taylor, Jazz Advance|last=Fordham|first=John|date=July 10, 2008|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref> The recording is described by [[Richard Cook (journalist)|Richard Cook]] and [[Brian Morton (Scottish writer)|Brian 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 in which the pianist would later immerse himself."<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Penguin jazz guide : the history of the music in the 1,001 best albums|last=Morton|first=Brian|date=2011|publisher=Penguin|others=Cook, Richard|isbn=978-0-14-195900-9|location=London|oclc=759581884}}</ref> Taylor's quartet featuring Lacy also appeared at the 1957 [[Newport Jazz Festival]], which was made into the album ''[[At Newport (Cecil Taylor and Gigi Gryce album)|At Newport]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/sep/20/jazz.artsfeatures1|title=CD: Gigi Gryce/Donald Byrd/Cecil Taylor, At Newport|last=Fordham|first=John|date=September 20, 2002|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref> Taylor collaborated with saxophonist [[John Coltrane]] in 1958 on ''[[Stereo Drive]]'', now available as ''Coltrane Time''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/coltrane-time-mw0000652601|title=Coltrane Time – John Coltrane|website=AllMusic|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref>

== 1950s and early 1960s ==
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 that Taylor's approach of playing long pieces tended to impede business.<ref>{{cite book|title=Four Lives in the Bebop Business|author=Spellman, A. B.|publisher=[[Limelight Editions]]|year=1985|isbn=0-87910-042-7|orig-year=1966}}</ref> His 1959 [[LP record]] ''[[Looking Ahead!]]'' showcased his innovation as a creator as compared to the jazz mainstream. Unlike others at the time, Taylor utilized virtuosic techniques and made swift stylistic shifts from phrase to phrase. These qualities, among others, still remained notable distinctions of his music for the rest of his life.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Jazz: the Basics|last=Meeder|first=Christopher|page=151}}</ref>

Landmark recordings, such as ''[[Unit Structures]]'' (1966), also appeared. Within the [[Cecil Taylor Unit]] (a distinction that was often used at performances and recordings between 1962 and 2006 for a shifting group of sidemen), musicians were able to develop new forms of conversational interplay. In the early 1960s, an uncredited [[Albert Ayler]] worked with Taylor, jamming and appearing on at least one recording, ''Four'', which was unreleased until appearing on the 2004 Ayler [[box set]] ''[[Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70)]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/holy-ghost-rare-unissued-recordings-1962-70-mw0000718294|title=Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings 1962–1970|website=AllMusic|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref>

By 1961, Taylor was working regularly with alto saxophonist [[Jimmy Lyons]], who would become one of his most important and consistent collaborators. Taylor, Lyons, and drummer [[Sunny Murray]] (and later [[Andrew Cyrille]]) formed the core personnel of the [[Cecil Taylor Unit]], Taylor's primary ensemble until Lyons' death in 1986. Lyons' playing, strongly influenced by jazz icon [[Charlie Parker]], retained a strong [[blues]] sensibility and helped keep Taylor's increasingly [[Avant-garde music|avant garde music]] tethered to the jazz tradition.<ref name="Kelsey">{{cite web|url=http://allmusic.com/artist/jimmy-lyons-p7010/biography|title=Jimmy Lyons – Biography|author=Kelsey, Chris|website=AllMusic|access-date=March 27, 2012|author-link=Chris Kelsey}}</ref>

== Late 1960s and 1970s ==
Taylor began to perform solo concerts in the latter half of the 1960s. The first known recorded solo performance was "Carmen With Rings" (59 minutes) in [[De Doelen]] concert hall in [[Rotterdam]] on July 1, 1967. Two days earlier, Taylor had played the same composition in the [[Amsterdam Concertgebouw]]. Many of his later concerts were released on album and include ''[[Indent (album)|Indent]]'' (1973), side one of ''[[Spring of Two Blue J's|Spring of Two Blue-J's]]'' (1973), ''[[Silent Tongues]]'' (1974), ''[[Garden (album)|Garden]]'' (1982), ''[[For Olim]]'' (1987), ''[[Erzulie Maketh Scent]]'' (1989), and ''[[The Tree of Life (Cecil Taylor album)|The Tree of Life]]'' (1998).<ref>[http://kathleen.frederator.com/post/5406913931/cecil-taylor-unit-spring-of-two-blue-js Cecil Taylor Unit Spring of Two Blue-J's @ kathleen.frederator Tumblr] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604111959/http://kathleen.frederator.com/post/5406913931/cecil-taylor-unit-spring-of-two-blue-js|date=June 4, 2016}}</ref> He began to garner critical and popular acclaim, playing for [[Jimmy Carter]] on the [[White House]] Lawn,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://jazztimes.com/features/george-wein-a-great-day-in-washington/|title=George Wein: A Great Day in Washington |last=Chinen|first=Nate|work=[[JazzTimes]]|access-date=April 6, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> lecturing as an [[artist-in-residence]] at universities, and eventually being awarded a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] in 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/cecil-p-taylor/|title=Cecil P. Taylor|website=GF.org|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref>

In 1976, Taylor directed a production of [[Adrienne Kennedy]]'s ''[[A Rat's Mass]]'' at [[La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club]] in the [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village of Manhattan]]. His production combined the original script with a chorus of orchestrated voices used as instruments. [[Jimmy Lyons]], [[Rashid Bakr (musician)|Rashid Bakr]], [[Andy Bey]], [[Karen Borca]], [[David S. Ware]] and [[Raphe Malik]] performed in the production as the Cecil Taylor Unit, among other musicians and actors.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [http://catalog.lamama.org/index.php/Detail/Occurrence/Show/occurrence_id/1586 "Production: ''Rat's Mass, A'' (1976)". Accessed August 8, 2018.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517082108/http://catalog.lamama.org/index.php/Detail/Occurrence/Show/occurrence_id/1586 |date=May 17, 2018 }}</ref>

== 1980s, 1990s, and the Feel Trio ==
Following Lyons' death in 1986, Taylor formed the Feel Trio in the late 1980s with [[William Parker (musician)|William Parker]] on bass and [[Tony Oxley]] on drums. The group can be heard on ''[[Celebrated Blazons]]'', ''[[Looking (Berlin Version) The Feel Trio]]'' and the 10-disc set ''[[2 Ts for a Lovely T]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/celebrated-blazons-mw0000695744|title=Celebrated Blazons|website=AllMusic|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/looking-berlin-version-the-feel-trio-mw0000910547|title=Looking (Berlin Version) The Feel Trio – The Feel Trio {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/sep/20/jazz.artsfeatures2|title=CD: Cecil Taylor Feel Trio, 2 Ts For A Lovely T|last=Fordham|first=John|date=September 20, 2002|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref> Compared to his prior groups with Lyons, the Feel Trio had a more abstract approach, tethered less to jazz tradition and more aligned with the ethos of European [[free improvisation]]. He also performed with larger ensembles and [[big band]] projects.

Taylor's extended residence in [[Berlin]] in 1988 was documented by the German label [[FMP (Free Music Production)|FMP]], resulting in a [[box set]] of performances in duet and trio with a large number of European free improvisors, including Oxley, [[Derek Bailey (guitarist)|Derek Bailey]], [[Evan Parker]], [[Han Bennink]], [[Tristan Honsinger]], [[Louis Moholo]], and [[Paul Lovens]]. Most of his later recordings have been released on European labels, with the exception of ''[[Momentum Space (album)|Momentum Space]]'' (a meeting with [[Dewey Redman]] and [[Elvin Jones]]) on [[Verve Records|Verve]]/Gitanes. The classical label [[Bridge Records|Bridge]] released his 1998 [[Library of Congress]] performance ''Algonquin'', a duet with violinist [[Mat Maneri]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/cecil-taylor-algonquin-mw0000468021|title=Cecil Taylor: Algonquin – Cecil Taylor {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref>

Taylor continued to perform for capacity audiences around the world with live concerts, usually playing his favored instrument, a [[Bösendorfer]] piano featuring nine extra lower-register keys. In 1987, he toured England with Australian pianist [[Roger Woodward]], presenting recitals on which Woodward played solo works by [[Iannis Xenakis|Xenakis]], [[Toru Takemitsu|Takemitsu]], and [[Morton Feldman|Feldman]], followed by Taylor, also playing solo.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gill |first=Dominic |date=November 26, 1987 |title=Woodward, Taylor / Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham |url=http://www.rogerwoodward.com/images/PDF/Woodward_Taylor_Dominic_Gill.pdf |work=The Financial Times |location=London |access-date=October 22, 2020}}</ref> A [[Documentary film|documentary]] on Taylor, entitled [https://web.archive.org/web/20080924143425/http://www.chrisfelver.com/films/taylor.html ''All the Notes''], was released on [[DVD]] in 2006 by director [[Chris Felver]]. Taylor was also featured in a 1981 documentary film entitled ''[[Imagine the Sound]]'', in which he discusses and performs his music, poetry, and dance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/event/documentary-screening-imagine-sound-1981/|title=Documentary Screening: Imagine the Sound|publisher=Gardiner Museum|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref> In 1993, he was awarded a [[MacArthur Fellows Program|MacArthur Fellowship]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class/july-1991/|title=Class of 1991 – MacArthur Foundation|website=MacArthur Foundation|language=en|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1981/05/26/the-jazz-man/017ef919-a140-4499-b391-35116692a9a9/|title=The Jazz Man|last=West|first=Hollie I.|date=May 26, 1981|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=April 6, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

== 2000s ==
[[File:Cecil Taylor DSC0029.jpg|thumb|Cecil Taylor, Buffalo, New York]]

Taylor recorded sparingly in the 2000s, but continued to perform with his own ensembles (the Cecil Taylor Ensemble and the Cecil Taylor Big Band) and with other musicians such as [[Joe Locke (musician)|Joe Locke]], [[Max Roach]], and [[Amiri Baraka]].<ref>[http://jazzinsidemagazine.com/Members/sweetpeasuzie/cecil-taylor-and-amiri-baraka-perform-in-barcelona/ Taylor Baraka Duo] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104040345/http://jazzinsidemagazine.com/Members/sweetpeasuzie/cecil-taylor-and-amiri-baraka-perform-in-barcelona/ |date=November 4, 2016 }}</ref> <!-- Selecting a few from the list -- there is no reason or need to include everybody. --> In 2004, the Cecil Taylor Big Band at the [[Iridium Jazz Club]] was nominated a best performance of 2004 by [[All About Jazz]].<ref name=AAJ>{{cite journal |page=10 |title=Best Performances 2004 |last=Big Band |year=2004 |publisher=All About Jazz Press}}</ref> The Cecil Taylor Trio was nominated for the same at the [[Highline Ballroom]] in 2009.<ref name=AAJ09>{{cite journal |page=10 |title=Best Performances 2009 |last=Cecil Taylor Trio|year=2009 |publisher=All About Jazz Press}}</ref> The trio consisted of Taylor, Albey Balgochian, and [[Jackson Krall]]. In 2010, Triple Point Records released a deluxe [[limited-edition]] double [[LP record|LP]] titled ''[[Ailanthus/Altissima: Bilateral Dimensions of 2 Root Songs]]'', a set of duos with Taylor's longtime collaborator [[Tony Oxley]] that was recorded live at the [[Village Vanguard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Cecil-Taylor-Tony-Oxley-Ailanthus-Altissima-Bilateral-Dimensions-Of-2-Root-Songs/release/2392711|title=Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley – Ailanthus / Altissima: Bilateral Dimensions Of 2 Root Songs|website=Discogs|language=en|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref>

In 2013, he was awarded the [[Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy|Kyoto Prize]] for Music.<ref name=Guardian_obit>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/apr/06/cecil-taylor-free-jazz-pioneer-dies-age-89-new-york-pianist-avant-garde |title=Cecil Taylor, free jazz pioneer, dies age 89 |first=Laura |last=Snapes |newspaper=The Guardian |date=April 6, 2018 |access-date=April 7, 2018 }}</ref> He was described as "An Innovative Jazz Musician Who Has Fully Explored the Possibilities of Piano Improvisation".<ref name="Kyoto">{{cite web|url=http://www.kyotoprize.org/en/laureates/cecil_taylor/|title=Cecil Taylor|publisher=[[Kyoto Prize]]|access-date=April 7, 2018}}</ref> In 2014, his career and 85th birthday were honored at the [[Painted Bride Art Center]] in [[Philadelphia]] with the tribute concert event "Celebrating Cecil".<ref>Simon, Ray, [http://www.epgn.com/arts-culture/music/7008-24699747-out-jazz-great-celebrated-at-local-festival "Out jazz great celebrated at local festival"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828234219/http://www.epgn.com/arts-culture/music/7008-24699747-out-jazz-great-celebrated-at-local-festival|date=August 28, 2016}} ''[[Philadelphia Gay News]]'', March 6, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.</ref> In 2016, Taylor received a retrospective at the [[Whitney Museum of American Art]] entitled "Open Plan: Cecil Taylor".<ref>[http://whitney.org/Exhibitions/OpenPlanCecilTaylor "Open Plan: Cecil Taylor"]. Whitney Museum of American Art. Retrieved January 9, 2017.</ref>

In 2008, Taylor performed with [[Pauline Oliveros]] at the [[Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center|Curtis R Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center]] at [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]]. The concert was recorded and is available on a DVD which also features a 75-minute video of a Taylor poetry recital entitled ''Floating Gardens: The Poetry Of Cecil Taylor''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://empac.rpi.edu/publications/cecil-pauline-solo-duo-poetry |title=Solo – Duo – Poetry: Cecil Taylor + Pauline Oliveros |website=EMPAC.rpi.edu |access-date=June 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thewire.co.uk/news/50587/empac-offers-free-dvd-of-cecil-taylor-and-pauline-oliveros-performing-in-2008 |title=EMPAC offers free DVD of Cecil Taylor and Pauline Oliveros live in 2008 |website=TheWire.co.uk |date=June 20, 2020 |access-date=June 20, 2020}}</ref> Taylor, along with dancer [[Min Tanaka]], was the subject of [[Amiel Courtin-Wilson]]'s 2016 documentary film ''The Silent Eye''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/bold-new-projects-for-amiel-courtinwilson-and-more-australian-film-news-20160412-go4d59.html |title=Bold new projects for Amiel Courtin-Wilson and more Australian film news|first=Gary|last=Maddox|newspaper=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]|date= April 12, 2016|access-date= August 2, 2017}}</ref>

== Ballet and dance ==
In addition to piano, Taylor was always interested in ballet and dance. His mother, who died while he was young, was a dancer and played the piano and violin. Taylor once said: "I try to imitate on the piano the leaps in space a dancer makes."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Four lives in the bebop business|last=Spellman|first=A. B.|date=1966|publisher=[[Limelight Editions]]|isbn=0-87910-042-7|edition=1st Limelight|location=New York|page=42|oclc=11469891}}</ref> He collaborated with dancer [[Dianne McIntyre]] from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s.<ref>"Interview with Dianne McIntyre," MGZTC 3-2252 [sound cassette] reel 6, New York Public Library Performing Arts Research Collections, 2000</ref> In 1979, he composed and played the music for a 12-minute ballet, "Tetra Stomp: Eatin' Rain in Space", featuring [[Mikhail Baryshnikov]] and [[Heather Watts]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Miles, Ornette, Cecil: jazz beyond jazz|last=Mandel|first=Howard|date=2008|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-415-96714-3|location=New York|page=204|oclc=173749173}}</ref>

== Poetry ==
Taylor was a poet, and cited [[Robert Duncan (poet)|Robert Duncan]], [[Charles Olson]], and [[Amiri Baraka]] as major influences.<ref>[http://wings.buffalo.edu/epc/authors/funkhouser/ceciltaylor.html "being matter ignited..."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401085739/http://wings.buffalo.edu/epc/authors/funkhouser/ceciltaylor.html|date=April 1, 2016}} Interview with Cecil Taylor by Chris Funkhouser, published in ''[[Hambone (magazine)|Hambone]]'', No. 12 ([[Nathaniel Mackey]], editor).</ref> He often integrated his poems into his musical performances, and they frequently appear in the [[liner notes]] of his albums. The album ''[[Chinampas (album)|Chinampas]]'', released by [[Leo Records]] in 1987, is a recording of Taylor reciting several of his poems while accompanying himself on percussion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/chinampas-mw0000106106|title=Chinampas|website=AllMusic|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref> His poetry was likened to his music primarily by the ways in which Taylor alters and transforms material both linguistic and musical.<ref>{{Citation |title=Cecil Taylor - Chinampas Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/chinampas-mw0000106106 |access-date=2024-02-10 |language=en}}</ref>

== Musical style and legacy ==
According to Steven Block, [[free jazz]] originated with Taylor's performances at the [[Five Spot Café|Five Spot Cafe]] in 1957 and with [[Ornette Coleman]] in 1959.<ref>Block, Steven, "Pitch-Class Transformation in Free Jazz", ''[[Music Theory Spectrum]]'', Vol. 12, No. 2 (Autumn 1990), pp. 181–202. Published by [[University of California Press]] on behalf of the [[Society for Music Theory]].</ref> In 1964, Taylor co-founded the [[Jazz Composers Guild]] to enhance opportunities for [[avant-garde jazz]] musicians.<ref name="Walden">Walden, Daniel, "Black Music and Cultural Nationalism: The Maturation of Archie Shepp", ''[[Negro American Literature Forum]]'', Vol. 5, No. 4 (Winter 1971), pp. 150–154. Published by [[St. Louis University]].</ref>

Taylor's style and methods have been described as "[[Constructivism (art)|constructivist]]".<ref>Review by Robert Palmer, "''Indent'' by Cecil Taylor", ''The Black Perspective in Music'', Vol. 2, No. 1 (Spring 1974), pp. 94–95.</ref> Despite [[Scott Yanow]]'s warning regarding Taylor's "forbidding music" ("Suffice it to say that Cecil Taylor's music is not for everyone"), he praises Taylor's "remarkable technique and endurance", and his "advanced", "radical", "original", and uncompromising "musical vision".<ref name="Yanow" />

This musical vision is a large part of Taylor's legacy:
{{blockquote|Playing with Taylor I began to be liberated from thinking about chords. I'd been imitating John Coltrane unsuccessfully and because of that I was really chord conscious.|[[Archie Shepp]], quoted in [[Amiri Baraka|LeRoi Jones]], album liner notes for ''Four for Trane'' (Impulse A-71, 1964)|source=}}

== Personal life and death ==
Taylor moved to [[Fort Greene, Brooklyn]], in 1983.<ref name=NYT2012 /> He died at his Brooklyn residence on April 5, 2018, at the age of 89.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/04/06/535064217/cecil-taylor-jazz-icon-of-the-avant-garde-dies-at-89|title=Cecil Taylor, Jazz Icon Of The Avant-Garde, Dies At 89|last=Vitale|first=Tom|date=April 6, 2018|work=NPR|access-date=April 6, 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/cecil-taylor-dead-at-89/|title=Cecil Taylor Dead at 89 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|first=Evan |last=Minsker| language=en|date=April 6, 2018|access-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref> At the time of his death, Taylor was working on an autobiography and future concerts, among other projects.<ref name="Cecil Taylor Website">{{cite web|url=http://www.ceciltaylor-art.com/component/content/article/1-merchandise/1-biography|title=Biography|website=Cecil Taylor official website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912011216/http://www.ceciltaylor-art.com/component/content/article/1-merchandise/1-biography|archive-date=September 12, 2011}}</ref>

== Discography ==
{{Main|Cecil Taylor discography}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{AllMusic}}
* {{Bandcamp}}
* {{Discogs artist}}
* {{MusicBrainz artist}}

{{Cecil Taylor|state=collapsed}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Cecil}}
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American jazz pianists]]
[[Category:African-American poets]]
[[Category:American poets]]
[[Category:Antioch College faculty]]
[[Category:MacArthur Fellows]]
[[Category:Musicians from Queens, New York]]
[[Category:Writers from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Free jazz pianists]]
[[Category:Kyoto laureates in Arts and Philosophy]]
[[Category:New York College of Music alumni]]
[[Category:New England Conservatory alumni]]
[[Category:Freedom Records artists]]
[[Category:Prestige Records artists]]
[[Category:Enja Records artists]]
[[Category:Blue Note Records artists]]
[[Category:Candid Records artists]]
[[Category:Avant-garde jazz pianists]]
[[Category:Cadence Jazz Records artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American pianists]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from New York (state)]]
[[Category:People from Fort Greene, Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Black Lion Records artists]]
[[Category:Leo Records artists]]
[[Category:FMP/Free Music Production artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:Intakt Records artists]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:American male jazz pianists]]
[[Category:Jazz Composer's Orchestra members]]
[[Category:DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members]]
[[Category:NEA Jazz Masters]]