Gigi Gryce, Donald Byrd & Cecil Taylor - At Newport

Styles: Trumpet, Saxophone And Piano Jazz
Year: 1957
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:49
Size: 113,7 MB
Art: Front

( 7:13)  1. Johnny Come Lately
( 7:40)  2. Nona's Blues
(10:26)  3. Tune 2
( 8:32)  4. Splittin'
( 7:21)  5. Batland
( 7:34)  6. Love For Sale

At first combining a set by Cecil Taylor with another by the Gigi Gryce-Donald Byrd Jazz Laboratory seems like an odd pairing, but it ends up working rather well. These live recordings, which come from the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, have stood the test of time rather well. Taylor's style of piano playing is not that far removed from Thelonious Monk in his interpretation of Billy Strayhorn's "Johnny Come Lately," though his dissonant, angular approach is a bit busier; Steve Lacy's nasal-toned soprano sax and solid rhythmic support from bassist Buell Neidlinger and drummer Denis Charles fuel Taylor's fiery playing. Both Taylor's "Nona's Blues" and "Tune 2" are fairly accessible in comparison to his works in the decade which followed. The Gigi Gryce-Donald Byrd Jazz Laboratory with pianist Hank Jones, bassist Wendell Marshall, and drummer Osie Johnson is firmly rooted in hard bop. Oddly enough, none of the three pieces were written by either Gryce or Byrd, though they were both already budding composers at this point in their respective careers. But their brief program -- which includes Ray Bryant's "Splittin' (Ray's Way)," the blues "Batland," and a rousing rendition of "Love for Sale" is a good representation of this unfortunately short-lived and under-recorded group. Reissued as a part of Verve's limited-edition series in the summer of 2002, this valuable CD will be available until the summer of 2005. ~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/at-newport-mw0000222261

Personnel: Donald Byrd (trumpet); Gigi Gryce (alto saxophone); Steve Lacy (soprano saxophone); Hank Jones , Cecil Taylor (piano); Osie Johnson (drums).

At Newport

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Tony Williams - The Joy Of Flying

Styles: Jazz Fusion
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:56
Size: 115,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:16)  1. Going Far
(8:07)  2. Hip Skip
(6:20)  3. Hittin' On 6
(6:19)  4. Open Fire
(6:52)  5. Tony
(3:31)  6. Eris
(6:08)  7. Coming Back Home
(8:19)  8. Morgan's Motion

It would be an understatement to say that there was a fair amount of variety on this set. Drummer Tony Williams is heard in two duets with keyboardist Jan Hammer, with a quartet also including keyboardist Herbie Hancock, Tom Scott (who unfortunately sticks to lyricon) and bassist Stanley Clarke, and he welcomes rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose, keyboardist Brian Auger, guitarist George Benson, Hammer and tenorman Michael Brecker on other tracks. Much of this music is closer to R&B than to jazz, although there are many strong moments. But the most interesting selection is certainly "Morgan's Motion" which matches Williams with pianist Cecil Taylor in a powerful (and completely atonal) collaboration. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-joy-of-flying-mw0000030914

Personnel:  Tony Williams: drums;  George Benson: guitar;  Ronnie Montrose: guitar;  Cecil Taylor: piano;  Jan Hammer: synthesizer, keyboards;  Herbie Hancock: synthesizer, keyboards;  Brian Auger: synthesizer, keyboards;  Michael Brecker: tenor saxophone;  Mario Cipolina: bass;  Stanley Clarke: bass;  Paul Jackson: bass

The Joy Of Flying

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Cecil Taylor Quartet - Looking Ahead!

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1958
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:16
Size: 97,0 MB
Art: Front + Back

(6:29)  1. Luyah! The Glorious Step
(5:15)  2. African Violets
(8:20)  3. Of What
(5:25)  4. Wallering
(7:43)  5. Toll
(9:02)  6. Excursion On A Wobbly Rail

One of Cecil Taylor's earliest recordings, Looking Ahead! does just that while still keeping several toes in the tradition. It's an amazing document of a talent fairly straining at the reins, a meteor about to burst onto the jazz scene and render it forever changed. With Earl Griffith on vibes, Taylor uses an instrumentation he would return to occasionally much later on, one that lends an extra percussive layer to the session, emphasizing the new rhythmic attacks he was experimenting with. Griffith sounds as though he might have been a conceptual step or two behind the other three but, in the context of the time, this may have served to make the music a shade more palatable to contemporary tastes. But the seeds are clearly planted and one can hear direct hints of Taylor's music to come, all the way to 1962 at least (the Nefertiti trio with Sunny Murray). Pieces like "Luyah! The Glorious Step" and "Of What" are so fragmented (in a traditional sense) and so bristlingly alive that one can understand Whitney Baillett's observation of crowds at a Taylor concert fidgeting "as if the ground beneath had suddenly become unbearably hot." 

The contributions of bassist Buell Neidlinger and drummer Dennis Charles cannot be understated; they breathe with Taylor as one unit and appear to be utterly in sync with his ideas. When the pianist edges into his solo on "Excursion on a Wobbly Rail," it's as though he's meeting the tradition head on, shaking hands and then rocketing off into the future. Looking Ahead! is a vital recording from the nascence of one of the towering geniuses of modern music and belongs in any jazz fan's collection.~Brian Olewick http://www.allmusic.com/album/looking-ahead-mw0000197292

Personnel:  Cecil Taylor: piano;  Buell Neidlinger: bass;  Denis Charles: drums;  Earl Griffith: vibes

Looking Ahead!

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Cecil Taylor - Love For Sale

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:27
Size: 116,9 MB
Art: Front

( 9:14)  1. Get Out Of Town
( 5:14)  2. I Love Paris
( 8:17)  3. Love For Sale
( 9:07)  4. Little Lees (Louise)
(10:16)  5. Motystrophe
( 8:16)  6. Carol/Three Points

This may be the straightest record Cecil Taylor ever recorded, but it is far from uninspiring. Despite its hopelessly gauche cover one can only presume Taylor had no say-so in the choice of artwork used Taylor's approach to three Cole Porter tunes with a trio and three of his own with a quintet is a lively combination, and one which, in lieu of his later work, reveals the construction of his system of improvisation better than his later records do when he is playing from the middle of it. Accompanied by Dennis Charles on drums and Buell Neidlinger on bass, Taylor dives deep into Porter's "I Love Paris," a shifty little pop song. Taylor goes head to head with Neidlinger in a contrapuntal statement of the melody  illustrated by chord changes which are extrapolated from the melodic sequence against harmony before actually flowing into the main theme of the tune for a moment before kicking the rhythm section loose and treating the tune percussively, almost as if it were a series of rhythm changes instead of harmonic ones. 

On the title track it's much the same, except Taylor's tenderness shines through in his lilting right hand in the middle as he trades fours with Charles. There's a wonderful cut-time tempo here, and Taylor starts building scales harmonically in his solo only to answer them with the melody and original harmony. With his own three tunes, with trumpeter Ted Curson and saxophonist Bill Barron added to the fray, Taylor takes more chances. On "Little Lees (Louise)," he scores in an elaborate melody that is played without dissonance by the horn section as he and Neidlinger play entirely in counterpoint. But here, too, there is a sublime lyricism at work; there are no extra notes or chords, and everything falls in line with the chromatic architecture Taylor composes with. "Maities Trophie" is Taylor ringing in a blues jam à la Ellington or at least his version of Ellington. The solos by Curson and Barron are tight, narrative, and bordering on swing, but all that's taken care of by Taylor's solo. Love for Sale is a delightful anomaly in Cecil Taylor's long career. ~ Thom Jurek  http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-for-sale-mw0000038935

Personnel: Cecil Taylor (piano); Bill Barron (tenor saxophone); Ted Curson (trumpet); Buell Neidlinger (bass); Dennis Charles (drums).

Love For Sale

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Cecil Taylor Quartet - Jazz Advance

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:04
Size: 121.5 MB
Styles: Piano jazz, Avant-garde
Year: 1956/1991
Art: Front

[ 7:23] 1. Bemsha Swing
[11:03] 2. Charge 'em Blues
[ 7:27] 3. Azure
[ 5:16] 4. Song
[ 9:14] 5. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
[ 6:03] 6. Rick Kick Shaw
[ 6:35] 7. Sweet And Lovely

The Transition label and the then new music of Cecil Taylor were perfectly matched, the rebellion in modern jazz was on in 1956, and the pianist was at the forefront. Though many did not understand his approach at the time, the passing years temper scathing criticism, and you can easily appreciate what he is accomplishing. For the reissue Jazz Advance, you hear studio sessions in Boston circa 1956, and the legendary, ear-turning set of 1957 at the Newport Jazz Festival. A young Steve Lacy is included on several tracks, and while revealing Taylor's roughly hewn façade, the few pieces as a soloist and with his trio of bassist Buell Neidlinger and drummer Dennis Charles are even more telling. At his most astonishing, Taylor slightly teases, barely referring to the melody of "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," wrapping his playful, wild fingers and chordal head around a completely reworked, fractured, and indistinguishable yet introspective version of this well-worn song form. Taylor is also able to circle the wagons, jabbing and dotting certain vital notes on the melody of "Sweet & Lovely." When inclined to turn off putting dissonant chords into playful melody changes, he does so, turning around Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing" delightfully, and then scattering notes everywhere in his solo. Lacy's soprano sax is more than up to the task in interpreting Taylor's personal "Charge 'Em Blues" or laying out the straight-ahead mood on "Song." Neidlinger is the hardest swinging bassist on the planet during "Rick Kick Shaw," boosted by the Asian flavored piano of Taylor and especially the soaring punt-like drumming of Charles. The Newport sessions allegedly sent the crowd reeling with stunned surprise, as the quartet takes Billy Strayhorn's "Johnny Come Lately" starkly further than Monk might have, while Taylor's original "Nona's Blues" sports a jagged edge in what he called a "traditional, shorter form" as they were "at a jazz festival," and his original "Tune 2" is a ten-and-a-half minute languid strut, most Monk like, and a departure from any norm previously established. With Jazz Advance, the revolution commenced, Taylor was setting the pace, and the improvised music world has never been the same. For challenged listeners, this CD has to be high on your must have list. ~Michael G. Nastos

Jazz Advance

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