CECIL TAYLOR — Solo (1973-1986) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
Lono    
1    Choral Of Voice (Elesion)    7:21
2    Lono    9:25
3    Asapk In Ame    7:09
1st Layer Part Of Indent
4    Indent / 1/2 Of First Layer / 2nd 1/2 Of First Layer    7:17
Credits :
Piano, Producer, Composed By – Cecil Taylor

THE GIL EVANS ORCHESTRA — Into the Hot (1962-1988) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Although this album (reissued on CD) proudly states that it is by the Gil Evans Orchestra and has Evans' picture on the cover, the arranger actually had nothing to do with the music. Three songs have the nucleus of his big band performing numbers composed, arranged, and conducted by John Carisi (who also plays one of the trumpets). Those selections by the composer of "Israel" are disappointingly forgettable. The other three performances are even further away from Evans for they are actually selections by avant-garde pianist Cecil Taylor's septet! Taylor's music features trumpeter Ted Curson, trombonist Roswell Rudd, altoist Jimmy Lyons, tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, bassist Henry Grimes, and drummer Sunny Murray and is quite adventurous and exciting, the main reason to acquire this somewhat misleading set. Scott Yanow    Tracklist & Credits :

EVAN PARKER | CECIL TAYLOR | BARRY GUY | TONY OXLEY - Nailed (CT: The Quartet) (1990-2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

A super-session in theory, this one-off gig was recorded in Berlin in 1990 during another of Cecil Taylor's extended stays. According to the liner notes, this gig was tense from the start because of some ill will between some of the band's members, hence the title of the album. Whatever. The two tracks that comprise this set are full of the explosive, full-bore playing each of this quartet's members is well-known for. It's easy to believe there is tension here, the playing from the outset starts at furious and gets wilder. But what's more interesting is that given Taylor's gigantic stature among musicians, even the three he's playing with, he doesn't dominate the proceedings. This is group improvisation the way it's supposed to be, with ideas being tossed into the fire from every angle. Some are picked up and extrapolated upon; others are left smoldering in the ashes. When it is time for Taylor to solo, none of the others stay out of the mix completely, not even Parker. Guy's bowed bass accompanies Taylor through each theme and phrase, each color and mode change until Taylor cedes the floor. Yes, it is all about muscle: all competition, all struggle, all music. As in the bebop days of old, this is a cutting contest in the purest sense of that word. Everybody bleeds here. At times, the playing is so intense the listener just wants to hate everyone on the bandstand, at others, so forceful (s)he is beaten into submission, and still at others, nothing but a resounding YEAH! Throughout the house or car will do. Sizing up the individual contributions to this mass of aural mayhem is fruitless. This is a group who insists on being individuals in a collective setting and, therefore, the listening level is so high -- so as not to miss any gauntlet laid down -- the attention to execution and imagination can't help but be top-notch. So, in essence, this is a super-session, but not one in the usual sense. It is among the finest of all the recordings released under Taylor's name from either of his Berlin periods, and, for the others, it charts with their best playing anywhere. This is group improvisation at its angriest, freest, and truest.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1    First    52:20
2    Last    25:48
Bass – Barry Guy
Drums – Tony Oxley
Piano, Composed By – Cecil Taylor
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Evan Parker

CECIL TAYLOR WITH TRISTAN HONSINGER & EVAN PARKER - The Hearth (1989) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Recorded in 1988 as part of Cecil Taylor month in Berlin, this trio, which consists of Taylor, saxophonist Evan Parker, and cellist Tristan Honsinger, is an improviser's dream. Here are two personalities actually strong enough to rein Taylor in and bring the music up out of him instead of the force. Parker chose tenor for this gig, and he and Honsinger play to each other for the first couple of minutes, establishing a mutated kind of blues groove as Taylor sings in his tinny voice and claps in the background. Honsinger's bowed chord voicings offer Parker plenty to work off of tonally, and he does, turning the blues riff into a vamp on thirds, and then elongated harmonic structures that bring Taylor in on the piano after about ten minutes. Taylor enters with arpeggios blazing, but he is reined in by the architecture created by Honsinger in his phrasing. When Taylor is forced to play inside it, his creativity rages; he is full of colors, glissandi, dynamics, and a palette of textures that is dizzying -- so much so that Parker stops playing for a while. When he reenters, it is to slow things down and build upon some of the tonal structures Taylor has been tossing off within Honsinger's phraseology. Parker becomes a mode setter, creating a new layer of intervallic order from each set of overtones, where any player is allowed to push against its walls but not to break them. And from here, a language is established within the trio, making the musicians move into one another more closely, taking bits and pieces and growing ideas out into entire musical universes made by three -- not one plus one plus one. This is a devastatingly fine gig, and one of the best Taylor played the entire month he was in Berlin.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     Hearth 1:01:31
Tristan Honsinger / Evan Parker / Cecil Taylor
Cello – Tristan Honsinger
Piano – Cecil Taylor
Tenor Saxophone – Evan Parker 

ALBERT AYLER - Holy Ghost : Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962-70) (2004) 10CD BOX | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

After listening to Revenant's massive Albert Ayler box set, Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962-70), a pair of questions assert themselves in the uneasily settling silence that follows: who was Albert Ayler, and how did he come to be? At the time of this box set's release 26 years after the Cleveland native's mysterious death -- his lifeless body was found floating in New York's East River, without a suicide note -- those questions loom larger than ever. Revenant's amazing package certainly adds weight and heft to the argument for Ayler's true place in the jazz pantheon, not only as a practitioner of free jazz but as one of the music's true innovators. Ayler may have been deeply affected by the music of Ornette Coleman, but in turn he also profoundly influenced John Coltrane's late period.

The item itself is a deeply detailed 10" by 10" black faux-onyx "spirit box," cast from a hand-carved original. Inside are ten CDs in beautifully designed, individually colored rice paper sleeves. Seven are full-length music CDs, two contain interviews, and one is packaged as a replica of a recording tape box, containing two tracks from an Army band session Ayler participated in. Loose items include a Slug's Saloon handbill, an abridged facsimile of Amiri Baraka's journal Cricket from the mid-'60s containing a piece by Ayler, a replica of the booklet Paul Haines wrote for Ayler's Spiritual Unity album, a note Ayler scrawled on hotel stationery in Europe, a rumpled photograph of the saxophonist as a boy, and a dogwood flower. Finally, there is a hardbound 209-page book. It contains a truncated version of Val Wilmer's historic chapter on Ayler from As Serious As Your Life, a new essay by Baraka, and biographical and musicological essays by Ben Young, Marc Chaloin, and Daniel Caux. In addition, there are testimonies by many collaborators, full biographical essays of all sidemen, detailed track information on the contents, and dozens of photographs.

Almost all this material has been, until now, commercially unavailable. Qualitatively, the music here varies, both artistically and mechanically. Some was taken from broadcast and tape sources that have deteriorated or were dubious to begin with, but their massive historical significance far outweighs minor fidelity problems. Chronologically organized, the adventure begins with Ayler's earliest performances in Europe fronting a thoroughly confounded rhythm section that was tied to conventional time signatures and chord changes. Ayler, seemingly oblivious, was trying out his new thing in earnest -- to the consternation of audiences and bandmates alike. How did a guy who played like this even get a gig in such a conservative jazz environment? Fumbling as this music is, it proves beyond any doubt Ayler's knowledge and mastery of the saxophone tradition from Lester Young to Sonny Rollins. Ayler's huge tone and his amazing, masterfully controlled use of both vibrato and the tenor's high register are already in evidence here. Following these, there is finally recorded evidence to support Ayler playing with Cecil Taylor in Copenhagen in 1962. This is where he met drummer Sunny Murray who, along with bassist Gary Peacock, formed the original Ayler trio. Their 1964 performances at New York's Cellar Café are documented here to stunning effect. Following these are phenomenal broadcast performances from later that year that include Don Cherry on trumpet in France.

Other discs here document Ayler's sideman duties: with pianist Burton Greene's quintet in 1966 (with Rashied Ali), a Pharoah Sanders band with Sirone and Dave Burrell, a Town Hall concert with his brother Donald's sextet that also included Sam Rivers, and a quartet with Donald, drummer Milford Graves, and bassist Richard Davis playing at John Coltrane's funeral. These live sessions have much value historically as well as musically, but are, after all, blowing sessions -- though they still display Ayler as a willing and fiery collaborator who upped the ante with his presence. Though he arrived fully formed as a soloist, his manner of trying to adapt to other players and bring them into his sphere is fascinating, frustrating, and revealing.

Ayler's own music is showcased best when leading his own quartets and quintets, and there are almost four discs' worth of performances here. Much of this music is with the classical violinist Michel Sampson and trumpeter Donald Ayler with alternating rhythm sections. Indeed, the quintet gigs here with Sampson and Donald in the front line that used marching rhythms and traditional hymns as their root may not be as compelling sonically as the Village Vanguard stuff issued by Impulse!, but they are as satisfying musically. The various rhythm sections included drummers Ronald Shannon Jackson, Allen Blairman, Muhammad Ali, Beaver Harris, and Bernard Purdie, and bassists Bill Folwell, Steve Tintweiss, Clyde Shy (Mutawef Shaheed), pianist Call Cobbs, and tenor saxophonist Frank Wright. What is clearly evident is that the only drummer with whom Ayler truly connected with, the only one who could match his manner of playing out of time and stretching it immeasurably, was Murray, who literally played around the beat while moving the music through its dislocated center.

The late music remains controversial. Recorded live in 1968 and 1970 in New York and France, it illuminates the troublesome period on Ayler's Impulse! recordings, New Grass and Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe. In performance, struggling and ill-conceived rhythm sections try to comprehend and articulate the complex patchwork of colors, motivations, and adventurous attempts at musical integration with the blues, rock, poetry, and soul Ayler was engaging instrumentally and -- with companion Mary Parks -- vocally. Ayler's own playing remains unshakable and revelatory, stunning for its ability to bring to the surface hidden melodies, timbres, and overtones and, to a degree, make them accessible. His solos, full of passion, pathos, and the otherworldly, pull everything from his musical sound world into his being and send it out again, transformed, through the horn.

Ayler is credited with the set's title, in that he once said in an interview: "Trane was the father. Pharoah was the son. I was the Holy Ghost." While it can be dismissed as hyperbole, it should also be evaluated to underscore the aforementioned questions. Unlike Coltrane and Sanders whose musical developments followed a recorded trajectory, Ayler, who apparently had very conventional beginnings as a musician, somehow arrived on the New York and European scenes already on the outside, pushing ever harder at boundaries that other people hadn't yet even perceived let alone transgressed. Who he was in relation to all those who came after him is only answered partially, and how he came to find his margin and live there remains a complete cipher. What Revenant has accomplished is to shine light into the darkened corners of myth and apocrypha; the label has added flesh-and-bone documented history to the ghost of a giant. Ayler struggled musically and personally to find and hold onto the elusive musical/spiritual balance that grace kissed him with only a few times during his lifetime -- on tape anyway. But the quest for that prize, presented here, adds immeasurably to both the legend and the achievement.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
All Tracks & Credits

DEWEY REDMAN | CECIL TAYLOR | ELVIN JONES - Momentum Space (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

All one has to do is look at the personnel on this trio project (tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman, pianist Cecil Taylor, and drummer Elvin Jones) and it is obvious that the set is potentially special. Taylor, still the most adventurous musician in jazz at that point after 45 years, does not get grouped into all-star settings very often. However, when he does (his earlier encounter with the Art Ensemble of Chicago is an example), it is not a matter of the other musicians meeting Taylor halfway; instead, they have to be creative in his idiom. Tenorman Redman came to fame originally while playing with Ornette Coleman in the late '60s, and for part of the time on Coleman's recordings, Jones was the drummer; however, neither Redman nor Jones had worked with Taylor before. Not every selection on this disc includes all three musicians. Jones takes a brief drum solo, Taylor has a solo feature, and the final 49 seconds are taken up by the saxophonist alone. In addition, there is a duet without Taylor that works quite well. The other strong selections are the two longest trio tracks: "Nine" and the over-20 minute "Is." Redman and Taylor contributed three originals apiece while Jones was just responsible for his unaccompanied "Bekei." Although it is fun to hear Elvin Jones playing behind Cecil Taylor, and Dewey Redman is open to this type of atonal setting, there are fewer sparks on this set than one might expect. The music is unpredictable yet not all that unique or colorful, and one's expectations for a truly classic affair are not quite reached. This is worth listening to, but is not essential except as a historical curiosity. Scott Yanow  
Tracklist :
1     Nine 10:52
Dewey Redman
2     Bekei 4:19
Elvin Jones
3     Spoonin' 7:27
Dewey Redman
4     Life As... 8:31     
Cecil Taylor    
5     It 7:15     
Cecil Taylor    
6     Is 20:47 0:49     
Cecil Taylor
7     Dew
Dewey Redman
Credits :
Drums – Elvin Jones
Piano – Cecil Taylor
Tenor Saxophone – Dewey Redman

CECIL TAYLOR — Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come (1962-1997) 2CD | APE (image+.cue), lossless

This double-LP is the only recording that exists of Cecil Taylor and his group (other than two songs on the bootleg Ingo label) during 1962-1965. Taylor's then-new altoist Jimmy Lyons (who occasionally hints at Charlie Parker) and the first truly "free" drummer Sunny Murray join the avant-garde pianist in some stunning trio performances recorded live at the Cafe Montmartre in Copenhagen. With the exception of an interesting version of "What's New" (which finds Lyons showing off his roots), the music is comprised entirely of Taylor originals and is atonal and full of power. Scott Yanow
Tracklist 1 :
1     Trance 9:12
Cecil Taylor
2     Call 9:00
Cecil Taylor
3     Lena 6:58
Cecil Taylor
4     D Trad, That's What 21:26
Cecil Taylor
5     [Untitled Track] 1:02
Cecil Taylor
6     Call 6:36
Cecil Taylor
Tracklist 2 :   
1     What's New? 12:11
Johnny Burke / Bob Haggart
2     Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come 9:11
Cecil Taylor
3     Lena 14:21
Cecil Taylor
4     Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come 8:07
Cecil Taylor
5     [Untitled Track] 1:02
Cecil Taylor
6     D Trad, That's What 20:08
Cecil Taylor
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Jimmy Lyons
Drums – Sunny Murray
Piano – Cecil Taylor

CECIL TAYLOR - Conquistador! (1966-1987) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

For the second of Cecil Taylor's two Blue Note albums (following Unit Structures), the innovative pianist utilized a sextet comprised of trumpeter Bill Dixon, altoist Jimmy Lyons, both Henry Grimes and Alan Silva on basses and drummer Andrew Cyrille. During the two lengthy pieces, Lyons' passionate solos contrast with Dixon's quieter ruminations while the music in general is unremittingly intense. Both of the Taylor Blue Notes are quite historic and near-classics but, despite this important documentation, Cecil Taylor (other than a pair of Paris concerts) would not appear on records again until 1973. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Conquistador 17:55
Cecil Taylor
2     With (Exit) 19:22
Cecil Taylor
3     With (Exit) 17:23
Cecil Taylor
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Jimmy Lyons
Bass – Alan Silva, Henry Grimes
Drums – Andrew Cyrille
Piano, Written-By – Cecil Taylor
Recorded By – Rudy Van Gelder
Trumpet – Bill Dixon

CECIL TAYLOR - Unit Structures (1966-2000) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 After several years off records, pianist Cecil Taylor finally had an opportunity to document his music of the mid-'60s on two Blue Note albums (the other one was Conquistador). Taylor's high-energy atonalism fit in well with the free jazz of the period but he was actually leading the way rather than being part of a movement. In fact, this septet outing with trumpeter Eddie Gale, altoist Jimmy Lyons, Ken McIntyre (alternating between alto, oboe and bass clarinet), both Henry Grimes and Alan Silva on basses, and drummer Andrew Cyrille is quite stunning and very intense. In fact, it could be safely argued that no jazz music of the era approached the ferocity and intensity of Cecil Taylor's.  by Scott Yanow
Tracklist
1 - Steps 10:18
Cecil Taylor
2 - Enter, Evening (Soft Line Structure) 11:05
Cecil Taylor
3 - Unit Structure / As Of A Now / Section 17:45
Cecil Taylor
4 - Tales (8 Whisps) 7:43
Cecil Taylor
Credits
Alto Saxophone - Jimmy Lyons
Alto Saxophone, Oboe, Bass Clarinet - Ken McIntyre
Bass - Alan Silva, Henry Grimes
Drums - Andrew Cyrille
Piano, Bells, Written-By, Liner Notes - Cecil Taylor
Trumpet - Eddie Gale Stevens Jr.

CECIL TAYLOR - Silent Tongues (1975) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This is a classic Cecil Taylor solo concert, performed at the 1974 Montreux Jazz Festival. Taylor plays his five-movement work "Silent Tongues," along with a couple of brief encores. To simplify in explaining what he was doing at this point of time, it can be said that Taylor essentially plays the piano like a drum set, creating percussive and thunderous sounds that are otherworldly and full of an impressive amount of energy and atonal ideas. Many listeners will find these performances to be quite difficult but it is worth the struggle to open up one's perceptions as to what music can be. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Abyss (First Movement)/Petals and Filaments (Second Movement)/Jitney 18:23
Cecil Taylor
2     Crossing, Pt. 1 8:36
Cecil Taylor   
3     Crossing, Pt. 2 10:00
Cecil Taylor
4     After All 9:59
Cecil Taylor
5     Jitney No. 2 4:11
Cecil Taylor
6     After All No. 2 2:50
Cecil Taylor
Credits :
Piano, Music By – Cecil Taylor

CECIL TAYLOR UNIT – Dark to Themselves (1976-1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Dark to Themselves is a continuous 61-plus-minute performance by pianist Cecil Taylor and his 1976 quintet (which also includes such fiery players as trumpeter Raphe Malik, his longtime altoist Jimmy Lyons, tenor saxophonist David S. Ware, and drummer Marc Edwards). There is a quick theme along with brief transitions that form the composition "Streams and Chorus of Seed," but the bulk of the passionate performance is taken up by spontaneous and intense solos. Listeners with very open ears, and longtime fans of Taylor's, can consider this explosive performance essential. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Streams and Chorus of Seed 1:01:4
Cecil Taylor
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Jimmy Lyons
Drums – Marc Edwards
Piano, Composed By, Liner Notes – Cecil Taylor
Tenor Saxophone – David S. Ware
Trumpet – Raphé Malik

CECIL TAYLOR UNIT - One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye (1978-2004) 2CD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

With one of his greatest groups in a powerful performance, this was the Unit at its peak. by Michael G. Nastos
Tracklist 1 :
1    Jimmy Lyons, Raphé Malik–    Duet    3:49
2    Ramsey Ameen, Sirone–    Duet    11:24
3    Ronald Shannon Jackson–    Solo    5:35
4    Cecil Taylor Unit–    Untitled    24:16
5    Cecil Taylor Unit–    Untitled    27:27
Tracklist 2 :
1    Cecil Taylor Unit–    Untitled    29:01
2    Cecil Taylor Unit–    Untitled    17:57
3    Cecil Taylor Unit–    Untitled    28:33
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Jimmy Lyons
Double Bass – Sirone
Drums – Ronald Shannon Jackson
Piano, Composed By – Cecil Taylor
Trumpet – Raphé Malik
Violin – Ramsey Ameen

CECIL TAYLOR - The Cecil Taylor Unit (1978-1987) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

A sextet, this is as close to as definitive an ensemble as Taylor has launched. With Jimmy Lyons (sax), Raphe Malik (trumpet), Ramsey Ameen (violin), Sirone (bass), and R. Shannon Jackson (drums). This runs 60 minutes on vinyl, including a 30-minute "Holiday en Masque." by Michael G. Nastos
Tracklist :
1     Idut 14:44
Cecil Taylor
2     Serdab 14:15
Cecil Taylor
3     Holiday en Masque 29:39
Cecil Taylor
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Jimmy Lyons
Bass – Sirone
Drums – Ronald Shannon Jackson
Piano – Cecil Taylor
Trumpet – Raphé Malik
Violin – Ramsey Ameen

THE CECIL TAYLOR UNIT - Live In Bologna (1988) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Having suffered the passing of longtime musical partner Jimmy Lyons just a year prior, pianist Cecil Taylor enlisted alto saxophonist and flute player Carlos Ward as a replacement for a series of European dates in 1987. Filling out the group were percussionist Thurman Barker and violinist Leroy Jenkins (both veterans of Chicago's trailblazing AACM free jazz collective), as well as bassist William Parker. The new group members proved to be up to Taylor's capricious and galvanizing ways on this Bologna concert recording, not only providing sympathetic support for the pianist's expansive explorations, but also creating uniquely improvised statements of their own. They maintain a high standard throughout the 90-minute concert (the CD version has been edited down for time limitations), shifting from frenetic, full-ensemble runs to slow, primordial stretches of music-making. Barker particularly stands out, adding a multitude of textures and colors on marimba and a variety of other percussion instruments, while Jenkins also impresses with violin work that matches Taylor's own protean playing. For his part, Ward might not be up to the incisive work Lyons produced during his 20-year tenure with Taylor, but he turns in enough engaging statements to blend in nicely with the others. Although this is a great Taylor release, certainly essential for fans, Live in Bologna might not be the best disc for newcomers. Curious listeners should start with either of Taylor's mid-'60s Blue Note discs (Unit Structures and Conquistador), or check out later titles like 1986's live solo piano recording For Olim and his A&M trio date In Floresence. by Stephen Cook  
Tracklist :
1     Live in Bologna 1:09:53
Cecil Taylor
Credits :
Bass – William Parker
Marimba, Drums – Thurman Barker
Piano, Lyrics By [Poetry], Music By – Cecil Taylor
Reeds – Carlos Ward
Violin – Leroy Jenkins

CECIL TAYLOR - It is in the Brewing Luminous (1980-1989) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Originally released as a double-LP and then reissued as a single CD, this continuous 71-minute live performance from 1980 features pianist Cecil Taylor with a particularly intriguing sextet comprised of his longtime altoist Jimmy Lyons, violinist Ramsey Ameen, Alan Silva on bass and cello and both Jerome Cooper and Sunny Murray on drums. Not too surprisingly, the playing is quite intense and dense with only a few moments of lyricism popping through. Taylor sounds very much like a human dynamo while Lyons' solos are full of fragile beauty. This is brilliant music that will not sound "safe" or "easy listening" even a century from now. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     It Is in the Brewing Luminous 1 09:59
Cecil Taylor
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Jimmy Lyons
Bass, Cello – Alan Silva
Drums – Sunny Murray
Drums, Balafon [African Balaphone] – Jerome Cooper
Piano – Cecil Taylor
Violin – Ramsey Ameen

CECIL TAYLOR & TONY OXLEY - Lef Palm Hand (1998-2008) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The duet between pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Tony Oxley during Taylor's one-month stay in Berlin in 1988 is a study in contrasts. Musically, there is a similarity of approach between the two: Both are physical players with an ear for dark dramatics. Percussively, each attacks his instrument in the same way, palms down, forcing off the fingertips and into the instrument, whether drums or piano. Improvisationally, they differ greatly in that Taylor -- so used to being a soloist -- is proactive while Oxley is reactive; here, they attempt to bring both those roles into sync. Oxley moves his own attack up a notch, employing more elementals than just his kit, trying to "sing" the drums. For the entire hour, Taylor looks deeply toward a romantic sensibility he seldom shows, creating harmonic fixtures from accents and triples, while simultaneously constructing lyric melodies for Oxley to play from. And he does, weaving absolutely thrilling cymbal and bell lines through Taylor's arpeggios, turning his rhythms inside out to create the appearance of a harmonic register that engages all of the different figures Taylor is firing off like lit matches. There's no letup for the entire set; it's one dazzling display after another until the piece just implodes from exhaustion -- physical, that is, as the ideas still come fast and furious -- and leaves the listener dazed and awed by such a soulful yet pyrotechnic display. This is one of Cecil Taylor's most "melodic" improvisations ever.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist :
1     Stylobate 1 17:26
Paul Lovens / Cecil Taylor
2     Leaf Palm Hand 42:20
Paul Lovens / Cecil Taylor
3     Chimes 3:50
Paul Lovens / Cecil Taylor
4     Stylobate 2 3:23
Paul Lovens / Cecil Taylor
5     The Old Canal 2:42
Paul Lovens / Cecil Taylor
Credits :
Drums, Music By – Tony Oxley (faixas: 1, 2, 4)
Piano, Music By – Cecil Taylor

 

THE FEEL TRIO — Looking (Berlin Version) The Feel Trio (1989) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This three-part group improvisation by Cecil Taylor's Feel Trio was recorded in the summer of 1989, exactly a year after his series of concerts in the same city, and about a week before the Berlin Wall fell. After its members had played together sporadically over the previous couple of years, the Feel Trio was a working group, and the empathy and instinct provided by that luxury is certainly in evidence here. As usual, it's Taylor who starts things off, but with very few notes as opposed to his trademark solo beginnings, in order to find a language all the musicians in his group can speak from. Oxley and Parker chime right in, flowing into the heart of Taylor's idea, a loosely structured series of themes -- all linked by sixths and ninths and most extended beyond recognition -- by Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and even Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk. But Penderecki, Lutoslawski, and Stravinsky also emerge in this wildly crisscrossing match of musical wit and dexterity. The pieces all "swing," and while it's true that there are flourishes and lines taken from Taylor's formative years with his first trio and with the late Jimmy Lyons, the proceedings are very much rooted in the now, and in the dynamic of this particular band. They play together flawlessly with Parker and Oxley trading eights, 16ths, and even 32nds with Taylor and each other! It's more than just listening for a rhythm section to get this far inside the pianist's voice, it's more than empathy or affinity, it's downright musical telepathy. There are no extra notes played here, no lazy harmonic structures or modal clichés. This is new music in the purest sense of the phrase. The listener is treated to, and hopefully moved by, the sound of something being born, coming from silence, and an hour later returning there somehow -- making it even bigger, more cavernous, and colorful as a result of this trio's awesome creation.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     First Part: Looking the Feel Trio 36:22
Tony Oxley / William Parker / Cecil Taylor
2     Second Part: Looking the Feel Trio 5:05
Tony Oxley / William Parker / Cecil Taylor
3     Third Part: Looking the Feel Trio 30:49
Tony Oxley / William Parker / Cecil Taylor
Credits :
Double Bass – William Parker
Drums – Tony Oxley
Piano, Composed By [All Music] – Cecil Taylor

CECIL TAYLOR — The Tree of Life (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This "thank you" concert to the city of Berlin at the end of Cecil Taylor's six-month stay there in 1990 is a lovely, vibrant affair. In trademark fashion, "The Tree of Life" is one work, broken up into five "periods" or movements. The invocation in period one doesn't even feature a piano, just empty space and Taylor's voice creating a kind of spirit ground for him to play from. "Period 2" is where things actually begin. Taylor begins in ballad form; long eighths and ninths are extended into minor-key formations and distillations of mode and harmonic interval. There is a kind of distended harmony at work, with left and right hands playing opposite each other in perfect formation and rhythm: One idea, or theme, cancels out the previous one and sets up a new paradigm for consideration over the course of a 12 or 13 measures. One of the more interesting aspects of this nearly 45-minute selection is the influence of European classical music on Taylor, particularly Stockhausen, Berg, and Webern. There is an unwillingness to bend in favor of easier harmonic solutions while there are still sonorous possibilities in the music's present incarnation. In other words, the concern of expression becomes more about moving it toward itself as a system of improvisation rather than worrying about getting it "right." "Period 3" begins with the full integration of all Taylor's aesthetic elements as arsenal. Here, the long-held influences of Monk and Ellington come full on into the ghostly vocal expressions and "new music" theorem that have come to dominate Taylor's work. It's a beautiful battlefield, arrayed with color, nuance, and texture, but it is a war. Each element played to the hilt in an effort to speak what has never been conceived of let alone uttered or spoken. The final six minutes show Taylor's humor and warmth to the Europeans. Fats Waller and Don Pullen meet Mary Lou Williams and Sidney Bechet in concert with Taylor's own wide-open concert pianist grooving. The final pair of movements here, as brief as they are, show how finely Taylor sculpts his improvisations, letting edges hang perhaps, but at purposeful angles. In all, The Tree of Life is a fine showcase of the musician Cecil Taylor was in 1990. He was an artist at the crossroads of his own inspirations, looking to open new vistas both creatively and intellectually to audiences who had forgotten him or were encountering him for the first time.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     Period 1 1:08
Cecil Taylor
2     Period 2 44:28
Cecil Taylor
3     Period 3 21:19
Cecil Taylor
4     Period 4 2:41
Cecil Taylor
5     Tree of Life: Period 5 3:41
Cecil Taylor
Credits :
Piano, Composed By – Cecil Taylor

JOHN COLTRANE - Coltrane Time (1958-1989) APE (image+.cue), lossless

This is a most unusual LP due to the inclusion of Cecil Taylor on piano. Although Taylor and John Coltrane got along well, trumpeter Kenny Dorham (who is also on this quintet date) hated the avant-garde pianist's playing and was clearly bothered by Taylor's dissonant comping behind his solos. With bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Louis Hayes doing their best to ignore the discord, the group manages to perform two blues and two standards with Dorham playing strictly bop, Taylor coming up with fairly free abstractions, and Coltrane sounding somewhere in between. The results are unintentionally fascinating. by Scott Yanow

Tracklist:

1 Shifting Down 10:39
Kenny Dorham
2 Just Friends 6:14
John Klenner / Sam M. Lewis
3 Like Someone in Love 8:10
Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen
4 Double Clutching 8:20
Chuck Isreals
Credits:
Bass – Chuck Isreals
Drums – Louis Hayes
Piano – Cecil Taylor
Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane
Trumpet – Kenny Dorham
Note: Before being issued as COLTRANE TIME in 1962, this album appeared on United Artists in 1959 as STEREO DRIVE under Cecil Taylor's leadership. It is the original liner notes from that first issue that are included here.

CECIL TAYLOR - The Complete Candid Recordings of Cecil Taylor and Buell Neidlinger (1989) 4CD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The sessions that comprise the four discs on this first-rate Mosaic boxed set were done in 1960 and 1961 for the short-lived Candid label. Taylor's concept had not yet evolved into a finished package; he wasn't always sure where he was going. There are solos that begin in one direction, break in the middle, and conclude in another. Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp often sounds unsure about what to play and whether to try and interact or establish his own direction. At the same time, there is plenty of exceptional playing from Taylor, Shepp, and the drum/bass combination of Buell Neidlinger and Dennis Charles. You cannot honestly say everything works on these four discs, but there is never a dull moment. It won't please everyone, but listeners ready for a challenge should step right up. by Ron Wynn
Tracklist
1-1 Air (Take 5) 10:31
1-2 Number One (Take 1) 12:29
1-3 Number One (Take 3) 8:35
1-4 This Nearly Was Mine (Take 2) 10:47
1-5 Air (Take 9) 17:30
2-1 E.B. (Take 2) 9:55
2-2 Lazy Afternoon (Take 1) 14:46
2-3 Air (Take 21) 11:25
2-4 Air (Take 28) 8:45
2-5 Air (Take 29) 10:20
2-6 Port Of Call (Take 2) 4:15
2-7 Port Of Call (Take 3) 4:21
3-1 Davis (Take 1) 3:07
3-2 Davis (Take 3) 5:13
3-3 O.P. (Take 1) 7:25
3-4 Cell Walk For Celeste (Take 1) 11:24
3-5 Cell Walk For Celeste (Take 3) 9:43
3-6 Cell Walk For Celeste (Take 8) 11:38
3-7 I Forgot (Take 1) 8:28
3-8 Section C (Take 1) 10:14
4-1 Jumpin' Punkins (Take 4) 8:10
4-2 Things Ain't What They Used To Be (Take 1) 10:04
4-3 Things Ain't What They Used To Be (Take 3) 8:53
4-4 Jumpin' Punkins (Take 6) 8:10
4-5 Cindy's Main Mood (Take 1) 5:08
4-6 O.P. (Take 2) 9:09
Credits
Baritone Saxophone – Charles Davis (tracks: 4-1 to 4-4)
Bass – Buell Neidlinger
Drums – Billy Higgins (tracks: 4-1 to 4-6), Dennis Charles (tracks: 1-1, 1-4 to 2-7, 3-3 to 3-8), Sunny Murray (tracks: 1-2, 1-3)
Piano – Cecil Taylor (tracks: 1-1 to 2-7, 3-3 to 4-6)
Soprano Saxophone – Steve Lacy (tracks: 4-1 to 4-4)
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp (tracks: 1-1, 1-5, 2-2 to 2-5, 3-1, 3-2, 3-4 to 4-4)
Timpani – Billy Higgins (tracks: 4-5, 4-6)
Trombone – Roswell Rudd (tracks: 4-1 to 4-4)
Trumpet – Clark Terry (tracks: 4-1 to 4-4)

CECIL TAYLOR - Complete Candid Recordings with Buell Neidlinger 

(1989) Mosaic / 4CD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

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