Today is Billy Taylor's 88th birthday. Happy birthday, Billy! In 1982, the pianist who was mentored by Art Tatum, wrote a book called Billy Taylor: Jazz Piano in Jazz History. When I saw him several months ago, he graciously gave me a copy. Beautifully written, it's an authoritative historical analysis of the jazz piano from the perspective of a practitioner, insider and educator. Or, you might say, a working historian. What's more, Billy is one of the few jazz pianists who actually has mastered each style he writes about so eloquently.
Here's a paragraph from the book's introduction:
"As educators, musicians, students and the general public engage in the study of jazz, they will recognize that jazz is a unique American phenomenon. It has been ridiculed, distorted, fragmented, diluted and deemed unworthy of serious study and performance by music educators, musicologists, historians and others who were not really qualified to evaluate the music. Yet it has continued to be the music which most consistently has expressed American moods, thoughts and feelings as it has evolved into its present state. Jazz, America's classical music, needs to be better understood by Americans."
Amen. For more on Billy, see my five-part interview series here.
JazzWax clip: Here's a clip of Billy Taylor appearing on the 1958 TV show The Subject Is Jazz. The band joining Billy included Tony Scott on clarinet, Doc Severinsen on trumpet, Mundell Lowe on guitar, Jimmy Cleveland on trombone, Earl May, bass and Ed Thigpen on drums. The tune is Billy's composition, Early Bird...
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Billy's site doesn't permit email to him, so I'll wish him well here. I grew up listening to him on WNEW in NYC, and have been privileged to see him play!
THAT WAS GREAT!!!!!ITS SO GOOD THAT WE HAVE THIS ON THE INTERNET FOR THE PEOPLES!!!!!
I DIG THE MUNDEL LOWE GUITAR, I REMEMBER IN THE 90S I WENT TO SOME GUITAR NIGHT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOLW, AND THEY HAD LIKE GEORGE BENSON, PLAYING WITH A BIG BAND WITH ONE OF WES MONTGOMERYS GUITARS, THAT WAS REALLY HAPPENING, BEFORE THAT THOUGHT I REMEMBER THEY HAD M. LOWE AND I REMEBER HEARING HIS SOUND AND, I WAS LIKE WOW,! SEE THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE MEDIA, THEY ONLY HIGHLIGHT THE QUICK AND THE EASY, EVEN IN MUSIC, JOURNALIZM, I'VE READ SO MUCH BS, ITS INCOMPREHENSIBLE,
THIS SITE THOUGH, IS TOP NOTCH!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Marc Myers writes on music for the Wall Street Journal. His book, "Why Jazz Happened," will be published by the University of California Press in December 2012.
Billy's site doesn't permit email to him, so I'll wish him well here. I grew up listening to him on WNEW in NYC, and have been privileged to see him play!
Happy Birthday, Billy!
Posted by: Terry | July 24, 2009 at 12:50 PM
THAT WAS GREAT!!!!!ITS SO GOOD THAT WE HAVE THIS ON THE INTERNET FOR THE PEOPLES!!!!!
I DIG THE MUNDEL LOWE GUITAR, I REMEMBER IN THE 90S I WENT TO SOME GUITAR NIGHT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOLW, AND THEY HAD LIKE GEORGE BENSON, PLAYING WITH A BIG BAND WITH ONE OF WES MONTGOMERYS GUITARS, THAT WAS REALLY HAPPENING, BEFORE THAT THOUGHT I REMEMBER THEY HAD M. LOWE AND I REMEBER HEARING HIS SOUND AND, I WAS LIKE WOW,! SEE THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE MEDIA, THEY ONLY HIGHLIGHT THE QUICK AND THE EASY, EVEN IN MUSIC, JOURNALIZM, I'VE READ SO MUCH BS, ITS INCOMPREHENSIBLE,
THIS SITE THOUGH, IS TOP NOTCH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: M.MALLOY | July 24, 2009 at 01:45 PM