Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor was an amazingly articulate spokesman for jazz, and his profiles on CBS' Sunday Morning television program (where he was a regular beginning in 1981) were so successful at introducing jazz to a wider audience, that sometimes one could forget what a talented pianist he was for over half-a-century. While not an innovator, Taylor was flexible enough to play swing, bop, and more advanced styles while always retaining his own musical personality. After graduating from Virginia State College in 1942, he moved to New York and played with such major musicians as Ben Webster, Eddie South, Stuff Smith (with whom he recorded in 1944), and Slam Stewart, among others. In 1951, he was the house pianist at Birdland and soon afterward formed his first of many trios. He helped found the Jazzmobile in 1965. In 1969 he became the first Black band director for a network television series (The David Frost Show). He earned his doctorate at the University of Massachusetts in 1975 and founded and served as director for the popular radio program Jazz Alive. Despite his activities in jazz education, Taylor was rarely absent from performances and recordings, always keeping his bop-based style consistently swinging and fresh. He died of heart failure in New York on December 28, 2010, at the age of 89.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Billy Taylor: Live at Town Hall Trio / The Billy Taylor Touch
Jazz - Released by Blue Velvet on 2 May 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Billy Taylor Touch (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Avid Entertainment on 28 Oct 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Taylor Made Jazz (Album of 1959)
Pop - Released by Jazz Classics on 31 Oct 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Billy Taylor Touch
Jazz - Released by CoolNote on 28 Oct 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Impromptu (Album of 1962)
Pop - Released by Jazz Classics on 31 Oct 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cross-Section (Remastered)
Latin America - Released by RevOla on 26 Aug 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Billy Taylor Trio
Ed Thigpen, Billy Taylor, Earl May
Jazz - Released by Lone Hill Jazz on 28 Oct 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Billy Taylor Trio At Town Hall
Jazz - Released by CoolNote on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Billy Taylor with Four Flutes (Album of 1959)
Pop - Released by Jazz Classics on 31 Oct 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete Recordings: 1945-1955
Bebop - Released by Tritone on 7 Apr 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cross Section (Album of 1956)
Pop - Released by Jazz Classics on 31 Oct 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
At The London House
Jazz - Released by Stardust Records on 1 Jan 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1945 - 1949
Jazz - Released by Complete Jazz Series on 29 Jun 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Accent on Trumpet
Ernie Royal, Billy Taylor, Oscar Pettiford, James Moody, Keny Clarke
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on 1 Feb 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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One for Fun + Evergreens
Jazz - Released by Circadian Jazz on 20 Feb 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Taylor Made Jazz
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on 1 Nov 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Billy Taylor Touch + Billy Taylor at the London House
Jazz - Released by Circadian Jazz on 20 Feb 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cross Section (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Avid Entertainment on 3 Jun 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo