![\"Cecil](\"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/127\/2025\/10\/Cecil_Taylor_DSC0029-300x200.jpg\")
Cecil Taylor<\/strong> Queens native Cecil Taylor<\/strong> (March 25, 1929 \u2013 April 5, 2018) stood out as a true innovator among an array of idiosyncratic musicians in the 1950s jazz world where he first gained prominence. Widely considered a pioneer of \u201cavant-garde\u201d or \u201cfree jazz,\u201d the classically trained pianist eclipsed what he saw as the narrow parameters of genre, forming his own unique musical language. Or as, he told one interviewer\u00a0: \u201cWell, I don’t know what jazz is…. I don’t think the word has any meaning at all\u201d (Funkhouser, 1994). Propulsive and dynamic, Taylor\u2019s music eschewed clich\u00e9 and sentimentality. During his early career, he was effectively shut out of the New York performance world of bars and nightclubs. Struggling financially and forced to work outside of music, Taylor developed a style often described by critics as \u201cpercussive.\u201d His backing bands often featured musicians who would later become known for their own contributions to the music, including drummers Sonny Murray and Ronald Shannon Jackson. Though Taylor never played with regard to commercial appeal, he believed\u2014rightly, as it turned out\u2014that his music could eventually be understood by audiences: in 1993 he became the recipient of a McArthur Fellowship.<\/p>\n Funkhouser, C. (1994). \u201cbeing matter ignited… an interview with Cecil Taylor\u201d. Hambone<\/em>, 12<\/em>. https:\/\/writing.upenn.edu\/epc\/authors\/funkhouser\/ceciltaylor.htm<\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”off|desktop” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” width=”82%” max_width=”82%” custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|true” custom_padding_tablet=”|50px||50px|true|true” custom_padding_phone=”|10px||10px|true|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|20px||20px|false|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”ITEMS ON DISPLAY IN THE MUSIC LIBRARY” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” custom_padding=”||||true|true” hover_enabled=”0″ border_color_all=”#A9A9A9″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ custom_padding_last_edited=”off|desktop” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” width=”82%” max_width=”82%” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|false” custom_padding_tablet=”|50px||50px|false|true” custom_padding_phone=”|10px||10px|false|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|20px||20px|true|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” custom_padding=”||||true|true” border_color_all=”#A9A9A9″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n 3 Phasis. Cecil Taylor.<\/strong> Max Roach and Cecil Taylor.<\/strong> Algonquin<\/a><\/strong> (Commissioned by the Library of Congress). As Serious as Your Life: Black Music and the Free Jazz Revolution, 1957-1977.<\/a> Black Music.<\/a> [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|20px||20px|false|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||true|true” border_color_all=”#A9A9A9″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Black Music: Four Lives.<\/a> Cecil Taylor.<\/a> Looking Ahead! The Cecil Taylor Quartet.<\/a> Miles, Ornette, Cecil: Jazz Beyond Jazz.<\/a> Nefertiti, the Beautiful has Come.<\/a> Unit Structures. Cecil Taylor.<\/a> [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” width=”82%” max_width=”82%” custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|20px||20px|false|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”ADDITIONAL LIBRARY RESOURCES:” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” custom_padding=”||||true|true” hover_enabled=”0″ border_color_all=”#A9A9A9″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ custom_padding_last_edited=”off|desktop” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” width=”82%” max_width=”82%” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|true” custom_padding_tablet=”|50px||50px|false|true” custom_padding_phone=”|10px||10px|false|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|20px||20px|false|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Looking Ahead!<\/a> DRAM (QC Access)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Oxford Music Online (QC Access)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|20px||20px|false|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” width=”82%” max_width=”82%” custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|30px||30px|false|true” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”NON-LIBRARY RESOURCES” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” custom_padding=”||||true|true” hover_enabled=”0″ border_color_all=”#A9A9A9″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/music\/exhibits\/queens-music-history\/” button_text=”Queens Music History” admin_label=”Queens Music History” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”15px” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#404040″ button_border_radius=”10px” button_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” button_icon=”||fa||900″ button_icon_placement=”left” button_on_hover=”off” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ custom_css_main_element=”text-decoration: none;” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” button_text_color__hover=”#E71939″ button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” button_bg_color__hover=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_enable_color__hover=”on” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” button_border_color__hover=”#E71939″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_button][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/exhibits\/” button_text=”Music Library Online Exhibits” admin_label=”Music Library Online Exhibits” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”15px” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#E71939″ button_border_radius=”10px” button_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” button_icon=”||fa||900″ button_icon_placement=”left” button_on_hover=”off” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_css_main_element=”text-decoration: none;” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” button_text_color__hover=”#E71939″ button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” button_bg_color__hover=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_enable_color__hover=”on” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” button_border_color__hover=”#E71939″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Queens native Cecil Taylor (March 25, 1929 \u2013 April 5, 2018) stood out as a true innovator among an array of idiosyncratic musicians in the 1950s jazz world where he first gained prominence. Widely considered a pioneer of \u201cavant-garde\u201d or \u201cfree jazz,\u201d the classically trained pianist eclipsed what he saw as the narrow parameters of genre, forming his own unique musical language.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":267,"featured_media":0,"parent":14057,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"wf_page_folders":[338],"class_list":["post-14076","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/267"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14076\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wf_page_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_page_folders?post=14076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Photo Credit: Marek Lazarski CC BY-SA 4.0<\/p><\/div><\/p>\nITEMS ON DISPLAY IN THE MUSIC LIBRARY:<\/h2>\n
New World Records.
1979
(Personal copy on loan from staff)<\/p>\n
Historic Concerts.
Soul Note.
1984 (Recorded 1979).
(Personal copy on loan from staff)<\/p>\n
Cecil Taylor with Matt Maneri.
Bridge Records.
2004<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Val Wilmer.
Serpent\u2019s Tail
2018 (first published 1977).<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Amiri Baraka.
Morrow
1969<\/p>\n
<\/strong>A. B. Spellman
Shocken
1970 (originally published as Four Lives in the BeBop Business, 1966).<\/p>\n
<\/strong>New World Records.
1978<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Fantasy Records.
1959<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Howard Mandel.
Routledge
2008<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Arista
1976 (recorded 1961).<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Blue Note.
1966<\/p>\nADDITIONAL LIBRARY RESOURCES:<\/h2>\n
<\/strong>The Cecil Taylor Quartet.
Fantasy Records
1959 (1990 reissue).<\/p>\nNON-LIBRARY RESOURCES:<\/h2>\n
\n