Cecil Taylor: Song
Musicians:
Cecil Taylor (piano), Steve Lacy (soprano sax), Buell Neidlinger (bass),
Dennis Charles (drums)
.Composed by Cecil Taylor
.Recorded: Boston, MA; September 14, 1956 or Hackensack, NJ; December 10, 1955
Rating: 82/100 (learn more)
Taylor’s 1956 debut for the Transition label was indeed a Jazz Advance, but it didn’t yet mark the arrival of his full-blown avant-garde approach. “Song,” for instance, retains some conventions of modern jazz—like a steady swing beat—that Taylor would later purge from his music. As such, it provides a welcome (or knowable) point of entry into the pianist’s wondrous sound world. Compared with contemporary boppers, Taylor sounds unbound, extending the form, following whims, appearing to play many “songs” within just one piece. It’s revealing that the other members of the band gravitated to Taylor from such diverse backgrounds—Lacy had been steeped in Dixieland, Charles self-taught, Neidlinger classically trained. His enveloping art should engage as wide-ranging an audience.
Reviewer: Joe Petrucelli
Tags: avant garde · free jazz · piano
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