Cecil Taylor Archives - Best of Jazz

All posts tagged “Cecil Taylor”

The 10 Best Jazz Pianists

Here we celebrate the virtuosity, innovation and (sometimes frustrating) brilliance of jazz pianists. Throughout over a century of the genre, the piano has been a canvas for former child prodigies, creative geniuses and unconventional boundary pushers.

There have been so many incredible jazz pianists who have left an enduring mark on the genre over the years. Therefore, it is very difficult to leave out masters of the craft such as Bill Evans, Bud Powell, Fats Waller, Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, plus countless others.

One, then, must resort to personal preference. It is with this that we present 10 of the very best jazz pianists to have graced the ivories.

Best of Jazz – Year 1990

Discover the Best of Jazz selection for 1990 with our ten best jazz albums released that year. Once again, the albums are listed in no particular order: all are amazing in their own ways. At the end of the article, you will also find a playlist with a track to represent each of those ten albums, plus ten extra, for nearly 150 minutes of breathtaking music.

Cecil Taylor – The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert

The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert is the full recording of the live performance Cecil Taylor gave in 1973 after a five years hiatus, for which he reunited the Unit members, Jimmy Lyons on alto saxophone and Andrew Cyrille on percussion, plus the addition of Sirone on bass. The concert was recorded at the Town Hall, New York City on November 4, 1973, and was released on February 15, 2022, on Oblivion Records.

Andrew Cyrille, William Parker, Enrico Rava – 2 Blues For Cecil

2 Blues for Cecil is an album by drummer Andrew Cyrille, double-bassist William Parker, and flugelhornist Enrico Rava, in homage to the one and only Cecil Taylor. The music was recorded by Ludovic Lanen at Studios Ferber in Paris, France, on February 1 and 2, 2021, and the album was released on January 21, 2022, by TUM Records.

Best of Jazz – Year 1999

Discover the BestofJazz selection for 1999, with the 10 best jazz albums released that year. Once again, the albums are listed in no particular order; they are all amazing in their own ways. At the end of the article, you will also find a playlist with a track from each of those 10 albums, plus 10 extra, for more than two hours of breathtaking music.