was all :-0 when I came across these paragraphs today in Up Above the World (1966) by Paul Bowles:
"Thorny finished his drink and held out his glass for more.
They listened while a plane flew over; when its roar had become only a reverberation passing farther down the valley, Thorny said, "Put on the new Cecil Taylor.""
― Ward Fowler, Thursday, 19 July 2012 14:53 (eleven years ago) link
Cecil Taylor wins the Kyoto prize.
― Esperanto, why don't you come to your senses? (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 22 June 2013 16:50 (ten years ago) link
Hope he doesn't blow it on coke, like (rumor has it) he did with his MacArthur grant money.
― 誤訳侮辱, Saturday, 22 June 2013 16:57 (ten years ago) link
Hope he does
― Call the Cops, Saturday, 22 June 2013 20:14 (ten years ago) link
lol! Why the hell not.
― Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Saturday, 22 June 2013 20:18 (ten years ago) link
?
― Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Saturday, 22 June 2013 20:19 (ten years ago) link
In all seriousness, though, someone is peppering all Cecil's recent press with allegations of hard drug use. Looks odd, I have to say. Lot of nutters out there.
― Call the Cops, Saturday, 22 June 2013 20:20 (ten years ago) link
Ahhh - they should let the man be. He's created and played amazing music for so many years. His demons (or angels) are his to handle.
― That elusive North American wood-ape (Capitaine Jay Vee), Saturday, 22 June 2013 20:22 (ten years ago) link
Damn right. It is his business how he spends his last bit of time on this rock and fuck gossip.
― Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Saturday, 22 June 2013 21:38 (ten years ago) link
I don't care myself - I'm a huge fan. I actually think the idea of spending a massive grant on drugs is hilarious.
― 誤訳侮辱, Sunday, 23 June 2013 01:48 (ten years ago) link
i think if you are 84 you should be allowed to use as many drugs as you want to, and supported by the state while doing so (but only while doing so)
― j., Sunday, 23 June 2013 01:50 (ten years ago) link
Woke up this morning craving a Cecil Taylor Christmas LP
― Brakhage, Monday, 16 December 2013 13:43 (ten years ago) link
Ha, that would rule.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 16 December 2013 14:37 (ten years ago) link
Cecil Taylor Class at Swing University, part of Jazz at Lincoln Center:http://academy.jalc.org/swing-university-youngtaylor/http://ticketing.jalc.org/auxpkg/detail.aspx?pkg=380&flex=N&nfs=N
I highly recommend anyone in the vicinity checking one or more of these classes out. I had the good fortune to hear Ben Young lecture about Cecil Taylor a number of years ago, and his insights continue to resonate with me.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 14 May 2014 18:03 (ten years ago) link
you might have a problem with your eardrums
― espring (amateurist), Wednesday, 14 May 2014 18:21 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTwnwbG9YLE
lol
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 14 May 2014 18:27 (ten years ago) link
"The defendant befriended Mr. Taylor and won his trust," Kenneth Thompson, the district attorney, said in a statement, "which later made it easier for him to allegedly swindle this vulnerable, elderly and great jazz musician."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/12/us-usa-crime-taylor-idUSKBN0GC1GA20140812
― Brakhage, Tuesday, 12 August 2014 17:25 (nine years ago) link
A Cecil Taylor press conference is not like other press conferences:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/nyregion/man-accused-of-stealing-prize-money-from-jazz-genius.html?ref=arts&_r=0
Asked about what receiving the award was like, Mr. Taylor said “it was a thrilling moment,” though he had also received a MacArthur fellowship and a Guggenheim fellowship, and then, suddenly, he was talking about playing a nine-foot Bösendorfer piano in the basement of — here a reporter’s notes got hazy, finishing with the quote, “I had fun.”
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 13 August 2014 15:19 (nine years ago) link
That photo of everyone staring at him in total confusion and annoyance is great
― Brakhage, Wednesday, 13 August 2014 21:41 (nine years ago) link
Looking good!
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 14 August 2014 09:04 (nine years ago) link
great photo
this makes me so sad, but cecil seems to be taking it in stride
― I dunno. (amateurist), Saturday, 16 August 2014 08:59 (nine years ago) link
Too short, but very affecting piece by an Australian filmmaker doing a documentary on Cecil:https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2015/april/1427806800/amiel-courtin-wilson/cecil-taylor
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 16 April 2015 17:48 (nine years ago) link
AMAZING footage from Paris 1969 with Jimmy Lyons on alto sax, Sam Rivers on tenor sax, and Andrew Cyrille on drums:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4HUWyGTu1I
This was part of a full European tour put together by George Wein and the Newport Jazz Festival, billed as bringing the Festival to Europe - Miles Davis's 1969 band (with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette) was also on the bill. When I interviewed Taylor back in February, he told me he was walking around backstage and overheard Miles telling his (Davis's) band, "Don't listen to him - he's bullshittin'."
― Don Van Gorp, midwest regional VP, marketing (誤訳侮辱), Sunday, 8 May 2016 13:36 (eight years ago) link
The irony of course being that, when Miles' band played in a manner not completely dissimilar to this (for which, see the Rome '69 show), Miles would say to them, "Hey, how come you never play like that when I'm soloing?"
(I imagine they thought, "Goddammit, make up your mind!")
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 8 May 2016 13:45 (eight years ago) link
Here's some even more amazing footage from 1974 - including poetry, and Cecil playing bells and the strings of the piano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkZw7vbcIvY
― Don Van Gorp, midwest regional VP, marketing (誤訳侮辱), Sunday, 8 May 2016 14:34 (eight years ago) link
dude who bilked him got 3 years in prison and returned 200k with a pledge, who knows of what worth, to pay back the rest
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/nyregion/man-who-stole-jazz-pianist-cecil-taylors-prize-money-is-sentenced.html
― though she denies it to the press, (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Sunday, 8 January 2017 01:47 (seven years ago) link
would seriously wish death upon that type of parasite.
― calzino, Sunday, 8 January 2017 01:55 (seven years ago) link
C.T. shares your vibe on this q
“Where is he?” Taylor asked reporters of Muir after the proceeding. “Perhaps in the corner, talking to a roach?”“He’s not a spiritual man. He will get what he deserves,” Taylor added.
“He’s not a spiritual man. He will get what he deserves,” Taylor added.
― though she denies it to the press, (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Sunday, 8 January 2017 02:07 (seven years ago) link
Are there any Cecil documentaries (not clips from documentaries) online anywhere? I did run across Imagine the Sound which has a broader free-jazz focus. Would love to see Silent Eye or All the Notes if they're around
― Brakhage, Monday, 12 February 2018 21:42 (six years ago) link
I worked on All The Notes in its early stages (editor). Was up on YT for a while. I need to rip my dvd copy. Once I do I'll post here.
― Acid Hose (Capitaine Jay Vee), Tuesday, 13 February 2018 02:38 (six years ago) link
Wow, that's excellent - hey, from what I've seen, Vimeo is the place people put their documentaries when they'd rather monetize through rental; there's a huge selection. That might be the place for you to put it up
I'm not sure but I may be the only person on earth who has listened to all of 2 Ts in one go (yesterday). Towards the end I felt like I was on some sort of mystical sweat lodge mushroom trip
― Brakhage, Tuesday, 13 February 2018 17:22 (six years ago) link
Damn, there useta be a cool half-hour doc made for French TV documenting the late 1966 "Student Studies" quartet, but it's apparently taken down from YT in the past few months.
― Scape: Goat-fired like a dog! (Myonga Vön Bontee), Tuesday, 13 February 2018 18:51 (six years ago) link
I should've worded that differently. I'll send you a WeTransfer link once ripped. If it's not available on YT or Vimeo that's probably the filmmaker's decision and I'm not gonna ignore that.
― Acid Hose (Capitaine Jay Vee), Tuesday, 13 February 2018 18:53 (six years ago) link
Aiet - thanks again
― Brakhage, Wednesday, 14 February 2018 17:45 (six years ago) link
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/25/obituaries/buell-neidlinger-dies.html
― j., Sunday, 25 March 2018 23:45 (six years ago) link
Rest In Peace
― Acid Hose (Capitaine Jay Vee), Monday, 26 March 2018 03:58 (six years ago) link
Happy belated birthday CT
― chr1sb3singer, Monday, 26 March 2018 15:34 (six years ago) link
No official confirmation yet but word's going around Cecil's passed
― Brakhage, Friday, 6 April 2018 00:51 (six years ago) link
Aw man. I was lucky to see him play up close maybe twelve years ago, an experience that will stay with me forever.
True Fire.
― DACA Flocka Flame (Hadrian VIII), Friday, 6 April 2018 01:20 (six years ago) link
He passed earlier this evening, at home in Fort Greene.
I saw him play five times:
• in trio with Dominic Duval on bass and Jay Rosen on drums at the Village Vanguard in 1997• leading a two-dozen-strong orchestra at the Knitting Factory on Leonard Street in 2002• at Avery Fisher Hall, also in 2002 (half solo, half trio with Duval and Rosen again)• in trio with Henry Grimes on bass and Pheeroan akLaff on drums at the Iridium in 2006• at the Whitney Museum in 2016 with Okkyung Lee on cello, Harri Sjöström on sax, Jackson Krall on drums, and Tony Oxley on electronics
― grawlix (unperson), Friday, 6 April 2018 01:30 (six years ago) link
RIP
just last night picked up a copy of Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants) - I will blast it today
(re above release i had no idea he'd crossed paths with Tomasz Stanko)
saw him play in a trio with tony oxley and bill dixon in london maybe 10-15 years ago, it was a weird show but CT's solo section was outstanding
― umsworth (emsworth), Friday, 6 April 2018 01:46 (six years ago) link
I love the album that Oxley/Dixon trio recorded at the Victoriaville Festival in Canada - I believe it was their debut performance, and it was much more Bill's show than Cecil's. The music was super spacious and drifting. It's the only time I've ever heard Taylor surrender to someone else's aesthetic so completely.
― grawlix (unperson), Friday, 6 April 2018 01:51 (six years ago) link
only time i saw cecil taylor was in london at the jazz cafe in about 1991. can't for the life of me remember who he played with, though i guess oxley is a fairly likely candidate
― i'm surprised to see your screwface at the door (NickB), Friday, 6 April 2018 06:21 (six years ago) link
a giant.
― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Friday, 6 April 2018 09:50 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqNf6OCHn9E
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 6 April 2018 10:52 (six years ago) link
Lots of Cecil coming down on the WFMU Give the Drummer Radio stream right now.
― Three Word Username, Friday, 6 April 2018 13:06 (six years ago) link
Never got to see him play. But man, what a genius.
― emil.y, Friday, 6 April 2018 13:34 (six years ago) link
RIP - talk about a guy who blazed an entirely new trail.
― tylerw, Friday, 6 April 2018 14:53 (six years ago) link
The following panel discussion occurred 54 years ago today. Cecil was part of a "Jazz Weekend" at Bennington College (this was four years before Bill Dixon's arrival there, and seven or eight years prior to Dixon's establishing of the college's Black Music Division). Panelists include Cecil, arranger Hall Overton, and Bennington composition teacher Lou Calabro. Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) is in the audience, as is Bernard Malamud.
https://bit.ly/2IyGtBu
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 6 April 2018 14:54 (six years ago) link