Protege of Art Tatum, Billy Taylor emerged in the early 50s as a fresh, energetic voice in jazz piano, who early on specialized in trio recordings. He later became one of the most articulate spokespeople for jazz in the U. S., making major contributions to jazz education and to jazz broadcasting and representing jazz in the National Endowment for the Arts. Today he remains the voice of jazz on public radio for millions of people, while staying very active as a performer.

Origins

William Taylor, Jr. was born in Greenville, North Carolina, July 24, 1921. His immediate family was musical, and he started on piano at age seven. At age 11 an uncle sparked his interest in jazz by playing him Fats Waller and Art Tatum records. He played his first professional gig at age 13, earning exactly one dollar. When his family moved to Washington, D. C. he was able to hear the bands of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jimmy Lunceford and Chick Webb live at the Howard Theater. He continued to study classical piano through high school and at Virginia State College, where received a bachelor of music degree in 1942.

To New York

Taylor moved to the jazz capital, New York City, right after graduation to see where his talents would take him. Within a day of his arrival he was sitting in at Minton's, the fabled Harlem where bebop had incubated, jamming with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. Two days later Webster invited him to join his group. That same night he met Art Tatum, who soon became his mentor. Not long afterwards he was appearing regularly with Webster at the Three Deuces on 52nd Street.

Taylor found himself in demand rather quickly. He played club dates with Coleman Hawkins, Big Sid Catlett, Stuff Smith, Billie Holiday and Machito's Mambo band among others. He also appeared onstage as part of Cozy Cole's band in the Broadway production of Billy Rose's THE SEVEN LIVELY ARTS and in the pit band for Ethel Waters' show BLUE HOLIDAY.

Taylor became close to Art Tatum, developing a protege/mentor relationship with him. They would go around to clubs together, and Tatum impressed Taylor with his wide interest in everyone who played piano and in his phenomenal musical memory.

European Tour

In 1946 Taylor toured Europe for eight months with the Don Redman orchestra, the first American band to visit the continent since the end of the war. He stayed in Europe after the tour ended to perform in Paris and Holland. Returning to New York in 1948 he performed with organist Bob Wyatt and vocalist Sylvia Sims at the Royal Roost, and on Broadway with Billie Holiday in HOLIDAY ON BROADWAY.

Birdland

In 1949 Taylor formed his own quartet. It was later taken over by Artie Shaw who made it famous as the Gramercy Five. In 1951 Taylor became house pianist at Birdland. His first job was to accompany Charlie Parker in a show called "Bird with Strings." It was so popular it was booked for an additional week into the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Taylor then returned to Birdland, where he stayed longer than anyone else in the club's history. Besides Parker, he played there with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Stan Getz, J. J. Johnson, Roy Eldridge, Lee Konitz and Oscar Pettiford among many others, each week with a different group.

The Billy Taylor Trio

From 1952 to the present Taylor has mainly performed and recorded in trio settings. During the 50s his sidemen were drummer Ed Thigpen and bassist Earl May. More recently they have been drummer Freddie Waits and bassist Vic Gaskin. During the 1960s and 70s, when jazz clubs were expensive and often crowded, Taylor decided to extend the jazz audience by performing in concert halls, arts and community centers and universities. It is in these venues where he most frequently plays today.

TV & Radio

Taylor has been very active in bringing jazz to a wider public through the broadcast media. He began in the 60s as a summer fill-in on WLIB in New York. The show, with its easy conversational tone, became quite popular. Three years later the top-rated WNEW hired him, but WLIB lured him back with the jobs of Program Director and then General Manager.

From 1969 to 1972 he led an 11-piece band as music director for THE DAVID FROST SHOW on television. During his tenure Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Buddy Rich all appeared on the show. He briefly hosted his own TV show on channel 47, on which he featured the then-unknown guitarist George Benson. In 1981 he became an on-air arts correspondent for the popular CBS program with Charles Kuralt, SUNDAY MORNING, profiling more than 250 artists, and winning an Emmy Award for his piece on the multi-faceted Quincy Jones.

During the 70s and 80s he was a key figure in presenting jazz on National Public Radio. From the late 70s to the present, he has seven different series of programs, including JAZZ ALIVE, TAYLOR MADE JAZZ (a history of jazz piano), CENTRAL AVENUE BREAKDOWN (a history of jazz in Los Angeles) and DIZZY'S DIAMOND. His current series, BILLY TAYLOR'S JAZZ AT THE KENNEDY CENTER, is recorded live and features interviews and performances from each musical guest. These featured artists have included Joe Lovano, James Moody, Joe Williams, Benny Golson, Arturo Sandoval, Marian McPartland, Stanley Turrentine, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Clark Terry, Nancy Wilson, Nicholas Payton, Bill Watrous, Randy Brecker, and Nneena Freelon.

Jazz Education

Taylor has also played an active role in jazz education. His first broadcasting effort was an educational one called THE SUBJECT IS JAZZ, which he produced in 1958. In 1964 he helped establish the Jazzmobile in New York, a roving jazz workshop based in a converted bus. After serving as visiting professor at Howard University, he went on to teach at C. W. Post, the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Massachusetts, where he earned his doctorate in 1975. He turned his dissertation into an informative history of jazz piano, entitled JAZZ PIANO: HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT (William C. Brown, 1982). The book surveys the historical spectrum of jazz piano and is rich in pictorial and musical illustrations.

Taylor holds the Wilber D. Barrett Chair of Music at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; he is a Duke Ellington Fellow at Yale and he holds 16 honorary degrees. In 1979 he was inducted into the International Association of Jazz Educators Hall of Fame. He has also issued a jazz-teaching video based on classes he has given. Taylor's support of jazz extends into the federal government: he represents jazz on the National Council on the Arts.

In his capacity as Advisor for Jazz to the Kennedy Center, Taylor is currently developing a satellite broadcast system along with Hylton High School in northern Virginia. Through this medium Taylor is able to offer live, interactive performances, master classes, demonstrations and lectures to any school with a satellite receiver in the U. S. Audience members can ask questions live via satellite or by using an 800 number. They can also follow up on the Internet for two weeks following the broadcast. A recent program featuring Taylor and his trio, "Jazz and the Young Performer," was awarded "Best Direct Satellite Broadcast/Special Events" by N. A.T.A.S.

Jazz at the Kennedy Center et. al.

Taylor produces and participates in some of the most innovative and exciting programs in jazz at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D. C., and which are frequently broadcast over National Public Radio. These include the Art Tatum Pianorama series, the Louis Armstrong Legacy Series, the annual Mary Lou Williams "Women in Jazz Festival" as well as Taylor's own performances with his trio and with his special guests.

In New York he has produced his "Jazz Models and Mentors" series for eleven straight years, consisting of four concerts per year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has toured with many groups, including the Juilliard and Turtle Island String Quartets and the North Carolina Symphony.

Beyond the Trio

Taylor has composed a number of symphonic works for jazz piano. His THEME AND VARIATIONS was commissioned by the Kennedy Center to be performed by the national Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Slatkin. STEP INTO MY DREAM, the richly interactive collaboration between David Parson's Dance Company and Taylor, was commissioned by the Krannert Center for Performing Arts at the University of Illinois. It represents the evolution of the New York jazz scene as Taylor lived it from the 50s to the present. He composed "Homage," a commission in honor of the Madison, Wisconsin, Civic Center's tenth anniversary; and "Peaceful Warrior" in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr., commissioned for the Atlanta Symphony. Tufts University commissioned a six-part suite, MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE, from him, inspired by the 97th Psalm, and following in the tradition of Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts.

Other notable compositions include FOR RACHEL, a dance suite dedicated to choreographer Rachel Lampert; the score for Wole Soyinka's off-Broadway production THE LION AND THE JEWEL; and his first major orchestral composition SUITE FOR JAZZ PIANO AND ORCHESTRA, commissioned by Maurice Abravenal for the Utah Symphony.

Public Service Honors

Taylor received the National Medal of Arts from President Bush in 1992, the nation's highest award in the U. S. for achievement in the arts. He has led State Department tours throughout the world and received the prestigious Tiffany Ward in 1991 from the International Society of Performing Arts Administrations. He also received the APAP Award of Merit for the broad impact his talent and commitment has had on the performing arts world. He has won the coveted Peabody Award for excellence in journalism twice, as well as the National Education Association's Jazz Masters Fellowship. He has performed at the White House seven times and has received a Presidential appointment to the National Council on the Arts, the first jazz musician since Duke Ellington to receive that honor.

The Pianist

In addition to these scholarly, pedagogical, and broadcast activities, Taylor has maintained a high profile as a player. His style is harmonically rich, with fluid and inventive bebop lines. He is comfortable in many different stylistic settings. In addition, a number of his compositions, such as "A Bientot" and "Midnight Piano," have become jazz standards. Having just celebrated his 75th birthday, honored by a cover story on JAZZ TIMES, Dr. Billy Taylor remains as active as ever.

By Joel Simpson

Bibliography

• Bramble, Linda. "About Billy Taylor." Riverdale, NY: Creative Music Publicity, 1997.
• Carles, Philippe, Andre Clergeat and Jean-Louis Comolli. Dictionnaire du jazz. Paris: Editions Robert Lafont, 1988. "Billy Taylor" by Alain Tomas, 993-94.
• Kernfeld, Barry. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988, rpt. 1996. "Billy Taylor" by Bill Bennett, 1189-90.
• Lyons, Len and Don Perlo. Jazz Portraits: The Lives and Music of the Jazz Masters. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1989.