Billy Taylor Said It

Today is Billy Taylor's 88th birthday. Happy birthday, Billy! In 1982, the pianist who was mentored by Art Tatum, wrote a book called Billy Taylor: Jazz Piano in Jazz History. When I saw him several months ago, he graciously gave me a copy. Beautifully written, it's an authoritative historical analysis of the jazz piano from the perspective of a practitioner, insider and educator. Or, you might say, a working historian. What's more, Billy is one of the few jazz pianists who actually has mastered each style he writes about so eloquently.

Here's a paragraph from the book's introduction:

“As educators, musicians, students and the general public engage in the study of jazz, they will recognize that jazz is a unique American phenomenon. It has been ridiculed, distorted, fragmented, diluted and deemed unworthy of serious study and performance by music educators, musicologists, historians and others who were not really qualified to evaluate the music. Yet it has continued to be the music which most consistently has expressed American moods, thoughts and feelings as it has evolved into its present state. Jazz, America's classical music, needs to be better understood by Americans."

Amen. For more on Billy, see my five-part interview series here.

JazzWax clip: Here's a clip of Billy Taylor appearing on the 1958 TV show The Subject Is Jazz. The band joining Billy included Tony Scott on clarinet, Doc Severinsen on trumpet, Mundel Lowe on guitar, Jimmy Cleveland on trombone, Earl May, bass and Ed Thigpen on drums. The tune is Billy's composition, Early Bird...