Collection: Cecil Taylor

Cecil Taylor studied at the New England Conservatory from 1951 to 1955, absorbing Bartók and Stravinsky alongside Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, and emerged with a piano approach that used all of it simultaneously against itself: tone clusters, percussive attacks, intricate polyrhythms, and a physical stamina that could sustain performances of two hours or more without breaking. His debut "Jazz Advance" (Transition, 1956), recorded with soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, bassist Buell Neidlinger, and drummer Dennis Charles, was already fully formed and almost entirely without precedent. An engagement at the Five Spot in New York's Greenwich Village helped establish that club as the city's venue of choice for the new music, but consistent work eluded Taylor domestically for most of the following decade regardless. Critical recognition and a DownBeat new star award in 1962 arrived alongside an inability to get booked. It was Blue Note who finally gave him a proper studio budget, and the two albums that resulted, "Unit Structures" and "Conquistador!" (both 1966), remain the entry points most collectors reach for first. From the early 1970s Taylor worked primarily as a solo pianist and with his Unit ensemble, recording extensively for European labels including FMP, hat ART, Enja, and Black Saint, building a catalogue of live and studio documents that rewards sustained attention across decades.