{"title":"Cecil Taylor","description":"\u003cp\u003eCecil 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"cecil-taylor-unit-structures-1980-japanese-blue-note-stereo-lp","title":"Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures (1980 Japanese Blue Note Stereo LP)","description":"\u003cp data-end=\"1214\" data-start=\"1061\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eVinyl\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e: EX\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSleeve\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e: EX\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObi:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEX\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOur grading system explained \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/dpbg4u-d1.myshopify.com\/pages\/secondhand-grading-guide\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003ehere\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePhoto is of the actual item.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCecil Taylor - \u003cem\u003eUnit Structures\u003c\/em\u003e | Vinyl LP - 1980 Japanese Blue Note Stereo Reissue (GXK 8147, Blue Note Masterpiece Selection 150, King Record Co. Ltd.)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCecil Taylor signed to Blue Note in 1966 after a four-year gap in his recording output. He was thirty-seven. The label was already in the process of being absorbed by Liberty Records, but Alfred Lion was still producing, and he recorded Taylor twice in 1966 - this album in May and \u003cem\u003eConquistador!\u003c\/em\u003e a few months later. Both featured versions of the same core ensemble: Lyons, Cyrille, Silva and Grimes, with McIntyre and Eddie Gale added for \u003cem\u003eUnit Structures\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe album has four pieces, all written by Taylor. The ten minute \"Steps\" opens, the seven musicians working simultaneously from the first bar, Cyrille driving hard while the horns move across the range of the ensemble without fixed roles. \"Enter, Evening (Soft Line Structure)\" is the album's most harmonically approachable piece, with its dark, nocturnal texture and Lyons and McIntyre's alto lines drifting apart and back together above the two bass lines. \"Unit Structure\/As Of A Now\/Section\" is nearly eighteen minutes across three internal sections with composed passages alternating with collective improvisation. \"Tales (8 Whisps)\" gives Taylor more piano space, the full ensemble arriving after an opening that is essentially a duo between Taylor and Cyrille.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaylor wrote his own notes for the record's back cover in a register that extends from jazz theory to poetry without clearly distinguishing between them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the 1980 Japanese Blue Note Masterpiece Selection 150 reissue (GXK 8147), manufactured by King Record Co. Ltd.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blue Note","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43554793783355,"sku":null,"price":115.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/IMG_7127.jpg?v=1780035288"}],"url":"https:\/\/lushliferecords.com.au\/collections\/cecil-taylor.oembed","provider":"Lush Life Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}