Billy Taylor
Encyclopedia
Billy Taylor was an American
jazz
pianist
, composer
, broadcaster
and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University
in Greenville, and since 1994, he was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
in Washington, D.C.
Taylor was a Jazz activist. He sat on the Honorary Founders Board of The Jazz Foundation of America
. In 1989, Billy Taylor, Ann Ruckert, Herb Storfer and Phoebe Jacobs started The Jazz Foundation to save the homes and the lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians, later including musicians that survived Hurricane Katrina
.
Billy Taylor was also one of the foremost jazz educators. He lectured in colleges, served on panels and travelled worldwide as a jazz ambassador. Critic Leonard Feather once said, "It is almost indisputable that Dr. Billy Taylor is the world's foremost spokesman for jazz."
, North Carolina
but moved to Washington, D.C.
when he was five. He grew up in a musical family and learned to play different instruments as a child, including guitar, drums and saxophone. But He was most successful at the piano and took classical piano lessons with Henry Grant, the same teacher that had educated Duke Ellington
a generation earlier. He made his first professional appearance playing keyboard at the age of 13 and the compensation was one dollar. Taylor attended Dunbar High School
, America's first high school for African American students. He went to Virginia State College and majored in sociology. Pianist Dr. Undine Smith Moore
noticed young Taylor's talent in piano and he changed his major to music, graduating with a degree in music in 1942.
's Quartet on New York's 52nd Street
. The same night he joined Webster's Quartet, he met Art Tatum
, who became his mentor. Among other musicians he worked with, he played with the legendary Machito
's mambo band, when he developed a love for Latin music. After an eight-month tour with the Don Redman Orchestra
in Europe, Taylor stayed there with his wife Theodora and worked in Paris and Holland. Taylor returned to New York later that year and cooperated with Bob Wyatt
and Sylvia Syms
at the Royal Roost
jazz club and Billie Holliday in a successful show called Holiday on Broadway. A year later, he became the house pianist at Birdland
and performed with many of the greatest jazz talents in history, including Charlie Parker
, J.J. Johnson
, Stan Getz
, Dizzy Gillespie
and Miles Davis
. He played at Birdland longer than any other pianist in the history of the club. In 1949, Taylor published his first book, a textbook about bebop piano styles.
covered the song in her 1967 album Silk and Soul. It is widely known in the UK as a piano instrumental version, used for BBC Television
's Film programme
. Solomon Burke
, Derek Trucks
, The Lighthouse Family, Levon Helm
and Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra have also recorded versions.
He continued dozens of the recordings in the 50s and 60s, notably the album he made with the legendary Cuban percussionist Candido
Camero titled Billy Taylor Trio with Candido, My Fair Lady Loves Jazz
, Cross Section and Taylor Made Jazz.
His broadcast career also thrived. In 1961, Taylor founded New York
's Jazzmobile
, which provides arts education program of the highest quality via workshops, master classes, lecture demonstrations, arts enrichment programs, outdoor summer mobile concerts, special indoor concerts and special projects. In 1958, he became the Musical Director of NBC's The Subject is Jazz
, the first ever television series focusing on jazz. The 13-part series was produced by the new National Educational Television
Network (NET) and hosted guests including Duke Elington, Aaron Copland
, Bill Evans
, Cannonball Adderley, Jimmy Rushing
and Langston Hughes
.
He also worked as a DJ and program director on radio station WNEW in New York in the 1960s. During the 1960s, the Billy Taylor Trio was a regular feature of the Hickory House on West 55th street in Manhattan. From 1969 to 1972, Taylor served as the music director forThe David Frost
Show' and was the first African American to lead a talk show band. Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Buddy Rich were just a few of the jazz legends who played on the show. In 1981, Jazzmobile produced a Jazz special for the National Public Radio, and for which the program received the Peabody Award
for Excellence in Broadcasting Programs. Jazzmobile's 1990 Tribute Concert to Dr. Taylor at Avery Fisher Hall, part of the JVC Jazz Festival, featured Nancy Wilson
, Ahmad Jamal
Trio and Terence Blanchard
Quintet.
In 1989, Taylor formed his own "Taylor Made" record label to document his own music. You Tempt Me (1996) is a strong outing by his 1985 trio (with Victor Gaskin
and drummer Curtis Boyd) that includes a rendition of Duke Ellington
's "Take the "A" Train". White Nights (1991) has Taylor, Gaskin, and drummer Bobby Thomas performing live from Leningrad
in the Soviet Union
, then came Solo (1992), and Jazzmobile Allstars (1992). In 1997, he received New York state governor's art award.
Taylor suffered from a 2002 stroke, which affected his right hand, but he continued to perform almost until his death. He died after a heart attack on Dec. 28, 2010 in Manhattan, at age of 89. His legacy was honored in a Harlem memorial service on Jan.11, 2011, featuring performances by Taylor's final working trio, bassist Chip Jackson and drummer Winard Harper, along with longtime Taylor associates Jimmy Owens, Frank Wess, Geri Allen, Christian Sands and vocalist Cassandra Wilson. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Theodora Castion Taylor; a daughter, Kim Taylor-Thompson; and a granddaughter. His son, artist Duane Taylor, died in 1988.
".
, Long Island University
, The Manhattan School of Music
, and the University of Massachusetts
, where he earned his Masters and Ph.D in 1975.
His extensive appearance in television series and jazz educational programs brought the music he loves to the masses at the grass roots level as well as more formal arenas. He's sometimes more known as a television personality than a pianist. He was quoted saying in a 2007 article in the Post Magazine: "there's no question that being an advocate eclipsed my reputation as a musician. It was my doing. I wanted to prove to people that jazz has an audience. I had to do that for me."
, NEA Jazz Masters Award
(1998) an Emmy Award
(1983) for carrying out over 250 interviews for "CBS News Sunday Morning", a Grammy Award
(2004) and a host of prestigious and highly coveted prizes, such as the Down Beat
magazine's Lifetime Achievement award (1984), National Medal of Arts
(1992), and the Tiffany Award (1991). He was also honored in 2001 with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award, and election to the Hall of Fame for the International Association for Jazz Education. He served as the artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he developed many critically acclaimed concert series including the Louis Armstrong Legacy series, and the annual Mary Lou Williams
Women in Jazz Festival. In addition, he performed at the White House seven times and was one of only three jazz musicians to be appointed to the National Council of the Arts.
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
in Greenville, and since 1994, he was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
in Washington, D.C.
Taylor was a Jazz activist. He sat on the Honorary Founders Board of The Jazz Foundation of America
Jazz Foundation of America
The Jazz Foundation of America is a non-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York founded in 1989. The JFA’s programs help jazz and blues musicians in need of emergency funds and connect them with performance opportunities in schools and the community...
. In 1989, Billy Taylor, Ann Ruckert, Herb Storfer and Phoebe Jacobs started The Jazz Foundation to save the homes and the lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians, later including musicians that survived Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
.
Billy Taylor was also one of the foremost jazz educators. He lectured in colleges, served on panels and travelled worldwide as a jazz ambassador. Critic Leonard Feather once said, "It is almost indisputable that Dr. Billy Taylor is the world's foremost spokesman for jazz."
Early life
Taylor was born in GreenvilleGreenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
but moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
when he was five. He grew up in a musical family and learned to play different instruments as a child, including guitar, drums and saxophone. But He was most successful at the piano and took classical piano lessons with Henry Grant, the same teacher that had educated Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
a generation earlier. He made his first professional appearance playing keyboard at the age of 13 and the compensation was one dollar. Taylor attended Dunbar High School
Dunbar High School
Dunbar High School can refer to:* Dunbar High School , listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Alabama* Dunbar High School — Chicago, Illinois...
, America's first high school for African American students. He went to Virginia State College and majored in sociology. Pianist Dr. Undine Smith Moore
Undine Smith Moore
Undine Smith Moore was a notable and prolific female African-American composers of the 20th century.She began studying piano at age seven, and at the age of 20 became the first graduate of Fisk University to receive a scholarship to Juilliard...
noticed young Taylor's talent in piano and he changed his major to music, graduating with a degree in music in 1942.
Early career
Taylor set out to New York City after graduation and started playing piano professionally from 1944, first with Ben WebsterBen Webster
Benjamin Francis Webster , a.k.a. "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young...
's Quartet on New York's 52nd Street
52nd Street (Manhattan)
52nd Street is a long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.-Jazz center:The blocks of 52nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue were renowned in the mid-20th century for the abundance of jazz clubs and lively street life...
. The same night he joined Webster's Quartet, he met Art Tatum
Art Tatum
Arthur "Art" Tatum, Jr. was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso who played with phenomenal facility despite being nearly blind.Tatum is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time...
, who became his mentor. Among other musicians he worked with, he played with the legendary Machito
Machito
Machito , born as Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, was an influential Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music...
's mambo band, when he developed a love for Latin music. After an eight-month tour with the Don Redman Orchestra
Don Redman
Donald Matthew Redman was an American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader and composer.Redman was announced as a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame on May 6, 2009....
in Europe, Taylor stayed there with his wife Theodora and worked in Paris and Holland. Taylor returned to New York later that year and cooperated with Bob Wyatt
Bob Wyatt
Robert "Bob" Elliott Storey Wyatt was an English cricket player. He played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the English cricket team....
and Sylvia Syms
Sylvia Syms
Sylvia M. L. Syms OBE is a British actress. She is probably best known for her roles in the films Woman in a Dressing Gown , Ice-Cold in Alex , No Trees in the Street , Victim and The Tamarind Seed...
at the Royal Roost
Royal Roost
-History:Ralph Watkins originally opened the Royal Roost as a chicken restaurant. After a difficult start, Watkins was persuaded by Sid Torin to try presenting modern jazz at the club. Beginning in 1948 the club began to showcase the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Dexter...
jazz club and Billie Holliday in a successful show called Holiday on Broadway. A year later, he became the house pianist at Birdland
Birdland (jazz club)
Birdland is a jazz club started in New York City on December 15, 1949. The original Birdland, which was located at 1678 Broadway, just north of West 52nd Street in Manhattan, was closed in 1965 due to increased rents, but it re-opened for one night in 1979...
and performed with many of the greatest jazz talents in history, including Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, J.J. Johnson
J.J. Johnson
J. J. Johnson was a United States jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. He was sometimes credited as Jay Jay Johnson....
, Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
and Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
. He played at Birdland longer than any other pianist in the history of the club. In 1949, Taylor published his first book, a textbook about bebop piano styles.
Mid-career
He composed one of the his most famous tunes in 1952 "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free", and subsequently achieving more popularity with Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Nina SimoneNina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
covered the song in her 1967 album Silk and Soul. It is widely known in the UK as a piano instrumental version, used for BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
's Film programme
The Film programme
The Film programme is a British film review television programme, broadcast weekly on BBC One, presented by Claudia Winkleman and Danny Leigh. The title of the show changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast, with the current series being Film 2011, but when referring to successive...
. Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke was an American singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, mortician, and an archbishop of the United House of Prayer For All People. Burke was known as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock 'n' Soul", and as the "Bishop of Soul", and described as "the Muhammad Ali of soul", and as "the most...
, Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks is a Grammy Award-winning, American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded The Derek Trucks Band and worked as a session musician when he was still in his early teens. Throughout those teenage years, he toured with The Allman Brothers Band primarily as a slide...
, The Lighthouse Family, Levon Helm
Levon Helm
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
and Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra have also recorded versions.
He continued dozens of the recordings in the 50s and 60s, notably the album he made with the legendary Cuban percussionist Candido
Candido
Candido may refer to:* Antonio Candido , writer, professor, and literary critic* Candido Amantini , Italian Roman Catholic priest* Candido Camero , Cuban percussionist* Candido Jacuzzi , Italian-American inventor...
Camero titled Billy Taylor Trio with Candido, My Fair Lady Loves Jazz
My Fair Lady Loves Jazz
My Fair Lady Loves Jazz is an album by American jazz pianist Billy Taylor featuring performances of show tunes from the musical My Fair Lady recorded in 1957 and originally released on the ABC-Paramount label and rereleased Impulse! label in 1964 following the release of the film.-Reception:The...
, Cross Section and Taylor Made Jazz.
His broadcast career also thrived. In 1961, Taylor founded New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Jazzmobile
Jazzmobile
Jazzmobile, Inc. is based in New York, and was founded in 1964 by Daphne Arnstein, an arts patron and founder of the Harlem Cultural Council and Dr. William "Billy" Taylor. It is a multifaceted, outreach organization committed to bringing "America's Classical Music"—Jazz—to the largest possible...
, which provides arts education program of the highest quality via workshops, master classes, lecture demonstrations, arts enrichment programs, outdoor summer mobile concerts, special indoor concerts and special projects. In 1958, he became the Musical Director of NBC's The Subject is Jazz
The Subject is Jazz
The Subject is Jazz was a television program that aired on NBC in 1958. Hosted by Gilbert Seldes with the musical direction of Billy Taylor, the show featured prominent jazz performers....
, the first ever television series focusing on jazz. The 13-part series was produced by the new National Educational Television
National Educational Television
National Educational Television was an American non-commercial educational public television network in the United States from May 16, 1954 to October 4, 1970...
Network (NET) and hosted guests including Duke Elington, Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
, Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
, Cannonball Adderley, Jimmy Rushing
Jimmy Rushing
James Andrew Rushing , known as Jimmy Rushing, was an American blues shouter and swing jazz singer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.Rushing was known as "Mr...
and Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
.
He also worked as a DJ and program director on radio station WNEW in New York in the 1960s. During the 1960s, the Billy Taylor Trio was a regular feature of the Hickory House on West 55th street in Manhattan. From 1969 to 1972, Taylor served as the music director forThe David Frost
David Frost
Sir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
Show' and was the first African American to lead a talk show band. Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Buddy Rich were just a few of the jazz legends who played on the show. In 1981, Jazzmobile produced a Jazz special for the National Public Radio, and for which the program received the Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for Excellence in Broadcasting Programs. Jazzmobile's 1990 Tribute Concert to Dr. Taylor at Avery Fisher Hall, part of the JVC Jazz Festival, featured Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson (singer)
Nancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
, Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...
Trio and Terence Blanchard
Terence Blanchard
Terence Oliver Blanchard is an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger, and film score composer. Since he emerged on the scene in 1980 with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and then shortly thereafter with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Blanchard has been a leading artist in jazz...
Quintet.
Later career
In 1981, after being profiled by CBS News Sunday Morning, he was hired as an on-air correspondent and then conducted more than 250 interviews with musicians. He received an Emmy Award for his segment on the multi-talented Quincy Jones.In 1989, Taylor formed his own "Taylor Made" record label to document his own music. You Tempt Me (1996) is a strong outing by his 1985 trio (with Victor Gaskin
Victor Gaskin
Roderick Victor Gaskin, born The Bronx, New York, November 23, 1934 is a jazz bassist.Gaskin moved to Los Angeles in 1962 and started playing with Paul Horn and Red Mitchell before going on to become one of many bass players for the Jazz Crusaders...
and drummer Curtis Boyd) that includes a rendition of Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
's "Take the "A" Train". White Nights (1991) has Taylor, Gaskin, and drummer Bobby Thomas performing live from Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, then came Solo (1992), and Jazzmobile Allstars (1992). In 1997, he received New York state governor's art award.
Taylor suffered from a 2002 stroke, which affected his right hand, but he continued to perform almost until his death. He died after a heart attack on Dec. 28, 2010 in Manhattan, at age of 89. His legacy was honored in a Harlem memorial service on Jan.11, 2011, featuring performances by Taylor's final working trio, bassist Chip Jackson and drummer Winard Harper, along with longtime Taylor associates Jimmy Owens, Frank Wess, Geri Allen, Christian Sands and vocalist Cassandra Wilson. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Theodora Castion Taylor; a daughter, Kim Taylor-Thompson; and a granddaughter. His son, artist Duane Taylor, died in 1988.
As a pianist and composer
Taylor appeared on hundreds of albums and composed more than 300 songs during his career spanned over six decades. His 1963 song, "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free" dealt with civil rights issues and became the unofficial anthem of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. It was selected as "one of the greatest songs of the sixties" by the New York Times and was the theme music of the 1996 film "Ghosts of MississippiGhosts of Mississippi
Ghosts of Mississippi is a 1996 American drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, and James Woods. The plot is based on the true story of the 1994 trial of Byron De La Beckwith, the white supremacist accused of the 1963 assassination of civil rights activist...
".
As an educator and jazz's spokesman
Engaging and educating more audience and young people had been a central part of Taylor's career. He holds the Wilbur D. Barrett Chair of Music at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, is a Duke Ellington Fellow at Yale, and holds 23 honorary degrees. Besides publishing instructional books on jazz, he taught jazz course at Howard UniversityHoward University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, Long Island University
Long Island University
Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...
, The Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, and the University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
, where he earned his Masters and Ph.D in 1975.
His extensive appearance in television series and jazz educational programs brought the music he loves to the masses at the grass roots level as well as more formal arenas. He's sometimes more known as a television personality than a pianist. He was quoted saying in a 2007 article in the Post Magazine: "there's no question that being an advocate eclipsed my reputation as a musician. It was my doing. I wanted to prove to people that jazz has an audience. I had to do that for me."
Awards and honors
With over twenty-three honorary doctoral degrees, Taylor was also the recipient of two Peabody Awards for JazzmobileJazzmobile
Jazzmobile, Inc. is based in New York, and was founded in 1964 by Daphne Arnstein, an arts patron and founder of the Harlem Cultural Council and Dr. William "Billy" Taylor. It is a multifaceted, outreach organization committed to bringing "America's Classical Music"—Jazz—to the largest possible...
, NEA Jazz Masters Award
NEA Jazz Masters
The National Endowment for the Arts , every year honors up to seven jazz musicians with Jazz Master Awards. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships are the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians...
(1998) an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
(1983) for carrying out over 250 interviews for "CBS News Sunday Morning", a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
(2004) and a host of prestigious and highly coveted prizes, such as the Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine's Lifetime Achievement award (1984), National Medal of Arts
National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
(1992), and the Tiffany Award (1991). He was also honored in 2001 with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award, and election to the Hall of Fame for the International Association for Jazz Education. He served as the artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he developed many critically acclaimed concert series including the Louis Armstrong Legacy series, and the annual Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Williams wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements, and recorded more than one hundred records...
Women in Jazz Festival. In addition, he performed at the White House seven times and was one of only three jazz musicians to be appointed to the National Council of the Arts.
Discography
- 1945: Billy Taylor Piano (Savoy)
- 1953: "Billy Taylor Trio" (Prestige)
- 1954: Cross-Section (Prestige)
- 1954: "Billy Taylor Trio with CandidoCandidoCandido may refer to:* Antonio Candido , writer, professor, and literary critic* Candido Amantini , Italian Roman Catholic priest* Candido Camero , Cuban percussionist* Candido Jacuzzi , Italian-American inventor...
" (Prestige) - 1955: "A Touch Of Taylor" (Prestige)
- 1956: "Evergreens" (ABC-Paramout)
- 1956: at the London House (ABC-Paramount)
- 1956: Cross Section (Prestige)
- 1957: "Introduces Ira Sullivan" (ABC-Paramount)
- 1957: My Fair Lady Loves JazzMy Fair Lady Loves JazzMy Fair Lady Loves Jazz is an album by American jazz pianist Billy Taylor featuring performances of show tunes from the musical My Fair Lady recorded in 1957 and originally released on the ABC-Paramount label and rereleased Impulse! label in 1964 following the release of the film.-Reception:The...
(Impulse!) - 1959: "The New Trio" (Argo)
- 1959: "Taylor Made Flute" (Argo)
- 1959: "Custom Taylored" (SeSac)
- 1959: Billy Taylor with Four Flutes (Riverside, with Herbie MannHerbie MannHerbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
, Jerome RichardsonJerome RichardsonJerome Richardson was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet and piccolo...
, Frank WessFrank WessFrank Wess is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone and flute.-Biography:...
) - 1960: "One For Fun" (Atlantic)
- 1960: Billy Taylor Trio Uptown (Riverside)
- 1960: Warming Up (Riverside)
- 1961: "Interlude" (Moodsville)
- 1962: Impromptu (Mercury)
- 1963: "Right Here, Right Now" (Capitol)
- 1965: "Midnight Piano" (Capitol)
- 1966: "Easy Life" (Surrey)
- 1968: "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free" (Tower)
- 1969: A Sleeping Bee (Pausa MPSMPS RecordsMPS Records was a German jazz record label founded in 1968. MPS stands for "Musik Produktion Schwarzwald" .-History:...
) - 1970: "Ok Billy" (Bell)
- 1977: "Jazz Live" (Monmouth Evergreen)
- 1977: Live at Storyville (West 54 Records)
- 1981: "With Joe Kennedy Where've You Been" (Concord Jazz)
- 1985: You Tempt Me (Taylor-Made, 1989)
- 1988: White Nights And Jazz In Leningrad (Taylor-Made)
- 1989: Solo (Taylor-Made)
- 1989: Billy Taylor And The Jazzmobile All Stars (Taylor-Made)
- 1991: White Nights and Jazz in Leningrad" (Taylor-Made)
- 1992: Dr. T with Gerry MulliganGerry MulliganGerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...
(GRP) - 1993: Live at MCG with Gerry Mulligan, Carl AllenCarl Allen (drummer)Carl Allen is an American jazz drummer.He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, George Coleman and Phil Woods. and the Benny Green Trio....
, Chip JacksonChip JacksonChip Jackson is an American jazz double bass player. He has played in trios with Billy Taylor and Elvin Jones.-References:... - 1993: "It's a Matter of Pride" (GRP)
- 1995: "Homage" (GRP)
- 1997: The Music Keeps Us Young (Arkadia JazzArkadia JazzArkadia Jazz is an American jazz record label.Postcards Records is a division of Arkadia Jazz "focusing on electro-acoustic recordings by boundry-challengers".Brazilian jazz ensemble Nova Bossa Nova released their one album for the label....
, with Chip Jackson, Steve Johns) - 1999: Ten Fingers - One Voice Arkadia Jazz
- 1999: Taylor Made at the Kennedy Center with Dee Dee Bridgewater Kennedy Center Jazz
- 2001: "Urban Griot" (Soundspot)
- 2002: "Live at AJE New York" (Soundspot)
External links
- http://www.billytaylorjazz.com/bio.php
- Library of Congress exhibit
- Official Website that includes extensive video
- Billy Taylor's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project