Cecil Taylor
(b. 1929)
 Cecil Taylor began piano lessons at age 5. In the 1950's he chose to study music formally at the New England Conservatory of Music. Taylor was a big Duke Ellington fan and had read that Ellington believed the next generation of jazz musicians would need to be "conservatory trained." As with Ornette Coleman, Taylor's abilities received high critical acclaim, but the public-at-large was not very supportive of his music. Though he had difficulty finding steady employment in the late 1950's and '60's, by the mid-1970's he was finding more work as a performer. Throughout his career, his music and playing style has remained intense, percussive, controversial, and always demanding on the listener.
Did you know?
- Cecil Taylor has been known to play the piano so percussively that piano keys have broken off and flown through the air during his performances.
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