But Billy Taylor also made simply great music. Here is a Billy Taylor Trio performance recorded in nineteen eighty-eight in the former Soviet Union. It is from the album “White Nights and Jazz in Leningrad.” The song is called “C-A-G.”
(Music)
Billy Taylor was born in Greenville, North Carolina, but grew up in Washington, D.C. He considered the city his hometown. He heard great music in his own neighborhood at places like the former Howard Theater. He started playing piano when he was seven.
After college in Virginia, Billy Taylor moved to New York City in nineteen forty-four. He began playing music with many jazz greats, including Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and John Coltrane.
Here is Billy Taylor performing “I’ll be Seeing You” with singer Nancy Wilson.
(Music)
In nineteen sixty-four Billy Taylor was worried about the state of jazz. He did not think enough young people were hearing it, playing it or learning about it. He thought some free concerts around the Harlem area of New York City would help. So, he set up Jazzmobile.
More than forty-five years later, Jazzmobile concerts continue in New York City, Washington, D.C. and in New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland.
Duke Ellington, left, shakes hands with Billy Taylor in New York City's Harlem area in this picture from the early 1970s
Billy Taylor received many awards during his more than seventy years in music. They include the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor the American government gives to artists.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25