Sunday, January 18, 2015

Rarely Heard: Cecil Taylor - Air



"Virtuosic jazz pianist and avant-garde radical who combined the compositional grandeur of European tradition with jackhammer intensity." (Allmusic) I'm not quite certain, but I've experienced that Cecil Taylor - one of the true remaining giants in jazz (not just free jazz) - is the one artist that even most die-hard jazz aficiandos (at least the ones who think they are) avoid at all costs. Of course, his music is 'difficult', but I always thought that's what it's all about, and his oeuvre stands monolithic within modern music. I've found listening to him most rewarding and I'm sad I'll probably never be able to see him perform live.

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