Few individuals spend a lifetime in jazz, and when they do, they should be celebrated for their accomplishments. Many times, jazz artists are simply a spark that glows during a certain era and then slowly fizzles in the following decades. They may exert a strong influence through their improvisational style or their compositions, but only the strongest voices survive over the long haul. Young artists simply appear and take the spotlight; it’s a natural progression, but one that leaves older artists in the dark at the end of their careers. Some artists create one or two influential albums and then spend years making forgettable recordings that most people never hear. Others simply get tired after years on the road and constant self-reflection – eventually they leave the business completely. Sustaining a jazz career over the course of several decades requires an unfailing dedication to excellence, an ability to follow trends, and the keen sense to continually improve your performance. A musician that lives through jazz into their elder years deserves our respect. Today we show that admiration as Doctor Billy Taylor celebrates his 88th birthday, topping a lifetime of jazz performance, education, and promotion.

Many people remember Taylor as a straight-ahead jazz master – a well-deserved title – yet we sometimes forget the fact that in his younger days Taylor made some important dips into the Latin Jazz world. He made the most of his youth, playing with a wide variety of the important names in swing and eventually bebop. From a childhood deeply immersed in the piano to a diverse collegiate musical training, Taylor entered New York in the early forties very prepared for the challenges of jazz. He quickly found work with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and then moved between groups led by Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie South, and Stuff Smith. He met the legendary Art Tatum and became a hard working pupil, soaking up all his mentor’s lessons. He moved through the bebop scene, working with Charlie Parker, Don Byas, and Lucky Thompson. Taylor formed his own trios, booked numerous performances, and recorded several albums as a bandleader. Before Taylor hit his thirtieth birthday, he was firmly established upon New York’s jazz scene and had staked a serious artistic claim as a pianist. By the time that he leapt into Latin Jazz experimentations, Taylor was a serious jazz veteran, an experienced bandleader, and a strong creative force.

At this point in his career, Taylor produced two influential Latin Jazz recordings that emphasized different aspects of the music. As an established bandleader, Taylor held the artistic authority to move outside his comfort zone and experiment with different music. Many bebop artists stepped into the world of Afro-Cuban rhythms, inspired by the successful Latin Jazz blends from Machito’s Afro-Cubans and Dizzy Gillespie. In many ways, Taylor’s embrace of Afro-Cuban rhythms was a natural reflection of the times and a common experience among his peers. The journey into the realm of Afro-Cuban music presented new challenges, but Taylor approached the new music with the trademarks of his career, grace and style. While Taylor never fully committed himself to the Latin Jazz world, he definitely explored it with a deep respect. His performances reflect a thorough consideration of the musical aesthetics of both jazz and Latin music, and the resultant recordings contain smart and interesting music.

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Cross Section
The music found on Cross Section provides a good representation of his 1954 trio, with most of the material focused upon tight arrangements of swing and bebop tunes; Taylor dives deeply into Latin Jazz on four tracks though, replacing drummer Percy Brice with Machito’s rhythm section. With this change, Taylor inherits one of the best percussion sections in Latin Jazz history with Uba Nieto on timbales, Charlie Smith on congas, Jose Mangual on bongo, and Machito on maracas. Although the Machito group dwarfs Taylor’s experience in Afro-Cuban rhythms, there’s never a sense of imbalance; Taylor stays firmly in command throughout the session. Instead of drawing upon standards or Machito repertoire, Taylor chose to experiment with the clave and compose all four pieces. Cubop was in full swing at the time, and although Taylor’s reputation at this point sat firmly in swing and bebop, he obviously had some experience with Afro-Cuban rhythms. While the songs escape the traditional trappings of Latin piano at the time – for the most part we hear a distinct absence of montunos throughout all four tracks – Taylor writes cleverly around the clave and his improvisations show an awareness of the rhythm. Taylor’s regular bassist, Earl May, covers the tumbao admirably, staying firmly on top of the beat with the percussionists. Overall, Taylor presents a strong connection to Afro-Cuban music and displays a coherent vision of its connection to jazz.

Most of the tracks on Cross Section finds Taylor’s trio in their standard repertoire, but the four Latin Jazz tracks explode off the recording as definite highlights. Taylor authoritatively introduces “I Love Mambo” with a percussive intensity that stimulates some inspired call and response from Smith and Mangual. Taylor constructs a catchy theme based on a simplistic harmony before stretching into boppish improvised melodies over moving chords. Mangual displays his expertise throughout this track, providing outstanding conversational bongo work. Taylor and May come together in a unison lick on “Candido Mambo” before Taylor leaps into another basic and highly rhythmic melody. Taylor demonstrates the true potential of Cubop on his improvisation, running chromatic lines through the changes and creating some interesting rhythm tensions. He quickly dips into a basic montuno, trading short phrases with both Smith and Mangual. As Taylor pounds away at sharp rhythmic accents and May vamps around one chord, a defined descarga aesthetic creeps into “Early Morning Mambo.” Taylor finds a distinct place for his bebop licks over the one-chord vamp, cleverly blending the music’s melodic language with an enthusiastic approach to rhythm. He emerges from his solo with several cleverly altered variations on a rhythmic figure, giving Smith and Mangual a chance to improvise. Taylor introduces a bass vamp in his left hand on “Mambo Azul” before May grabs the line and Taylor jumps into the album’s strongest melody. The song’s chord changes stay close to standard rhythm changes, so Cubop reigns supreme through Taylor’s improvisation. The Latin Jazz tracks on Cross Section demonstrate his understanding of both genres and his clear vision of the commonalities between them; it’s a classic piece of Cubop that begs a listen.

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The Billy Taylor Trio with Candido
Dizzy Gillespie introduced Candido Camero to Taylor in 1954, kicking off a new period for Taylor’s trio. Gillespie hoped to hear Candido’s playing, thinking that he might use the conguero for his band. Taylor and his group enjoyed Candido’s playing though, and the percussionist became the trio’s fourth member. In every way, Candido worked as a member of the group instead of a “Latin tinge.” His presence never drove the group into a full Latin Jazz performance aesthetic, and he certainly did not add a sense of novelty to the group. Instead the addition of the trio’s fourth member provided an opportunity to explore the relationship between jazz and Latin music. The trio needed to adjust their playing creatively to incorporate Candido and the percussionist needed to mold his performance to fit Taylor’s concept. At times the trio straightened their eighth notes, coming close to an authentic interpretation of Afro-Cuban Jazz. Other times, Candido altered his tumbao to find a place in the group’s addictively powerful swing feel. The results were sometimes awkward while at other times the mixture of the two aesthetics shined with pure genius. Whatever the outcome, the collaboration signals one of the early genuine attempts to find a natural meeting place between the two worlds. Despite the artistic success of this collaboration, Candido left Taylor’s group after six months, as both sides of the equation moved onto different interests. Fortunately, Taylor captured the group on the 1954 recording The Billy Taylor Trio with Candido, a fascinating album that finds all four musicians playing at the top of their game.

While Cross Section symbolized Taylor’s attempt at pure Afro-Cuban Jazz, The Billy Taylor Trio with Candido found the pianist experimenting between genres. Taylor and May start an up-tempo vamp before the pianist jumps into the classic melody on Mario Bauza’s “Mambo Inn.” With Brice keeping a swing rhythm on the snare with brushes and Candido providing a slightly altered martillo pattern on bongo, Taylor freely spins bebop lines over the chord changes. Candido builds an ingenious improvisation with only Brice holding the high hat on two and four; he starts within the swing structure and over the course of his extended statement, he leans towards the clave and integrates classic phrases. The group implies a bolero on Cole Porter’s “Love For Sale,” giving Taylor room to provide a gorgeously thoughtful melodic interpretation. Brice and May slide closer to a swing feel as Taylor opens into an improvisation, weaving his lines smartly around the juxtaposed feels. The band disappears as Candido repeats a 6/8 bell pattern on his bongo, eventually opening into a brilliantly constructed display. The blazing fast tempo on Taylor’s “A Live One” allows Candido to keep a more traditional tumbao while the rhythm section swings. Taylor displays the chops that established him on New York’s scene with a jaw-dropping series of amazing long lines. Candido and Taylor trade fours in an album highlight performance that spotlights two geniuses at work. Taylor and May solidify a short vamp over another mixture of bolero and swing on “Different Bells” before Taylor jumps into a moody melody. Taylor uses space to distinguish his solo, but Candido steals the show on another unaccompanied solo that pushes the band into a screaming double-time feel. Two more Taylor compositions, “Bit of Bedlam” and “Declivity,” find Candido working around the trio’s buoyant sense of swing. In both cases, the master conguero shows an amazing flexibility and a creative energy that propels the group into fantastic performances. The Billy Taylor Trio with Candido may not deliver the clave driven intensity of Cross Section’s Latin Jazz tracks, but that’s not the point; Taylor and Candido engage in a creative meeting here that sits at the crossroads of Latin and jazz.

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Taylor returned to Latin Jazz sporadically throughout his career, and a few more albums captured these efforts. He recorded as a sideman with saxophonist Joe Holiday, who often used Afro-Cuban percussion. Mambo Jazz, a great Holiday compilation features Taylor as well as many other musicians in an extensive set. On his 1993 GRP album It’s a Matter of Pride, Taylor included percussionist Ray Mantilla on several tracks, adding an authentic Latin flavor. All of the pieces are Taylor originals, showing his evolved sense of Latin Jazz on about half the tracks. Taylor hosted the weekly NPR series Jazz at Kennedy Center for over two decades, continually bringing guests artists onto the show to play with his trio and conduct interviews. While Taylor included a fair share of straight-ahead jazz artists, he made sure to regularly bring Latin Jazz artists onto the show. In several places throughout his career, Taylor proudly integrated Latin music into his jazz concept. He stands as a rare example of a straight-ahead jazz artist that can move between the two worlds without falling into novelty or jagged interpretations. Taylor shines as a musician that treated both genres with respect and integrity, and today, on his 88th birthday, we honor his Latin Jazz contributions.

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Check Out These Related Posts:
Latin Jazz Photo Album: Bobby Sanabria & The Manhattan School Of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra
Revisiting Latin Jazz Classics: At The Blackhawk, Mongo Santamaria
Revisiting Latin Jazz Classics: Sabu’s Jazz Espagnole, Sabu Martinez
Revisiting Latin Jazz Classics: Afro-Jaws, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis

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