GENERAL: Interview: Billy Taylor (Part 3)

By the time Billy Taylor was 29 years old, he had already had a lifetime of jazz experience. By the close of the 1940s, the pianist had played with Ben Webster, Dizzy Gillespie, Don Byas, Big Sid Catlett, Cozy Cole, Stuff Smith and many other jazz giants. He also had been mentored by Jo Jones and Art Tatum. Though his piano style would evolve in the early 1950s and beyond, Billy's technical prowess was already in place by 1947--and his attack on the keyboard was formidable, fluid and downright f...

Read full article Share article