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| Piano Month on MPS Records (2nd Part): Cecil Taylor and Eugen Cicero 2nd part of our piano month records on MPS will be released next Friday. Check them out: Cecil Taylor - Live In The Black Forest A leader in the revolution that overtook jazz in the late 50's and early 60's, pianist Cecil Taylor's 'Unit' groups reflect the move towards total ensemble Play. The concept of soloist and accompanist is abolished; instead, the improvisations consist of a continual interchange of ideas between players. Alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons played with Taylor from 1961 until Lyon's death in 1986. Heavily influenced by Charlie Parker, his lyrical style helped tie Taylor's style to more traditional jazz roots. Trumpeter Ralphe Malik worked with Taylor throughout the 70's on into the 80's. "A superb, incendiary performer", Malik also recorded a series of critically acclaimed albums of his own. Drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson and bassist Sirone are the only musicians to have performed and recorded with the three prime shapers of free jazz, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, and Albert Ayler. Cecil Taylor - Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! In the late 1950's and early 60's pianist Cecil Taylor along with saxophonists Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane blazed revolutionary paths through the jazz landscape that forever transformed our perception of the music. Journalist Val Wilmer described Taylor's play as "88 tuned drums", and the Guardian called him an "…Art Tatum with contemporary-classical leanings". For those who think Cecil Taylor's music too 'far out' or who have never experienced his play, this 1980 MPS solo recording will turn your heads and change your minds! The German jazz guru Joachim Ernst Berendt enthused about the recording, "You will hear it all: blues licks and bop phrases…Tatum runs and Bud Powell…even a Boogie-woogie…" he states that, "Taylor is a master of form. Eugen Cicero - Balkan Rhapsody Romanian Eugen Cicero performed his first piano concert with a symphony orchestra at the age of six. His first SABA/MPS album, Rokoko Jazz sold over a million copies. Known for his rhapsodic style, Cicero was acknowledged as an "all-around entertainer, someone who gives a damn about stylistic borders and takes whatever is useful, from Bach to Cole Porter". Cicero's pristine technique and ability to meld the stringent demands of classical with the exploratory improvisation of jazz assured him a large international audience, as attested by this, his seventh MPS album. Austrian Hans Rettenbacher was known among musicians as a consummate bassist. He worked in Europe with the likes of Eric Dolphy, Don Ellis, and Friedrich Gulda. MPS's unofficial 'house drummer' Swiss drummer Charly Antolini worked often with Cicero, and is well-known for his own band. The two fit hand-in-glove with Cicero's free-wheeling style. MPS Records New Digital Releases Digital Mastered for iTunes Distribution: Edel:Kultur/ Kontor New Media - Mastered for iTunes - 24-bit-Transfer from original master tapes - produced by Dirk Sommer write your comments about the article :: © 2016 Jazz News :: home page |