Cecil Taylor

• HIGH QUALITY COLORED VINYL

• COLLECTORS LIMITED EDITION

• 4 1/2 STARS ALL MUSIC GUIDE

The contents of this rather brief set feature trio selections with Cecil Taylor and bassist Buell Neidlinger, plus drummer Billy Higgins (one performance adds the young tenor Archie Shepp and has Dennis Charles in Higgins' place). The music is quite advanced for the period, although more accessible to the average listener than Taylor's later recordings; one can hear, even in abstract form, his connection to the bebop tradition and to Duke Ellington. Speaking of the latter, the most intriguing selection is a version of "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" that not only has Taylor, Neidlinger, Higgins, and Shepp but Steve Lacy on soprano, baritonist Charles Davis, trombonist Roswell Rudd, and trumpeter Clark Terry, making for a very interesting mixture of styles.

MUSICIANS:

• Cecil Taylor - piano
• Clark Terry - trumpet
• Roswell Rudd - trombone
• Archie Shepp - tenor sax
• Steve Lacy - soprano sax
• Charles Davis - baritone sax
• Buell Neidlinger - bass
• Billy Higgings or Dennis Charles - drums

New York, January 9 & 10, 1961

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. O.P.
• A2. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
• A3. I Forgot

• SIDE B
• B1. Cindy's Main Mood
• B2. Cell Walk For Celeste
• B3. Section C