Cecil Percival Taylor was an American pianist and poet.
Jimmy Lyons was an American alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. Lyons was the only constant member of the band from the mid-1960s until his death. Taylor never worked with another musician as frequently as he did with Lyons. Lyons' playing, influenced by Charlie Parker, kept Taylor's avant-garde music tethered to the jazz tradition.
Conquistador! is a 1968 studio album recorded in 1966 by free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, released by Blue Note Records.
Frank Wright was an American free jazz musician, known for his frantic style of playing the tenor saxophone. Critics often compare his music to that of Albert Ayler, although Wright "offers his honks and squawks with a phraseology derived from the slower, earthier funk of R&B and gospel music." According to AllMusic biographer Chris Kelsey, Wright "never recorded even a single record under his own name for a major label; he was 'underground' his entire career." In addition to tenor saxophone, Wright also played the soprano saxophone and bass clarinet.
Indent is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded in March 1973, originally released on Taylor's own Unit Core label and subsequently more widely released on the Arista Freedom label. It was the first solo piano performance released by Taylor but was recorded over four years after Praxis which saw limited release in 1982.
Akisakila is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded at Koseinenkin Dai-Hall, in Tokyo in May 1973 and originally released on the Japanese Trio label as a double LP. It features a performance by Taylor with Jimmy Lyons and Andrew Cyrille.
Spring of Two Blue-J's is a 1974 live album by Cecil Taylor, the second set of a "return concert" recorded at The Town Hall in New York City in November 1973. Originally released on Taylor's Unit Core label, bootlegged on European CDs, it was legitimately reissued for the first time in 2022 on global streaming platforms by its original producer, Fred Seibert's Oblivion Records. The LP features one side-long solo performance by Taylor and one side-long quartet performance with Jimmy Lyons, Sirone, and Andrew Cyrille.
Dark to Themselves is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded at the Ljubljana Jazz Festival, Yugoslavia, on June 18, 1976, and released on the Enja label. The album features Taylor on piano with alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, tenor saxophonist David S. Ware, trumpeter Raphe Malik, and drummer Marc Edwards. The original LP release presented the music in edited form, while the CD reissue contains the complete performance, restoring sections that were previously excised.
It is in the Brewing Luminous is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded at Fat Tuesdays, NYC, on February 8 & 9, 1980 and released on the Hat Hut label. The album features performances by Taylor with Jimmy Lyons, Ramsey Ameen, Alan Silva, Jerome Cooper and Sunny Murray. The album was originally released as a double LP then rereleased as a single CD.
Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants) is an album by Cecil Taylor recorded in Milan, Italy on October 22–24, 1984 and released on the Soul Note label. The album features performances by Taylor with Jimmy Lyons, Enrico Rava, Tomasz Stanko, Frank Wright, John Tchicai, Gunter Hampel, Karen Borca, Andre Martinez, William Parker and Rashid Bakr who are billed as The Orchestra of Two Continents.
For Olim is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded in Berlin, Germany on April 9, 1986 and released on the Soul Note label. The album features a solo concert performance by Taylor.
The Great Concert of Cecil Taylor is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded in St. Paul de Vence, Nice, on July 29, 1969, and released on the Prestige label in 1977 as a 3-LP set. The album was originally released as Nuits de la Fondation Maeght on the French Shandar label as a box set, consisting of three separate LPs in 1971. It features a performance by Taylor with Jimmy Lyons, Sam Rivers and Andrew Cyrille.
Nuba is an album by American jazz drummer Andrew Cyrille, vocalist Jeanne Lee, and saxophonist Jimmy Lyons recorded in 1979 for the Italian Black Saint label.
New Africa is an album by American trombonist Grachan Moncur III recorded in 1969 and released on the BYG Actuel label in the same year. It features alto saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, pianist Dave Burrell, bassist Alan Silva and drummer Andrew Cyrille. Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp performs on the final track.
Other Afternoons is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, recorded in 1969 and released in 1970 on the BYG label as part of their Actuel series. His first recording as leader, it features Lyons on alto saxophone along with trumpeter Lester Bowie, bassist Alan Silva, and drummer Andrew Cyrille.
Burnt Offering is a live album by American jazz saxophonist Jimmy Lyons and American jazz drummer Andrew Cyrille. It was recorded in May 1982 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and released by the Black Saint label in 1991.
Irène Schweizer & Andrew Cyrille is a live album by pianist Irène Schweizer and drummer Andrew Cyrille. It was recorded in September 1988 at the Jazz Festival Willisau, and was released by Intakt Records on LP in 1989, and on CD in 1996.
2 Blues for Cecil is an album by drummer Andrew Cyrille, bassist William Parker, and trumpeter Enrico Rava. It was recorded in February 2021 at Studios Ferber in Paris, France, and was released by TUM Records in January 2022. The album is a tribute to pianist Cecil Taylor, with whom all three musicians played; despite this, it does not feature a piano, and does not "attempt to reanimate or imitate Cecil Taylor's style of playing."
The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded at Town Hall in New York City on November 4, 1973, and released in digital format in 2022 by Oblivion Records. On the album, Taylor is joined by saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, bassist Sirone, and drummer Andrew Cyrille.
H.Con.Res.57/Treasure Box is a live, 4-CD album by multi-instrumentalist Alan Silva. It was recorded on May 24 and 27, 2001, at the Uncool Festival in Poschiavo, Switzerland, and was released in 2003 in limited quantities by Eremite Records. On the album, Silva is joined by a large ensemble known as the Celestrial Communication Orchestra. The performances marked the first occasion on which Silva's choice of musicians was completely unrestricted in terms of budget or geography.
