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.
Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come is an album by the Cecil Taylor Unit, recorded live at the Café Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 23, 1962. This concert is nearly all he recorded from 1962 to 1966.
Conquistador! is a 1968 studio album recorded in 1966 by free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, released by Blue Note Records.
The Jazz Composer's Orchestra is a 1968 album by the Jazz Composer's Orchestra recorded over a period of six months with Michael Mantler as composer, leader and producer. Many of the key figures in avant-garde jazz from the time contributed on the album including Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders, Gato Barbieri, Larry Coryell, Roswell Rudd, and Carla Bley. The album's finale features a two-part concerto for Cecil Taylor and orchestra.
Thelonious Sphere Monk: Dreaming of the Masters Series Vol. 2 is an album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Cecil Taylor released on the Japanese DIW label. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors Maghostut and Don Moye with Cecil Taylor guesting on piano, vocals and percussion.
Into the Hot is an album released under the auspices of Gil Evans featuring a large ensemble under the direction of John Carisi and the Cecil Taylor Unit. The album was released on the Impulse! label in 1962.
Student Studies is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded in November 1966 and released on the Japanese BYG label as an untitled 2-LP set in 1973. It features a performance by Taylor with Jimmy Lyons, Alan Silva and Andrew Cyrille. The album was first released on CD by the Affinity label as Student Studies, later rereleased on the Black Lion label as The Great Paris Concert, and then reissued a third time as Student Studies by Fuel 2000. None of the three CD issues use the original LP cover artwork.
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.
One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded in Stuttgart, Germany, on June 14, 1978 and released on the Hat Hut label. The album features performances by Taylor with Raphe Malik, Jimmy Lyons, Ramsey Ameen, Sirone and Ronald Shannon Jackson. The album was originally released as a triple LP featuring the Cecil Taylor Unit performances then rereleased as a double CD with duets by Lyons & Malik and Ameen & Sirone and a solo by Shannon Jackson added and the titles changed to the performers for each track.
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.
Yale Concert is an album by Duke Ellington, recorded at Woolsey Hall, Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut in 1968 and released on the Fantasy label in 1973.
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.
Riffs is a live album by American saxophonist Jimmy Lyons. It was recorded on September 13–14, 1980 at Le Dreher, a jazz club in Paris, and was released in 1982 on the hat MUSICS label. The album features Lyons on alto saxophone, Karen Borca on bassoon, Jay Oliver on bass, and Paul Murphy on drums.
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.
Something in Return is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jimmy Lyons and American jazz drummer Andrew Cyrille. It was recorded in February 1981 at Soundscape, New York City, and released by the Black Saint label in 1988.
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