Art Taylor

[Milestones]

I'm looking for some responses to the work of Art Taylor.  He was extremely active during jazz's greatest period (in my view), and I guess he was the house drummer at Prestige.  He was found on many jam sessions, and he was almost certainly the most frequent drummer for Coltrane's Prestige sessions.  Of course, we can't forget he was on Giant Steps, with very fine work there--including the memorable opening to "Countdown."

Art Taylor moved to Europe in 1963 and stayed for decades, pretty much not recording--not even for Steeplechase.

Not as distinctive as Max Roach, Art Blakey, Elvin, or Philly Joe--Art nonetheless added immeasurably to all of his session.  He was a vital figure in a vital period.

This is a playlist I created that shows his range of work with Trane:

• Cousin Mary
• Bahia
• Trane's Slow Blues
• Blue Calypso
• You Say You Care
• Velvet Scene 
• Goldsboro Express
• Dial Africa
• Countdown
• Spiral
• Slow Dance
• Cat Walk
• Good Bait
• Traneing In

[Dub Modal]

A couple of post-Prestige live dates I have where he's the drummer are Dexter's The Squirrel ('67) and Johnny Griffin's Live in Tokyo ('76). I enjoy his drumming on both. 

[Rooster_Ties]

I’ve always found him delightful.

[JSngry]

Easy enough to take for granted when he was everywhere. Now that he's not....not nearly so easy.

[jlhoots]

Read Notes & Tones. Listen to Taylor's Tenors for starters.

Edited February 25, 2022 by jlhoots

[JSngry]

53 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

Read Notes & Tones.

This.

[Milestones]

I've delved into the book quite a bit.  It is often quite interesting.  On the down side, it's aggravating that he asks the same questions of everyone--and some of those questions are quite dated.

 

[JSngry]

That was the basic premise, wasn't it? To ask a fixed set of questions so different responses could be contrast-and-compared?

Maybe I'm misremembering that, though?

[Mark Stryker]

1994 oral history interview with Art Taylor.

 

 

[danasgoodstuff]

His playing is always at least competent, and often quite wonderful.  I found Notes & Tones annoying.

[Mark Stryker]

31 minutes ago, danasgoodstuff said:

His playing is always at least competent, and often quite wonderful.  I found Notes & Tones annoying.

Well, fwiw, I think "Notes and Tones" is one of the most important books ever published about jazz. 

Edited February 25, 2022 by Mark Stryker

[Shrdlu]

Arthur was great. And that interview, mentioned above, is excellent.

He was fine on the Trane Prestige sessions (and most with the Red Garland trio), but one reason why Philly Joe wasn't on them was that he and Prestige's Bob Weinstock didn't get on. Apart from the Miles sessions, Philly Joe isn't on many Prestige sessions. Orrin Keepnews and Alfred Lion liked to use him.

[JSngry]

36 minutes ago, Mark Stryker said:

Well, fwiw, I think "Notes and Tones" is one of the most important books ever published about jazz. 

Same.

[jlhoots]

1 hour ago, Milestones said:

I've delved into the book quite a bit.  It is often quite interesting.  On the down side, it's aggravating that he asks the same questions of everyone--and some of those questions are quite dated.

 

Published 1977. Dated??

[JSngry]

It was out in Europe for a while before it got published in America. Go figure that, eh?

[mhatta]

I always think it's a shame that Art Taylor didn't live a few more years longer, because the last band he led, the revived Wailers, was a very good young development band. Like the Messengers, I think there is always a need for a band like that to pass the torch. In that sense, Tony Williams also died too early.

 

[JSngry]

Bands vs Projects... 

[Late]

3 hours ago, Shrdlu said:

... one reason why Philly Joe wasn't on them was that he and Prestige's Bob Weinstock didn't get on.

I've heard this before, but I've never read it anywhere. Is this common wisdom, or is there a specific reference to a scene/exchange between Jones and Weinstock?

For me, Taylor reached another level with Giant Steps.

[Milestones]

Yep, Art Taylor is outstanding on the landmark Coltrane album.  

Also, it is interesting to hear him (a few times) in a trio with Trane, such as: "Trane's Slow Blues" and "Goldsboro Express."

 

[Gheorghe]

I saw Art Taylor in 1985 with Tommy Flanagan and George Mraz, really an all star trio. 

The strange thing was, that Flanagan and Mraz started and there was no Taylor. 
He came on stage late, in the middle of a tune played by Flanagan and Mraz, and slowly started to settle his drum set, and while doing that, he slowly began to play with them, first only the hi hat, while continuing to get his traps fixed, and at least we had the complete Art Taylor. I don´t know what was the cause, did they travel with different airoplanes, or was it a worse reason ? 

His book Notes and Tones is wonderful, I bought it in 1982. He was such a Bird and Bud lover that he asked all the artists he interviewed about their impression of Bird and Bud. 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

9 hours ago, mhatta said:

I always think it's a shame that Art Taylor didn't live a few more years longer, because the last band he led, the revived Wailers, was a very good young development band. Like the Messengers, I think there is always a need for a band like that to pass the torch. In that sense, Tony Williams also died too early.

 

I saw his last iteration of the Wailers at the Regattabar in Cambridge, MA and it was an incredible night. To be honest, I really liked that front line and I was hoping that they would carry on the name. Taylor was not the star of that band that night.

[Dan Gould]

Definitely a fan here.

One of the things Phil Schaap mentioned had me salivating: Art brought back the wailers as an organ group, with Percy France in the front line. He said the group didn't last long but the shows were corkers.

[Peter Friedman]

Art Taylor only made a few albums as leader. These three are all very good, in my opinion.

[sidewinder]

‘A T’s Delight’ is a real sleeper in the Blue Note catalogue. Cracking version of ‘Syeeda’s Song Flute’.

[Rooster_Ties]

1 hour ago, sidewinder said:

‘A T’s Delight’ is a real sleeper in the Blue Note catalogue. Cracking version of ‘Syeeda’s Song Flute’.

…and the version of Denzil Best’s  “Move” — a ‘Birth of the Cool’ track (at least how my brain organizes things) — is also a real standout.