Cecil Taylor was an American pianist described in the Washington Post as "the eternal outer curve of the avant-garde" whose distinctive approach to music, which drew on jazz, crossover classical and African influences, divided critics, audiences and fellow musicians. He stood, the newspaper said, as the "daring personification of free jazz".

Born in New York he learned to play the piano as a child and later studied at the New York College of Music and the New England Conservatory. He formed a quartet in 1955 with Steve Lacy on saxophone, Buell Neidlinger on bass and Dennis Charles on drums. He collaborated with other artists such as John Coltrane and Max Roach, performed as a soloist often weaving in his own poetry. He also taught at major universities. He released some 75 albums over his lifetime up to 'The Last Dance' in 2009. He played at fellow jazz innovator Ornette Coleman's funeral in 2015 and as part of an exhibition and residency he performed at the Whitney Museum of Art in New York in 2016. He died aged 89 on April 5th 2018. Upon his death BMI said that he "played with a raw energy so intensely precise it was unmatched in any genre" and having studied classical music and honed his touch with a deep devotion to jazz, "used both skills to expertly explore the full range of the keyboard with fluidity and fury".

Cecil Taylor

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