1961 · Album
New York City R&B
Recorded 1961 · Not specified in provided Wikipedia data · Produced by Not specified in provided Wikipedia data
Taylor emerges from the abstract depths
Advanced music that still recalls bebop and Ellington, more open than what came after.
New York City R&B arrived in 1961 at a strange moment in Cecil Taylor's early career — not quite the fully formed avant-gardist he would become, but already far removed from straight bebop. The album originally documented a session led by bassist Buell Neidlinger, then was reissued under Taylor's name alongside Neidlinger's, which says something about how the music occupied uncertain territory at the time. It belongs to that early stretch when Taylor was learning to build his own language, working toward the piano technique and harmonic density that would define him later.
What makes this record worth hearing is exactly what AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow identified: it's accessible without being timid. The music is complex and exploratory, but you can still trace the threads back to bebop phrasing and to Duke Ellington's harmonic world, even when Taylor is taking both of those traditions apart. For someone curious about how avant-garde jazz developed, this is clearer than some of his later work — you see the thinking underneath, rather than having it buried in density. Yanow's assessment earned the album 4.5 stars, which reflects something genuine: this is serious, interesting music that doesn't require an initiation ritual to engage with it.
If you're starting with Taylor, this isn't the first place most people land, and that's fine. But if you've heard his more abstract late-period recordings and wondered where they came from, New York City R&B shows the bridge. It's early enough in his journey that you can still hear what he's arguing with, late enough that you can tell he's arguing.
Who's playing
Buell Neidlingerbass
Cecil Taylorpiano
Archie Shepptenor saxophone
Charles Davisbaritone saxophone
Steve Laceysoprano saxophone
Steve Lacysoprano saxophone
Clark Terrytrumpet
Roswell Ruddtrombone
Denis Charlesdrums
Billy Higginstimpani
Where next?
More by Cecil Taylor
All 77 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
