Taylor, Arthur S., Jr.) (New York, 6 April 1929)
Drummer
He played in a church in Harlem with
Sonny Rollins and Jackie McLean and worked with Howard McGhee in 1948. He
performed and recorded with Coleman Hawkins (1950-51), Buddy DeFranco (1952), Bud Powell (1952-4 and at intervals to the
mid-1960s), Art Farmer (1954-5, recording in 1955), George Wallington (1954-6),
and Miles Davis (1955-7, recording in 1955 and 1956). In New York he led the
group Taylor's Wailers at The Pad, a club in Greenwich Village, until 1956; he
also made several trips to Europe, the first of which was with Donald Byrd and
Bobby Jaspar (1958), and played with Thelonious Monk (1959). While living in France
(from 1963) and Belgium
(from 1970) he played frequently with Johnny Griffin and toured the USA.
A collection of his interviews with other jazz musicians was published as Notes
and Tones: Musician-to-musician Interviews (Liège,
Belgium, 1977) and after returning to New York
in 1984 he was the host of an interview program on radio station WKCR. Taylor
recorded prolifically (especially in the late 1950s) and may be heard on nearly
300 recordings, including John Coltrane's Giant Steps (1959), the title track
of which well illustrates Taylor's bop style.
Selected Recordings (recorded for Prestige unless otherwise
indicated)
As leader: Taylor's
Wailers (1957, 7117); A. T.'s Delight (1960, Blue
Note 4047)
As sideman with J. Coltrane: Dakar
(1957, 7280); Soultrane (1958, 7142); Black Pearls
(1958, 7316); Giant Steps (1959, Atlantic 1311)
As sideman with others: M. Waldron: Mal 2 (1957,
7111); R. Garland: Soul Junction (1957, 7181); Dig it (1957-8, 7229); G. Ammons: Groove Blues (1958, 7201); D. Gordon: A Day in Copenhagen
(1969, MPS 15230)
Bibliography
I. Gitler: "Art
Taylor," Down Beat, xxvii/21 (1960), 23
M. Gibson: "Art Taylor," Jazz Journal, xv/3
(1962), 17
N. Hentoff: "Soundings:
Art Taylor,"Jazz & Pop, ix/8 (1970), 9
V. Wilmer: "Taylor's
New Tricks," Melody Maker (18
April 1970), 8
S. Crouch: "Drumming up a Book," Village
Voice, xxvii (19 Oct 1982),
36
Jeff Potter
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, © Macmillan Reference Ltd
1988