BILLY TAYLOR

1. 'Round Midnight
2. Line For Lyons
3. Just the Thought of You
4. Rico Apollo ( composer not player)

July-Novermber 1992

 LINER NOTES

I am ever impressed by jazz musicians who interpret their colleagues' compositions. There are the jazz pianists who compose their way to the top of the pop pantheon like Hoagy Carmichael and Harold Arlen. And there are the players for whom composing is a means of self-expression, an extension of their art, such as Thelonious Monk, Ray Bryant and Oscar Peterson. Then there is triple-threat Billy Strayhorn: player, composer, arranger, each of equal importance. Not coincidentally, all of the aforementioned are included in this collection, reconceived by a master.

"It's always a challenge to reharmonize the melody, " Dr. Taylor said recently of the 1942 movie hit song I'll Remember April (from Ride 'em Cowboy with Abbott and Costello). The tune, via frequent and varied interpretations, has entered the jazz repertoire evolving into a Latin-cum-4/4 tempo. Taylor alters the chords giving the half-century old standard a feeling of first hearing. The regular Taylor Trio rhythm section of Victor Gaskin, bass, and Bobby Thomas, drums, sets its mark from the outset.

Broadway's The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd (1965) asked the musical question Who Can I Turn To? Originally an a-tempo, dramatic ballad, Billy offers a more swinging version while losing none of the song's intent.

Monk's 'Round Midnight has attained the status of "standard," moving out of the jazz repertoire to assume a larger role. Mulligan first recorded the tune with the composer in a now-classic collection almost four decades ago. Here it attains a wistful, yet flowing feeling. Mulligan stays aboard for his own classic Line For Lyons, written for then-deejay Jimmy Lyons.

Bryant's Cubano Chant is one of those pieces that is best interpreted by pianists. "I think this is the first time I have recorded the tune," Billy confessed. "That was not intentional; I just never got around to it. " It is one of those "musicians "' things, full of classic blues harmonies, almost more of what you leave out than what you put in. The glue is the subtle, almost implied African-Cuban rhythmic patterns by Thomas. While Bryant's own versions have epitomized funk, soul and the church, Taylor's just quietly swings.

Where Cubano Chant is the essence of butt-gut feeling, Lush Life is among the more complicated through-composed pieces of music in any repertoire. Vocally, few possess the chops to do it justice. Instrumentally, it's usually done straight ahead: verse, refrain, perhaps a cadenza. Billy, in effect, recomposes the tune with improvised choruses, but he never plays an out chorus. Gaskin's opening arco melody statement underscores the luscious harmonies. Laurentide Waltz, from Peterson's Canadiana Suite, is rarely played by anyone other than himself. A daunting challenge for some, but not for Billy.

Dr. T's own You're Mine and Just The Thought Of You are a couple of tunes Billy likes to play with regularity, especially the latter. "I wrote it for my daughter, Kim. It allows me to take my family on the road with me." Mulligan is on tap to share the thought. An interesting closer is Mulligan's Rico Apollo, sans the composer. It's a light hearted Latin swinger which leaves the listener leaning... like an unresolved chord ... like, there will be more from GRP and Dr. T.

arnold jay smith
Novemer, 1992

1. Show Me
2. The Rain In Spain
3. I Could Have Danced All Night
4. Get me To The Church On Time

February 5, 1957

 LINER NOTES

- Alan Jay Lerner

From The CD The musical My Fair Lady, adapted from George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, opened in New York City at the Mark Hellinger Theater on March 15, 1956. It finally closed on September 29, 1962: after racking up 2,717 performances. Its box office gross of more than 20 million dollars far surpassed the sums accumulated by Life With Father (3,224 performances) and Tobacco Road (3,182 performances).

Broadway's Fair Lady was not only one of the greatest musicals of theatrical history, but it remains as one of the most outstanding musical experiences in our generation. Several road companies of My Fair Lady are still touring America and now, at last. in 1964, the newly released motion picture version will grab the hearts of our country all over again. This original and entertaining musical hit, one of the few to ever receive unanimous acclaim from the New York critics (all 21 of them), is destined to be a vital part of our culture for a long time to come.

It is therefore fitting that pianist Billy Taylor's and orchestrator Quincy Jones' superb jazz interpretation of the My Fair Lady score again be made available. These story-built songs, with music written by Frederick Loewe in a room at the Algonquin Hotel and the tender lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner, are as familiar to musically aware Americans as the words and music of "I've Been Working on the Railroad." The Taylor-Jones adaption does not change the melodic content, but enhances it with exciting excursions into jazz improvisations inspired by the original ideas of Loewe and Lerner.

This set. My Fair Lady Loves Jazz, was recorded in February 1957, and was introduced at an all-cast party celebrating the show's first year on Broadway. Everyone liked it and praised both Taylor and Jones for their conceptions.

It is well to point out at this time that the Billy Taylor Trio of 1957, made up of bassist Earl May and drummer Ed Thigpen, was one of the finest small groups in jazz - each member was a consummate artist on his instrument and they worked wonderfully together as a cohesive unit. Pianist Taylor wrote some years later, "There was never a night with them (May and Thigpen) that I didn't feel like playing. Not all good musicians feel like giving fine performances, you know. But with Thigpen and May there was always some spark. If one of us didn't have it, another did, and we could always feel each other. They are part of the most memorable years of my career."

Quincy Jones selected a medium-sized ensemble of top instrumentalists to achieve a variety of tonal colors and unexpected voicings in his arrangements. There are short solos by the members of the ensembles, but, most of the emphasis is on Taylor's piano.

The arranger's intention was to retain the character of the score while making use of various elements of the jazz language. With the fine musicianship available, collectively and individually, and intelligent writing, Jones has succeeded in presenting an imaginative album that should please all the numerous fans of My Fair Lady.

Show Me - This song was performed in the show by Miss Julie Andrews (Eliza Doolittle). Here Billy Taylor's expressive piano-playing; using crisp, clearly defined phrases accompanied by light brush-work by Thigpen, is predominant. The opening and closing ensembles feature Ernie Royal's trumpet and a bongo beat furnished by Don Elliott.

The Rain in Spain - A tantalizing melody that was performed by Andrews, Harrison, and Robert Coote. Taylor's piano and the ensemble are here supported by a rhythm trio made up of Casamenti's guitar, Elliott's bongos, and Thigpen's drums. Short statements by Gerry Mulligan on baritone saxophone and Ernie Royal on trumpet are heard.

Get Me To The Church On Time - A tune that was humorously sung by Holloway. Here it opens and closes with a dirge-like organ sound from Jimmy Buffingtorfs French horn. In between there is a lively series of solos from Taylor, Jimmy Cleveland on trombone, and Ortega again playing alto.

I Could Have Danced All Night - Another featured number by Julie Andrews; recordings of this tune made the best seller charts shortly after the original production opened. Taylor's rewarding piano is effectively backed by the ensemble choir most of the way through the performance on this melody noted for its simplicity.

George Hoefer - 1964

Originally issued as ABC-Paramount ABC 177 and later reissued as Impulse AS 72

1. Stompin At The Savoy
2. Just You, Just Me
3. Darn That Dream
4. All The Things You Are
5. Laura
6. Line For Lyons
7. Body and Soul
8. Indian (Back home again in)
9. Come Sunday
10. Capricious

October 1-3, 1993

 LINER NOTES

Dr. Taylor played for the Grand Opening of the MCG Music Hall in 1987 and has presented a colorful palette of programs at MCG over the past 20 years. This recording represents one of those very special moments from 1993. Billy Taylor and Gerry Mulligan were the best of friends on and off the bandstand - which can genuinely be heard throughout this entire performance. You will hear them finishing each others phases and laughing at each other's musical jokes. Their duet on "All The Things You Are" is a glowing example of their shared musical heritage and life-long bond.

During the concert weekend we also taped the pilot program for what became "Billy Taylor's Jazz from the Kennedy Center." That NPR series went on to become one of the most successful national radio series of all time. We are proud to be able to share the music of these two masters with you.

Marty Ashby