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 C...