Billy Taylor has been such an articulate spokesman for jazz, and his profiles on CBS' Sunday Morning television program (where he has been a regular since 1981) are so successful at introducing jazz to a wider audience, that sometimes one can forget how talented a pianist he has been for the past half-century. While not an innovator, Taylor has... [+] Read More

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Bobby Timmons became so famous for the gospel and funky blues clichés in his solos and compositions that his skills as a Bud Powell-inspired bebop player have been long forgotten. After emerging from the Philadelphia jazz scene, Timmons worked with Kenny Dorham (1956), Chet Baker, Sonny Stitt, and the Maynard Ferguson Big Band. He was partly... [+] Read More

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The most important jazz musicians are the ones who are successful in creating their own original world of music with its own rules, logic, and surprises. Thelonious Monk, who was criticized by observers who failed to listen to his music on its own terms, suffered through a decade of neglect before he was suddenly acclaimed as a genius; his music... [+] Read More

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