Cecil Taylor Music

Although nothing here is as shocking as Albert Ayler's forays into structure/less jazz improvisation--nor as revolutionary as Ornette Coleman's hard-charging free-bop assault; Cecil Taylor introduces a comparatively difficult to manipulate instrument to free jazz; the piano. His fingers sound like they are that of a millipede on some of these tracks because I honestly cannot distinguish notes at times. Instead everything is clustered in spasmic leaps. The great part about this seeming indulgence, however, is that there is a well-studied classicism here. Strings pop up and fade away. Best of all, in true Blue Note fashion, it is a live recording with all of the great explosive energy of 60's freak out jazz. I would recommend this for progressive enthusiasts of any music who are looking for a change from brass-based free jazz, with a touch of classical, or even avant rock tendencies. That is not to say this CD is cosmic. Quite the opposite actually--this is rooted in the hard sounds of jazz and amidst all of its beauty, it is also menacing at times. Solid for sure. I would recommend Ornette Coleman's live at the Golden Circle or any of the Ayler 'Spirit' series if unrestrained energy is what you are looking for. If you prefer the mathematician approach of Thelonious Monk and wonder what he would have attempted if pumped full of endorphins and 60's counterculture; start with Unit Structures.

Cecil Taylor is one of those pianists that is so stubborn and consumed with himself that he just can't make good music much like when Coltrane went off the deep end, but only Taylor was hanging out in the deep end way before Coltrane got there. "Unit Structures" is another example of everything that is wrong with Cecil Taylor's music: non-musical, self-indulgent noise pollution.

There should be no misunderstanding - Cecil Taylor meant it when he called this album "Unit Structures". That these structures are experimental in nature does not make them less "structured". By respecting his audience, Taylor is not content with repeating old structures (12, 16, 32 bars). He experiments with different elements of structure - the structure of instrumentation, of the melodic development, of the dynamics. You will notice how on each piece the instrumental structure changes - piano and drums, a bass joins, the drums drop out and a second bass joins, etc. The two takes of "enter evening" prove that the musicians were provided with a basic melodic line which is the starting point and the point of departure for their collective experiments.
We should be thankful for artists such as Taylor who respect us enough to attempt to find something new for us, who believe that we deserve a broadening of the musical spectrum.
For the edventureous experiments, for the many beautiful moments, and for the communicative energies - this is a definite 5 star album worth having and listening to.

What a racket. Give this a miss. Like being dragged through a hedge backwards.

is this guy putting us on? all his albums sound the same and the reviews do as well-if your not hip enough or intellectual enough than you can't understand this deep moving experience. stick to music you enjoy, not what your supposed to "understand"-this music is for the few people recording it, not those who want music than can experience and feel something from.

A lurid beauty walking from hill to hill. Directions transcend the compass.

Either you will hear noise, or you will hear genius.

Either you will listen to this CD for, at most, three minutes, or you will listen to it at least once per year for the rest of your life -- and always find something new.

Either you will believe that a child with a hammer could play the piano better, or you will believe that, were Beethoven, Bartok, and Schoenberg somehow in the audience, they would be offering standing ovations at the finale.

Either way, you will not believe your ears.

Lighthearted family entertainment. A lesson from the animals. This was the claymation and very well done.

From start to finish, this movie, and the TV series by the same group of people begins with a lovely song that begins, "The wind in the willows sings softly to me, follow my voice wherever it leads." Truly the following movie/TV program sings with beauty. If you have ever seen a film of the work involved in this type of puppet film it is almost unbelievable that there are people who have that type of patience! Every detail is a wonder--the backgrounds, the animal's bodies and gestures, the gentle music, the lighting, the clever writing (the TV series is clever and true to the spirit of the book; the film is very true to the book).

This movie and the sets of TV programs are worth every penny. I CANNOT speak to the movie of A Tale of Two Toads as I haven't seen it. But the original puppet movie and the BBC series are what I have been speaking of.
They are a family treasure to enjoy for years, full of the values of friendship and kindness, and the folly of pride.

My Son who is 4 just LOVES these series of "The Wind in the Willows"... We have them all...

I bought this for Christmas for my family and we all fell in love with the Wind in the Willows series. They are entertaining whether you are four or ninety-four. I would recommend this to everyone!

The entire Wind in the Willows collection by Brian Cosgrove is a necessity of everyone's film collection. Children and adults will love the adventures and charm of the characters and settings. I bought the entire series for my family for Christmas, including the feature films and first and second series, and we all adore them. Truly a masterpiece.

I Love this movie to death! I have been trying to find somewhere to buy it in Australia but there has been no luck what so ever. If anyone has a copy please write back in the comments please.

Several people have commented on various versions of The Wind in the Willows, saying stuff like: "If this is the one I'm thinking of, it's really great." Well, this is actually the one. I know because I ordered it a week or so ago from this link, and now I have it.

This is the one that was made for British tv in 1983 and later generated a tv series, that has wonderful animation done by the Cosgrove Hall fellows, and that has the wonderful voices of Ian Carmichael, Richard Pearson, Michael Hordern, and David Jason as Ratty, Mole, Badger, and the irrepressible Mr. Toad.

Mostly though, this is the one that made my 21-year-old son and my 26-year-old daughter stop as they were wandering past during our screening. They hadn't seen it in fifteen years or so, but they both remembered it vividly. And they both asked, "Can't we watch it from the beginning?" So we did. The whole family.

This is also the one that richly deserves a DVD release. As it is, though, it's like a wonderful family heirloom that's been resting in that dimly-lit closet called "Remember."

I am 55 years old and still a kid at heart I guess. I find Wind in the Willows to be the most delightful, relaxing stories I have ever seen. If the entire TV series that I first saw on the Disney channel 15 years ago was available I guarantee I would buy it. As is, the ones that are available are excellant. Be sure to buy the claymation version (Sir Michael Horndern as Badger) and don't waste time with the typical animation. The music alone is worth the price of the vidioes. I only wish they would bring out he entire set on DVD. This is can't miss stuff.

I have read the book, seen the play and also various cartoon versions but nothing is as good as this version of this childrens classic. Suitable for children of any age, it tells the story clearly and in a manner that will inspire awe and requests for repeat viewings!

In a day and age when children's cartoons are full of violence, it is refreshing to see a children's movie that is peacefull, intelligent, and very enjoyable. This is one such film, and easily the best adaptation of the wind in the willows you will ever see. Not only is it completely loyal to Kenneth Graham's story, but the music is beautiful and the animation is absolutely fantastic. This is a must-have for imaginative kids of all ages. Enjoy!

Cecil Taylor is clearly one of the greatest piano players of the century in any genre. Having said that, he is not by any means easy to listen to: plenty of people dismiss it as pounding, Branford Marsalys (disapointingly!) called it "self indulgent BS" on Ken Burns' Jazz doc. But if you are interested in hearing the music on its own terms, and have even a slight appreciation of Shoenberg as well as Monk, Powell, and Ornette Coleman, you will HAVE to admit it is Virtuosic at an almost inhuman level.
Oh yea, "The World of"... Compared to some of the later stuff this is a walk in the park!! Really, Taylor is pretty "far out" on the keyboard, but Dennis and Beull stick with traditional jazz rythms behind, which makes this date (all the dates with this trio) invaluable. The music here is nothing less than astonishing!! You can still here echos of influences: Duke, Monk, certainly Powell. But then Taylor turns them all inside out and twists them into unimaginable patterns and quirky variations. He wild flights and disonant flurries are full of brilliant new concepts and would change jazz drastically and forever. This album is both far out and enjoyable. It is much more accesible than, say, his later trio and large band stuff. If you are at all interested in experienceing cecil (I dont see how you can be interested in Jaz piano and overlook him), I would recommend starting with Jazz Advance as an intro, then moving on to this, The World Of, as a second, and then trying ,Silent tongues, as a more daring initiation into his freest and more relenles and dissonant work. Get this and enjoy, it will open new worlds for you!

Cecil Taylor's work is characterized by hard-hitting, VERy fast piano playing that doesn't conform much to traditional jazz structures of melody or rhythm. It requires having approached jazz through some other course first to appreciate, which in a nutshell means that if you aren't into avant-garde jazz (Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp, etc.), this is going to sound like so much pounding on instruments. Even when he's doing standards ("This Nearly Was Mine" and "Lazy Afternoon" on this record) they don't fall into any traditional interpretation...they go WAY leftfield, and fans of the avant style wouldn't have it any other way.

If, however, you're a fan of smooth jazz or even just traditional jazz (Coltrane, Miles, etc.) this record - nay, MOST of Taylor's records - will drive you out the room. Listen to a friend's first and see if you're into it. This is NOT an impulse purchase.