Song:Body And Soul
Album:Music Keeps Us Young
Billy Taylor's legacy as a broadcaster and educator probably overshadows his considerable piano skills. But Taylor's success in bringing jazz to the masses was very important. He was born July 24, 1921 in Greenville, NC but he grew up in Washington, DC. He took piano lessons as a child and after attending Virginia State College, he moved to New York in 1944. While in Ben Webster's band, he met Art Tatum who became his mentor. He backed up Billie Holiday on Broadway and he played with everyone when he was the house pianist at Birdland. In 1963, Taylor wrote I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free. This became a civil rights anthem when Nina Simone recorded it in 1967. It is probably his best known song. In the 50s, Taylor recorded for Prestige and ABC-Paramount. And he was the musical director for the NBC series The Subject Is Jazz. After that, he worked a lot on TV and radio. He also started The Jazzmobile in New York. He was a DJ at WLIB. And he led the band on The David Frost Show from 1969-72. Taylor won a Peabody Award for a 1981 National Public Radio special. And CBS News Sunday Morning hired him as an on air correspondent. He conducted over 250 interviews and he won an Emmy for his segment about Quincy Jones. Through all that, Taylor recorded albums for many labels including his own Taylor-Made label. This recording of Body And Soul is from Taylor's 1997 album Music Keeps Us Young on Arkadia Jazz. The musicians are veteran sidemen Chip Jackson on bass and Steve Johns on drums. Jackson worked with Woody Herman and Chuck Mangione. Johns worked with guitarist Michael Musillami and George Russell. Despite a 2002 stroke, Taylor continued to perform until he died of a heart attack on Dec. 28, 2010 at age 89. In a 2007 Post Magazine interview, Taylor said "There's no question that being an advocate eclipsed my reputation as a musician. I wanted to prove that jazz has an audience". That says it all. Here's Billy Taylor with Chip Jackson on bass and Winard Harper on drums performing Body And Soul at the Manchester Craftsman's Guild in Pittsburgh Mar. 2, 2000.
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