Jazz Advance

Jazz Advance
Studio album by Cecil Taylor
Released	1957
Recorded	September 14, 1956, Boston
Genre	Jazz
Label	Transition
Producer	Tom Wilson
Cecil Taylor chronology
Jazz Advance (1957) At Newport (1958)

Jazz Advance is the debut album by pianist Cecil Taylor, recorded for the Transition label in September 1956. The album features performances by Taylor with Buell Neidlinger, Denis Charles and Steve Lacy.

Music

The album contains three Taylor originals, three standards, and one standard-to-be, Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing," first recorded only four years before Taylor's version. This track is played "cryptically and succinctly, the lines breaking up into jagged fragments and jutting chords." "Charge 'Em Blues" is in 4/4 time. The chords and light treble playing towards the beginning of "Azure" are similar to the sound of Abdullah Ibrahim, but then "the cross-rhythmic improvised piano patterns clattering chords typical of later Taylor emerge."^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected the album as part of its suggested "Core Collection," stating "Taylor's first record remains one of the most extraordinary debuts in jazz, and for 1956 it's an incredible effort."^[3] The AllMusic review by Michael G. Nastos states "Though many did not understand his approach at the time, the passing years temper scathing criticism, and you can easily appreciate what he is accomplishing... With Jazz Advance, the revolution commenced, Taylor was setting the pace, and the improvised music world has never been the same. For challenged listeners, this CD has to be high on your must-have list."^[5] The album was identified by Chris Kelsey in his AllMusic essay "Free Jazz: A Subjective History" as one of the 20 Essential Free Jazz Albums.^[6]

Track listing

All compositions by Cecil Taylor except as indicated

1. "Bemsha Swing" (Denzil Best, Thelonious Monk) – 7:29
2. "Charge 'Em Blues" – 11:07
3. "Azure" (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) – 7:29
4. "Song" – 5:21
5. "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" (Cole Porter) – 9:18
6. "Rick Kick Shaw" – 6:06
7. "Sweet and Lovely" (Gus Arnheim, Jules LeMare, Harry Tobias) – 6:36

Recorded in Boston on September 14, 1956

Personnel

• Cecil Taylor – piano
• Buell Neidlinger – bass
• Denis Charles – drums
• Steve Lacy – soprano saxophone (tracks 2 & 4)

References

1. Fordham, John (July 11, 2008) "Cecil Taylor, Jazz Advance" The Guardian.
2. AllMusic Review
3. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. pp. 1379–80. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
4. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 692–693.
5. Nastos, M. G. AllMusic Review accessed July 9, 2009.
6. Kelsey, Chris. "Free Jazz: A Subjective History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 7, 2010. Retrieved May 15, 2020.