Arthur S. Taylor Jr. (April 6, 1929 – February 6, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, who "helped define the sound of modern jazz drumming".

Early life

Born in New York, United States, Taylor grew up in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem. He was often nicknamed A.T. or Mr. Cool with those who knew him well.

Career

As a teenager, Taylor first decided that he wanted to become a musician after hearing Sid Catlett play at a jam session at the current site of the Lincoln Center. After playing in the bands of Howard McGhee (1948), Coleman Hawkins (1950–51), Buddy DeFranco (1952), Bud Powell (1953–58; 1961; 1964), George Wallington and Art Farmer (1954), Wallington again (1954–55), Gigi Gryce and Donald Byrd (1956), he formed his own group, Taylor's Wailers. Between 1957 and 1963, he toured with Donald Byrd, recorded with Miles Davis, Gene Ammons and John Coltrane, and performed with Thelonious Monk; Taylor also was a member of the original Kenny Dorham Quartet of 1957. with musicians Donald Byrd (trumpeter), Jackie McLean (altoist), Charlie Rouse (tenor), Ray Bryant (pianist), and Wendel Marshall (bassist). Their album featured modern hard bop and multiple swinging sessions. Two notable tracks, "Well, You Needn't" and "Off Minor", are compositions of Thelonious Monk. Other tracks include "C.T.A" which featured artists such as John Coltrane, Red Garland and Paul Chambers. Having worked for fellow expatriate Powell throughout the 1950s, Taylor once again recorded with him in 1964 for the album The Invisible Cage, at Paris' Studio Acousti. This was, for many musicians, a ground-breaking work, because it presented the interviewees' perspectives on the wider social, political, and economic forces in which they operated – topics normally not mentioned in mainstream coverage of jazz musicians. Additionally, Taylor shares that his book had helped him put him on the "right track". Since writing his book, people assumed that he could not play well anymore, which only reignited the fire in himself to play better than he ever had in his life.

In 1995 Taylor's last recording session was with Jimmy Smith on the album Damn! which was dedicated in his memory.

Style and influences

Taylor was originally influenced by American drummer J. C. Heard, who had "solidified his vision in becoming a drummer".

While Kenny Clarke is regarded as one of the larger influences from his time in France, Taylor noted that Art Blakey and Max Roach were his most important influences on his personal style of jazz. He expresses his admiration for the technique and control of Roach's playing, the finesse of Philly Joe and the Power of Blakey. “I took something from all those people. I know I have, because when I hear a drummer play something I like, I learn to play. After playing it for a long time, it isn't like something you stole from somebody else. It becomes almost your own, because you sure can't play it like anybody else did... ". pieces performed live included "Moose the Mooche", "Cheryl", "Budo", and "Un Poco Loco" featuring Taylor as the drummer. He can also be heard in John Coltrane’s album Giant Steps and Miles Davis's Miles Ahead, expanding his horizon as a collaborative artist.

Taylor mentions a few students he took under his wing, from places such as Germany, Australia, and Japan, and would come into the United States once a year and take multiple lessons.

With Dexter Gordon

  • One Flight Up (Blue Note, 1964)
  • The Squirrel (Blue Note, 1967 [1997])
  • A Day in Copenhagen (MPS, 1969) – with Slide Hampton

With Dizzy Reece

  • Blues in Trinity (Blue Note, 1958)

With Donald Byrd

  • 2 Trumpets (Prestige, 1956) – with Art Farmer
  • Jazz Eyes (Regent, 1957) – with John Jenkins
  • Off to the Races (Blue Note, 1958)
  • Byrd in Hand (Blue Note, 1959)

With Dorothy Ashby

  • In a Minor Groove (New Jazz, 1958)
  • Hip Harp (Prestige, 1958)

With Duke Jordan

  • Flight to Jordan (Blue Note, 1960)

With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis

  • Goin' to the Meeting (Prestige, 1962)

With Elmo Hope and Frank Foster

  • Hope Meets Foster (Prestige, 1955)

With Ernie Henry

  • Presenting Ernie Henry (Riverside, 1956)

With Gene Ammons

  • The Happy Blues (Prestige, 1956)
  • Jammin' with Gene (Prestige, 1956)
  • Funky (Prestige, 1957)
  • Jammin' in Hi Fi with Gene Ammons (Prestige, 1957)
  • The Big Sound (Prestige, 1958)
  • Groove Blues (Prestige, 1958)
  • Blue Gene (Prestige, 1958)
  • Boss Tenor (Prestige, 1960)
  • Velvet Soul (Prestige, 1960 [1964])
  • Angel Eyes (Prestige, 1960 [1965])
  • Up Tight! (Prestige, 1961)
  • Boss Soul! (Prestige, 1961)

With Gigi Gryce

  • Jazz Lab (Columbia, 1957) – with Donald Byrd
  • Gigi Gryce and the Jazz Lab Quintet (Riverside, 1957)
  • Modern Jazz Perspective (Columbia, 1957) – with Donald Byrd
  • New Formulas from the Jazz Lab (RCA Victor, 1957) with Donald Byrd
  • Jazz Lab (Jubilee, 1958) with Donald Byrd
  • Doin' the Gigi (Uptown, 2011)

With Hampton Hawes

  • Spanish Steps (Black Lion, 1968)

With Horace Silver

  • Silver's Blue (Columbia, 1956)

With Idrees Sulieman, Webster Young, John Coltrane, and Bobby Jaspar

  • Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors (Prestige, 1957)

With Jackie McLean

  • Lights Out! (Prestige, 1956)
  • 4, 5 and 6 (Prestige, 1956)
  • Jackie McLean & Co. (Prestige, 1957)
  • Alto Madness (Prestige, 1957)
  • McLean's Scene (New Jazz, 1959)
  • Swing, Swang, Swingin (Blue Note, 1960)
  • Makin' the Changes (Prestige, 1960)
  • Capuchin Swing (Blue Note, 1960)
  • A Long Drink of the Blues (New Jazz, 1961)
  • Strange Blues (Prestige, 1967)
  • Street Singer (album) (Blues Note, 1980)
  • Back to the Tracks (Blue Note, 1998)

With James Clay

  • The Sound of the Wide Open Spaces!!!! (Riverside, 1960) – with David "Fathead" Newman

With Jimmy Cleveland

  • A Map of Jimmy Cleveland (Mercury, 1959)

With Jimmy Smith

  • Damn! (Verve, 1995)

With John Coltrane

  • Wheelin' & Dealin (Prestige, 1957)
  • Traneing In (Prestige, 1958)
  • Soultrane (Prestige, 1958)
  • Giant Steps (Atlantic, 1960)
  • Lush Life (Prestige, 1961)
  • Settin' the Pace (Prestige, 1961)
  • Bahia (1964)
  • The Believer (Prestige, 1964)
  • Black Pearls (Prestige, 1964)
  • The Last Trane (Prestige, 1966)
  • Alternate Takes (Atlantic, 1975)
  • Trane's Blues (Blue Note, 1999)

With Johnny Griffin

  • Do Nothing 'til You Hear from Me (Riverside, 1963)

With Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis

  • Ow! Live at the Penthouse (Cellar Live, 2019)

With Johnny "Hammond" Smith

  • Talk That Talk (New Jazz, 1960)
  • Open House (Riverside, 1963)

With Julian Priester

  • Spiritsville (Jazzland, 1960)

With Julius Watkins and Charlie Rouse

  • Les Jazz Modes (Dawn, 1957)

With Kai Winding & J. J. Johnson

  • The Great Kai & J. J. (Impulse!, 1960)

With Frank Wright

  • Uhuru na Umoja (America, 1970)

With Kenny Burrell

  • All Night Long (Prestige, 1956)
  • All Day Long (Prestige, 1957)
  • 2 Guitars – with Jimmy Raney (Prestige, 1957)
  • Just Wailin (New Jazz, 1958) with Herbie Mann, Charlie Rouse and Mal Waldron

With Kenny Dorham

  • Show Boat (1960)

With Lee Morgan

  • Introducing Lee Morgan (1956)
  • City Lights (Blue Note, 1957)
  • Candy (Blue Note, 1957)

With Lem Winchester

  • Winchester Special (New Jazz, 1959)
  • Lem's Beat (New Jazz, 1960)

With Louis Smith

  • Here Comes Louis Smith (Blue Note, 1958)

With Ken McIntyre

  • Looking Ahead (New Jazz, 1960) with Eric Dolphy

With Mal Waldron

  • Mal-2 (Prestige, 1957)
  • The Dealers (Status, 1964)

With Matthew Gee

  • Jazz by Gee (Riverside, 1956)

With Miles Davis

  • Quintet/Sextet (Prestige, 1956)
  • Collectors' Items (Prestige, 1956)
  • Miles Ahead (Columbia, 1957)

With Milt Jackson

  • Bags & Flutes (Atlantic, 1957)

With Noah Howard

  • Space Dimension (America, 1971)

With Oliver Nelson

  • Meet Oliver Nelson (New Jazz, 1959)

With Pepper Adams, et al.

  • Baritones and French Horns (Prestige, 1958)

With Paul Chambers

  • Bass on Top (Blue Note, 1957)

With Red Garland

  • A Garland of Red (Prestige, 1956)
  • Red Garland Revisited! (Prestige, 1957 [1969])
  • The P.C. Blues (Prestige 1956–57 [1970])
  • Red Garland's Piano (Prestige, 1956–57)
  • Groovy (Prestige, 1956–57)
  • All Mornin' Long (Prestige, 1957)
  • Soul Junction (Prestige, 1957)
  • John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio (Prestige, 1958)
  • Manteca (Prestige, 1958)
  • Red in Blues-ville(Prestige, 1959)
  • High Pressure (Prestige, 1957 [1962])
  • The Red Garland Trio (Moodsville, 1958 [1960])
  • All Kinds of Weather (Prestige, 1958)
  • The Red Garland Trio + Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (Moodsville, 1959)
  • Halleloo-Y'-All (Prestige, 1960)

With Sahib Shihab

  • Jazz Sahib (Savoy, 1957)

With Sonny Clark

  • Sonny's Crib (Blue Note, 1957)

With Sonny Stitt

  • Stitt Meets Brother Jack (Prestige, 1962) – with Jack McDuff

With Thad Jones

  • After Hours (Prestige, 1957)

With Thelonious Monk

  • Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins (Prestige, 1956)
  • The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall (Riverside, 1956)
  • 5 by Monk by 5 (Riverside, 1959)

With Tiny Grimes

  • Tiny in Swingville (Swingville, 1959) – with Jerome Richardson

With Tommy Flanagan

  • Thelonica (Enja, 1982)

With Toots Thielmans

  • Man Bites Harmonica! (Riverside, 1957)

With Randy Weston

  • African Cookbook (Polydor [France], 1969)
  • Niles Littlebig (Polydor [France], 1969)

With Stanley Turrentine

  • ZT's Blues (Blue Note, 1985)

With Steve Grossman

  • In New York (Steve Grossman album) (Dreyfus, 1991)

With Walter Davis Jr.

  • Davis Cup (1960)

With Wilbur Harden and John Coltrane

  • Jazz Way Out (Savoy, 1958)

Bibliography

References

  • Art Taylor on Drummerworld.com
  • Review of Notes and Tones The Boston Phoenix