Talking Jazz With Ben Sidran by Ben Sidran

Author:Ben Sidran [Sidran, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781450753661
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2014-03-22T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

BILLY TAYLOR

Billy Taylor is not only a gentleman and a scholar but also a very swinging piano player and a terribly nice man. He is notoriously generous with his time and his talent, seemingly ready to go out of his way to share personal experiences or professional connections with younger musicians and folks in the world of broadcasting, who are interested in what he calls “America’s Classical Music”. Perhaps because he has spent so much time fighting for the rights of jazz musicians and respect for jazz music, both in the halls of government and the classrooms of higher learning, he is particularly sensitized to the need for one-on-one contact, the kind of street level oral tradition that gave birth to this music. I first met Billy working on the “Jazz Alive” series for National Public Radio. He was leaving the show and I was taking over his role as host / artistic director. He made me feel welcome, particularly on the air, and he gave me the feeling that my observations were of interest to both himself and the listeners. Later, I realized this was also the technique of an old pro encouraging a younger man to develop his own style. Dr. Taylor never stops teaching.

Ben: You have been the voice of jazz for a very long time, not only on public radio, but, before that, on commercial radio. And many of us, myself specifically, picked up a lot of technique from listening to you over the years. So your influence as a broadcaster is great, but I would also like to talk a little about your influence as a piano player. Because you influenced me, when I was a young man, listening to the records you made in the fifties.

Billy: Well, that makes me very happy. I never know about those things, because very few people acknowledge that. So I’m delighted to have you say that.

Ben: Well, your style was very urbane, you had a very sophisticated way of playing piano at a time when the piano playing was going in many directions. How did you come to that style? I know, for example, that you studied music in Virginia at one point.

Billy: I went to Virginia State University. It was Virginia State College in those days. As a sociology major. And I took all the music courses. So, in my junior year, a very perceptive teacher, Dr. Moore, who’s a fine pianist herself, fine composer—as a matter of fact, one of the great black composers—said, “Look, you know, you’re wasting yourself. Come on over to the music department.” I mean, the way she did it was, she called me in her office one day, and she said, “Taylor, what’s your major?” And I said, “Sociology.” She said, “Wrong!” So I was a music major from that point on.

But my father didn’t want me to be a musician. I mean, he was a dentist and he had seen to it very early on that I got the traditional piano lessons.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.