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By the end of the 1970's he was touring with his trio more than ever, but playing fewer and fewer jazz clubs, which had become crowded, overpriced and excluded young people. Realizing the need to bring his music to a broader audience, Billy Taylor began to focus more on performing in larger venues such as concert halls and performing arts centers, which were a welcome change. In the early 1980's, Taylor was tapped by Charles Kuralt to become arts correspondent for the popular television program, CBS Sunday Morning. During his twenty year plus tenure, he has profiled over 250 well-known and not-so-well-known members of the jazz community (he received an Emmy Award for his profile on Quincy Jones). It was during this time that Billy also decided to start his own record company, Taylor Made, but after producing five albums, he realized that it was the music he wanted to be involved in, not the business. He continued his work as a performer both on the bandstand and on television & radio as well. He hosted his own jazz piano show for Bravo, Jazz Counterpoint, which featured such artists as George Shearing, Marian McPartland and Ramsey Lewis, along with two different NPR radio series, "Dizzy's Diamond." and "Taylor Made Piano," which traced the history of jazz using the piano to tell the story. Based upon Dr. Taylor's book, Jazz Piano, Taylor Made Piano won a Peabody Award and generated more requests for tapes than any previous NPR program. As the 80's drew to a close, Billy Taylor signed with GRP/Impulse, making some of his most popular recordings, including the re-release of My Fair Lady Loves Jazz (arranged by Quincy Jones), It's A Matter of Pride, Dr. T (featuring Gerry Mulligan) and Homage (featuring the Turtle Island String Quartet) which received a Grammy nomination in 1996. During the 90's Dr. Billy Taylor was named Artistic Advisor for Jazz to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Since 1994, under the umbrella of Jazz at the Kennedy Center, Taylor has developed one acclaimed concert series after another including the Art Tatum Pianorama, the Louis Armstrong Legacy series, the annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival, Beyond Category, Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead and the Jazz Ambassadors Program. His nationally broadcast NPR series, "Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center” featured a mix of performances, audience Q & A, and conversations with musical guests. Billy pioneered the “play a little, talk a little format” in the early 80's, with his "Jazz Models & Mentors" series, presented four times a year at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Taylor performs regularly with his Trio, featuring bassist Chip Jackson and drummer Winard Harper. To date, Billy Taylor has over 350 songs to his credit, including the popular, I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free, which has been recorded by various artists and served as an anthem for the civil rights movement, as well as the music for a recent Coca-Cola commerical. Billy’s compositions express his eclectic viewpoint and are modern and melodic, utilizing blues, early American folk themes and spirituals. Back | Next |
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