Jazz Pianist, Composer, Educator. Raised in Washington, DC, he began playing professionally in 1944, initially with Ben Webster's Quartet, before moving onto becoming house pianist at the famed Birdland Jazz Club; he worked alongside legends Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. During his career of more than six decades, Taylor penned over 350 songs, notably "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free", covered by Nina Simone, and achieving wide acclaim during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. He hosted jazz-formatted programs on both radio and television, while recording countless albums during the course of his career; he served as arts correspondent for the "CBS Sunday Morning" during the early 1980s. Taylor, who attained his Masters and Doctorate in Musical Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, would serve as a professor there. Among his many honors include the 1992 National Medal of Arts, an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, two Peabody Awards, and was named a National Endowment for the Arts Master. In addition, he served as the Artistic Adviser for Jazz at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He died from heart failure.
Jazz Pianist, Composer, Educator. Raised in Washington, DC, he began playing professionally in 1944, initially with Ben Webster's Quartet, before moving onto becoming house pianist at the famed Birdland Jazz Club; he worked alongside legends Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. During his career of more than six decades, Taylor penned over 350 songs, notably "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free", covered by Nina Simone, and achieving wide acclaim during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. He hosted jazz-formatted programs on both radio and television, while recording countless albums during the course of his career; he served as arts correspondent for the "CBS Sunday Morning" during the early 1980s. Taylor, who attained his Masters and Doctorate in Musical Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, would serve as a professor there. Among his many honors include the 1992 National Medal of Arts, an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, two Peabody Awards, and was named a National Endowment for the Arts Master. In addition, he served as the Artistic Adviser for Jazz at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He died from heart failure.
Bio by: C.S.
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