[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 3 (Friday, January 7, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E43-E44]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DR. BILLY TAYLOR

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 7, 2011

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, it brings me sadness and honor to pay final 
tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor. He died Tuesday, December 28, 2010, of 
heart failure in Riverside, New York. He was 89.
  For eight decades, Dr. Taylor remained vigorously dedicated to 
nurturing jazz and creating new forums and opportunities for the 
artists who perform it. He encompassed that rare combination of 
creativity, intelligence, vision,

[[Page E44]]

commitment and leadership, all qualities that made him one of our most 
cherished national treasures.
  Dr. Billy Taylor began his career in New York City in 1942 in Harlem 
playing with Ben Webster's quartet at the Three Deuces alongside 
Webster, Big Sid Catlett and Charlie Drayton opposite the Art Tatum 
Trio. He immersed himself in the jazz scene over the next few years, 
playing with many jazz greats of the day, such as Slam Stewart, Eddie 
South, Stuff Smith, Coleman Hawkins, Jo Jones and Roy Eldridge.
  1949 marked the beginning of his two-year stint as house pianist at 
Birdland, the legendary New York City jazz club. He played with 
everybody--Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Oscar 
Pettiford, Art Blakey, Milt Jackson, Zoot Sims, Roy Haynes, and Kenny 
Dorham. He often played opposite such bands as Duke Ellington, Count 
Basie, Stan Kenton and Lennie Tristano. Birdland provided Taylor one of 
his greatest learning experiences.
  During the 1950s Dr. Taylor made some recordings with his own group 
for such labels as Prestige, Riverside, ABC Paramount, and Capital 
Records. He also recorded albums with Quincy Jones, Sy Oliver, Mundell 
Lowe, Neal Hefti, Eddie ``Lockjaw Davis'', Sonny Stitt, Lucky Thompson, 
Coleman Hawkins and Dinah Washington. He started his own music 
publishing company, Duane Music, Inc.
  Dr. Taylor worked regularly with his trio and hosted his own daily 
radio show on New York's WLIB during the 1960s. He made guest shots on 
various TV shows and recordings for Capital Records. Taylor started 
writing about jazz and giving lectures/clinics to music teachers 
interested in teaching jazz.
  He was a strong advocate for the arts. Taylor concentrated many of 
his efforts on generating funding for the arts and humanities. He 
focused on radio and television in order to gain better exposure for 
America's classical music. He helped to facilitate many local and 
national broadcasts featuring jazz artists in live performances.
  Dr. Taylor was tapped by Charles Kuralt to become arts correspondent 
for the popular television program, ``CBS Sunday Morning'' in the early 
1980s.
  In the 90s, Dr. 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, he developed numerous 
concert series 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.
  ``Dr. Taylor was a remarkable musician and humanitarian. He was a 
primary advisor for both the creation of the National Endowment for the 
Arts Jazz Masters program in 1982 and was invaluable as the agency 
sought to strengthen its support for the jazz field in 2004,'' said 
Wayne Brown, Director, Music & Opera Programs, NEA. Dr. Billy Taylor 
was named an NEA Jazz Master in 1988.
  Throughout his career, Dr. Billy Taylor was one of those rare artists 
who was also a scholar of his art. He was a premiere pianist and an 
elegant stylist. Many acclaimed him as the most exciting pianist in the 
jazz world.
  Dr. Billy Taylor will be remembered as one of the jazz world's 
historians, master musicians, an educator, storyteller, sage, and jazz 
virtuoso.
  I extend my sincere condolences to his family for this tremendous 
loss and share their enormous pride in all that he accomplished.

                          ____________________