Billy Taylor
William Taylor Sr. (April 3, 1906 – September 2, 1986) was an American jazz bassist. He was born Washington, D.C., and died in Fairfax, Virginia. Taylor began playing tuba but later picked up bass alongside it. After moving to New York City in 1924, he played with Elmer Snowden (1925), Willie Gant and Arthur Gibbs (1926), Charlie Johnson (1927–1929, 1932–1933), Duke Ellington (1928), McKinney's Cotton Pickers (1929–1931), Fats Waller (1934), and Fletcher Henderson. He recorded with Jelly Roll Morton on three sessions in 1930. From 1935 to 1940, he again played with Ellington, and it is for this association that he is best remembered; he often played with a second bassist in the orchestra, at times Hayes Alvis or Jimmie Blanton. During that time, he also recorded with Cootie Williams and Johnny Hodges. In the 1940s, he played with Coleman Hawkins (1940), Red Allen (1940–41), Joe Sullivan (1942), Raymond Scott (1942–43), Cootie Williams (1944), Barney Bigard (1944–45), Benny Morton (1945), and Cozy Cole (1945). Later in the decade he played freelance in New York before moving back to Washington, D.C., in 1949. He led his own ensemble for Keynote Records in 1944. |
Birth and Death Data: Born February 11, 1942 (Washington, D.C.), Died September 2, 1986 (Fairfax)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1930 - 1954
Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, string bass, leader, tuba, composer
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 101-125 of 128 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 83370 | 9/11/1952 | Three little words | Billy Taylor Quartet | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 83371 | 9/11/1952 | Oscar rides again-1 | Billy Taylor Quartet | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 83458 | 9/30/1952 | T and s Jr. | Terry Gibbs Sextet | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 83644 | 11/14/1952 | Lake Placid | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 83645 | 11/14/1952 | Uncle Jim | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 83646 | 11/14/1952 | Waltzing on a cloud | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 83647 | 11/15/1952 | In Veradero-1 | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 83648 | 11/15/1952 | Falling in love all over again | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 83649 | 11/15/1952 | It's a happy holiday | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 83650 | 11/15/1952 | Two for a nickel, three for a dime | Neal Hefti Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 84130 | 3/6/1953 | Only yesterday | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 84131 | 3/6/1953 | I know why | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 84132 | 3/6/1953 | If love is good to me | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 85034 | 8/14/1953 | When I lost you | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 85035 | 8/14/1953 | Idle gossip | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 85036 | 8/14/1953 | I had a talk with a daisy | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 85037 | 8/14/1953 | Skylark | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 85488 | 11/6/1953 | Only forever | Johnny Long Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 85489 | 11/6/1953 | (Oh boy! what joy we had in) Barefoot days | Johnny Long Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 85490 | 11/6/1953 | (Oh boy! what joy we had in) Barefoot days | Johnny Long Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 86348 | 6/2/1954 | Detour ahead | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 86349 | 6/2/1954 | I'm through with love | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 86350 | 6/2/1954 | You're mine you | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 86351 | 6/2/1954 | Who can I turn to? | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 86352 | 6/2/1954 | The things we did last Summer | Jackie Paris | instrumentalist, piano |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Taylor, Billy," accessed October 11, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/110259.
Taylor, Billy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 11, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/110259.
"Taylor, Billy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 11 October 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Billy Taylor Sr.
Discogs: Billy Taylor
Allmusic: Billy Taylor
Grove: Billy Taylor
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Taylor, Billy, 1906-1986 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no96027391
Wikidata: Billy Taylor Sr. - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q863242
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/79168229
MusicBrainz: Billy Taylor Sr. - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/9c0e864c-f356-4ebc-98af-0a45cd7801b9
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.