Confusion Over a Historical Cecil Taylor Gig

courtesy of Lydia Liebman Promotions

This past November Oblivion Records “came out of retirement” to announce a new release entitled Cecil Taylor – The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert. For those suspicious of hyperbole, the return of Taylor was “legendary” because it had been preceded by five years of self-imposed recording exile, during which Taylor held Visiting Professor positions at Antioch College and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The release was “complete” because the concert began with a Taylor composition entitled “Autumn/Parade,” which was 88 minuets in duration. This was a quartet performance with Taylor joined by two of his Cecil Taylor Unit colleagues, Jimmy Lyons on alto saxophone and Andrew Cyrille on percussion, along with “newcomer” Sirone on bass. The announcement set the release date for this coming February 15, and the release was scheduled to include a 23-page booklet of useful background information.

However, the Internet is a land of unexpected events. This past January 11, Amazon.com created an MP3 download page for the three tracks on the album:

1. The quartet performance of “Autumn/Parade” lasting 88 minutes
2. The first part of “Spring of Two Blue-J’s,” a solo piano performance lasting a little more than a quarter of an hour
3. The second part of “Spring of Two Blue-J’s” performed by the entire quartet and lasting about 22 minutes

The Web page supported downloading both individual tracks and the entire album, and streamed listening was also available through a hyperlink to Amazon Music. A similar Web page for listening was created by Spotify. However, neither of these sites provided access to the accompanying booklet. Hopefully, this will change, at least on the Amazon download site, after the “official” release date on February 15.

Some may feel that 88 uninterrupted minutes of music is not for the faint of heart. On the other hand, those that share my interest in the operas of Richard Wagner will probably approach “Autumn/Parade” with a bit more confidence. Mind you, Taylor’s music is not as “thematic” as Wagner, nor does he draw upon the leitmotif technique to establish different dispositions. Having had the good fortune to observe Taylor in one of these extended performances (which happened to take place at Herbst Theatre), I was not particularly phased by lengthy duration, even in the absence of any “landmarks” that might distinguish beginning, middle, and end. I was simply content to “enjoy the ride,” which, on this recording, also meant dealing with the contributions from both Lyons and Cyrille. (I have to confess that I was much less aware of Sirone.)

Rather than worry about duration, I actually appreciated the affordances of this album. Listening to Taylor in Herbst, I had no idea when he would bring his solo performance to closure. My guess is that many in his Town Hall audience felt the same way about the concert beginning with “Autumn/Parade.” “Digital listening,” on the other hand, often allows the listener to monitor the duration with a better sense of how “now” is situated between “beginning” and “end.” For my part, I made it a point to listen to “Autumn/Parade” without the affordance of any “clock display;” and, in that setting, I enjoyed being reminded of my Herbst experience!