Gene Taylor (bassist)
Encyclopedia
Calvin Eugene Taylor, professionally known as Gene Taylor (1929 – December 22, 2001), was an American jazz
double bass
ist. He was born in Toledo
, Ohio
and began his career in Detroit, Michigan
. Taylor worked with Horace Silver
from 1958 until 1963. He then joined Blue Mitchell
's quintet, with whom he recorded and performed until 1965. From 1966 until 1968, he toured and recorded with Nina Simone
. Simone recorded the song "Why? (The King of Love is Dead)", which Taylor wrote following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
. Taylor began teaching music in New York public schools
. Taylor worked with Judy Collins
from 1968 until 1976, and made numerous television appearances accompanying Simone and Collins. He died on December 22, 2001, in Sarasota
, Florida
, where he had been living since 1990.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
ist. He was born in Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and began his career in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Taylor worked with Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
from 1958 until 1963. He then joined Blue Mitchell
Blue Mitchell
Richard Allen Mitchell was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, known for many albums recorded as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note and then Mainstream Records.-Biography:...
's quintet, with whom he recorded and performed until 1965. From 1966 until 1968, he toured and recorded with Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
. Simone recorded the song "Why? (The King of Love is Dead)", which Taylor wrote following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
. Taylor began teaching music in New York public schools
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
. Taylor worked with Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
from 1968 until 1976, and made numerous television appearances accompanying Simone and Collins. He died on December 22, 2001, in Sarasota
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where he had been living since 1990.
As sideman
- Junior CookJunior CookHerman "Junior" Cook was a hard bop tenor saxophone player.-Biography:Cook was born in Pensacola, Florida. After playing with Dizzy Gillespie in 1958, Cook gained some fame for his longtime membership in the Horace Silver Quintet ; when he and Blue Mitchell left that band, Cook played in...
: Junior's Cookin´ (OJC, 1961) - Barry HarrisBarry HarrisBarry Doyle Harris is an American bebop jazz pianist and educator.-Biography:Harris left Detroit for New York City in 1960...
: Plays Tad Dameron (Xanadu RecordsXanadu RecordsXanadu Records was a jazz music record label specializing in bebop throughout the 1970s and 1980s founded by Don Schlitten, recording and issuing recordings by some legendary names in jazz music.-Discography:...
, 1975) - Coleman HawkinsColeman HawkinsColeman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
: Supreme (Enja RecordsEnja RecordsEnja Records is a German jazz record label based in Munich, Germany. It was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971....
, 1966) - Eddie JeffersonEddie JeffersonEddie Jefferson was a celebrated jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Perhaps his best-known song is "Moody's Mood for Love", though it was first recorded by King Pleasure, who cited...
: Coming Along With Me (OJC, 1969) - Blue MitchellBlue MitchellRichard Allen Mitchell was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, known for many albums recorded as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note and then Mainstream Records.-Biography:...
: The Cup BearersThe Cup BearersThe Cup Bearers is an album by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded in 1962 and released on the Riverside label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars and stated "The music swings hard, mostly avoids sounding like a Horace Silver group, and has particularly...
(OJC, 1963), Down with It!Down with It!Down with It! is an album by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded in 1965 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4 stars and stated "the record is so relaxed that it fails to generate much spark, but each the soloists...
(OJC, 1965), Boss HornBoss HornBoss Horn is an album by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded in 1966 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Matt Collar awarded the album 4 stars and stated "Trumpeter Blue Mitchell delivers a solid hard bop date with his 1966 Blue Note release Boss Horn".-Track...
(Blue Note 1967) - Duke PearsonDuke PearsonDuke Pearson was an American jazz pianist and composer. Allmusic notes him as being a "big part in shaping the Blue Note label's hard bop direction in the 1960s as a producer."-History:...
: ProfileProfile (Duke Pearson album)Profile is the debut album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson featuring performances by Pearson with Gene Taylor, and Lex Humphries recorded in 1959 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars....
(Blue Note RecordsBlue Note RecordsBlue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
, 1959) - Horace SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
: Finger Poppin'Finger Poppin'Finger Poppin' with the Horace Silver Quintet is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver released on the Blue Note label in 1959 featuring performances by Silver with Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, Gene Taylor, and Louis Hayes....
(Blue Note, 1959), Blowin' the Blues AwayBlowin' the Blues AwayBlowin' the Blues Away is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver, released on the Blue Note label in 1959 featuring performances by Silver with Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, Gene Taylor, and Louis Hayes....
(Blue Note, 1959), Horace-ScopeHorace-ScopeHorace-Scope is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver released on the Blue Note label in 1960 featuring performances by Silver with Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, Gene Taylor, and Roy Brooks....
(Blue Note, 1960), The Tokyo BluesThe Tokyo BluesThe Tokyo Blues is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver released on the Blue Note label in 1962, featuring performances by Silver with Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, Gene Taylor, and John Harris Jr...
(Blue Note, 1962), Song for My FatherSong for My FatherSong for My Father is a 1965 album by The Horace Silver Quintet, released on the Blue Note label in 1965. The album was inspired by a trip that Silver had made to Brazil. The cover artwork features a photograph of Silver's father, John Tavares Silva, to whom the title song was dedicated...
(Blue Note, 1964)
External links
at DiscogsDiscogs
Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...