caption associated_acts years_active birth_name label image_size article_title background birth_date instrument genre image origin name occupation
taylor in 1972 playing in his apartment in new york city steve albert ayler , buell neidlinger , alan silva , william lacy parker , sunny murray , andrew cyrille , tony oxley , , anthony braxton , alan silva , art ensemble of jimmy chicago , john coltrane lyons , archie shepp , 1956 & ndash ; present cecil percival taylor transition , enja , fmp , blue note , freedom , hat hut 240px cecil taylor
 non_vocal_instrumentalist 25 march 1929 piano jazz , avant-garde jazz , free jazz ceciltaylor.jpg new york city , u.s. cecil taylor musician , bandleader , composer , poet
cecil taylor

cecil percival taylor -lrb- born in march 25 , 1929 -rrb- is an american pianist and poet .
classically trained , taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz .
his music is characterized by an extremely energetic , physical approach , producing complex improvised sounds , frequently involving tone clusters and intricate polyrhythms .
his piano technique has been likened to percussion , for example described as `` eighty-eight tuned drums '' -lrb- referring to the number of keys on a standard piano -rrb- .
he has also been described as `` like art tatum with contemporary-classical leanings '' .
