Cecil Taylor Unit

There are three pieces, long by the standards of jazz and short by the standards of Taylor's live performances since the mid-'60s. "Idut" and "Serdab" are each about 15 minutes, "Holiday en Masque" nearly 30. All are densely concentrated rather than diffuse. "Idut" is a study in pointillist fragments, while "Serdab" seems focused on expanding rhythmic motifs. "Holiday en Masque" develops a teeming group language with long tension curves. Taylor and Lyons had been working together steadily since 1961, and their interplay approaches the telepathic. What is most astonishing about Taylor's group playing is the way it touches on, extends, and forms every part of the work. A brilliant musical raconteur, Taylor is simultaneously engaged in conversation with each member of the ensemble, in dialogue with drums and bass, commenting on a horn's phrase, offering new materials, and forging links between disparate threads. When the other parts fall away to solo piano, all the topics of the group discourse are still present, but with a sharpened clarity. --Stuart Broomer