The Jazz Life of Dr. Billy Taylor

252 Pages·2013·7.116 MB·English

by  Billy Taylor, Teresa L. Reed

THE
JAZZ
LIFE
OF

T a y l o r
B i l l y
D r .
Indiana University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis
THE
JAZZ
LIFE
OF

T a y l o r
B i l l y
D r .

DR. BILLY TAYLOR
w i t h

TERESA L. REED
This book is a publication of the American National Standard for
Information Sciences-Permanence of
Indiana University Press Paper for Printed Library Materials,
Office of Scholarly Publishing ANSI Z39.48-1992.
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iupress.indiana.edu Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931 Taylor, Billy, 1921–2010, author.
The jazz life of Dr. Billy Taylor /
© 2013 by Teresa Reed Dr. Billy Taylor with Teresa L. Reed.
pages cm
All rights reserved Includes bibliographical references,
index, and discography.
No part of this book may be reproduced ISBN 978-0-253-00909-8 (cloth : alkaline
or utilized in any form or by any means, paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-00917-3 (e-book)
electronic or mechanical, including 1. Taylor, Billy, 1921–2010. 2. Jazz musi-
photocopying and recording, or by cians—United States—Biography. I.
any information storage and retrieval Reed, Teresa L., [date–] author. II. Title.
system, without permission in writing ML417.T24A3 2013
from the publisher. The Association 781.65092—dc23
of American University Presses’ [B]
Resolution on Permissions constitutes
the only exception to this prohibition. 2012047536
∞ The paper used in this publication
meets the minimum requirements of 1 2 3 4 5 18 17 16 15 14 13
To Those Who Teach Music

Jazz is America’s classical music.

Contents
Introduction xi
Chronology of the Life of William Edward Taylor Jr. xvii
1 Beginnings: 1921–1938 1
2 College Years: 1938–1942 32
3 Making Waves: 1943–1946 51
Figures appear on pages 90–108.
4 The Subject Is Jazz: 1946–1958 109
5 From “Tobacco Tags” to the Urban Airwaves: 1959–1968 141
6 How It Feels to Be Free: 1969–1990 163
7 Reflections 187
Discography 201
Selected Publications Authored by Dr. Billy Taylor 213
Index 215