Cecil Taylor

小簡(jiǎn)介
Cecil Taylor1929年出生于紐約，是戰(zhàn)后先鋒爵士的一位巨人，由于其演奏異常劇烈且充滿張力，Taylor被擁護(hù)為二十世紀(jì)最偉大的鋼琴演奏家。他對(duì)作家John Litweiler談到：“對(duì)我們黑人來講，鋼琴是件打擊樂器。我們敲擊鍵盤、試圖用力貫穿這件樂器，將力量融入到音樂中去。假如算是誤解的話，黑人音樂對(duì)我而言就是種尖叫。”
Taylor出生于長(zhǎng)島，五歲時(shí)學(xué)習(xí)鋼琴不久又學(xué)習(xí)打擊樂器。他曾在紐約音樂學(xué)院和波士頓的新英格蘭藝術(shù)學(xué)院學(xué)習(xí)進(jìn)修過，盡管他說自己通過Duke Ellington的唱片學(xué)到的也許更多。早期Taylor對(duì)歐洲古典作曲家的東西很感興趣，尤其是Stravinsky，不過對(duì)其影響最大的還是爵士樂，諸如Duke Ellington、鼓手Sonny Greer、Chick Webb，以及自Fats Waller、Erroll Garner、Thelonious Monk至Horace Silver的一系列鋼琴演奏家。盡管他最初的合作對(duì)象是搖擺時(shí)代的一些著名樂手，如Oran “Hot Lips”Page，Johnny Hodges和Lawrence Brown，但五十年代中期Cecil Taylor已組建了自己的樂隊(duì)并為將來音樂上的革新打下了基礎(chǔ)。他早期的合作對(duì)象包括Buell Neidlinger、Dennis Charles、Steve Lacy和Archie Shepp，第一張專輯就已經(jīng)表現(xiàn)出驚人的洞察力，有意識(shí)地疏遠(yuǎn)主流爵士風(fēng)格。六十年代早期，Taylor與Sunny Murray、Alan Silva、Jimmy Lyons（其最長(zhǎng)的合作伙伴）等合作，這時(shí)所創(chuàng)作的音樂已擺脫了調(diào)性的束縛、正規(guī)穩(wěn)定的節(jié)奏形式，聽上去十分的抽象。然而，隨著1959年Ornette Coleman來到紐約演奏他自己版本的“Free Jazz”后，很大程度上削減了其他音樂家在音樂探索方面的成就，而Taylor過于抽象復(fù)雜激烈的音樂被公眾和傳媒所忽視了。不過還是有一小撮的年輕先鋒音樂家——最有名的當(dāng)數(shù)Albert Ayler非常熱情地?fù)碜o(hù)Taylor的風(fēng)格。
整個(gè)六十年代Taylor過著困苦的生活，為生計(jì)還洗過盤子；慢慢地他的影響力逐漸滲入爵士樂圈，尤其是Blue Note唱片公司1966年出版了兩張出色的唱片，兩張唱片中都有其長(zhǎng)期合作的特色樂手Alan Silva、Jimmy Lyons、Andrew Cyrille和Henry Grimes；另外，《Unit Structures》中還有Ken Mclntyre和Eddie Gale Stevens；《Conquistador》專輯中又Bill Dixon加盟。1968年，Taylor與爵士作曲家大樂團(tuán)合作了一張專輯，1969年與Jimmy Lyons、Andrew Cyrille、Sam Rivers一起的現(xiàn)場(chǎng)演出在一個(gè)法國(guó)廠牌Shandar旗下出版，但是總體來講錄音的機(jī)會(huì)還是很少。七十年代，他開始從事教育工作，在威斯康星大學(xué)以及俄亥俄、新澤西等地的學(xué)院授課。1973年，Taylor建立了自己的廠牌“Unite Core”，出版了《Indents》和《Spring Of Two Blue-Js》兩張專輯。后來出的一系列專輯有包括日本 “Trio”唱片公司的，美國(guó)Arista旗下的Freedom唱片公司的，歐洲Enja唱片公司的，這個(gè)時(shí)期Taylor在集聚自己的能量。到八十年代早期，Taylor就固定為歐洲的“Soul Note”和“Hat Hut”廠牌錄音，八十年代后期“Leo”和“FMP”唱片公司也開始支持他的作品出版。
這時(shí)他的演奏群體包括固定成員Alan Silva、Jimmy Lyons、Andrew Cyrille，加上Sirone、Ronald Shannon Jackson、小提琴手Ramsey Ameer、Jerome Cooper、William Parker和打擊樂手Rashid Bak。樂團(tuán)的影響效果以樂器急流般的爭(zhēng)斗、密不透風(fēng)的結(jié)構(gòu)、混亂、翻騰、飛舞似的即興為主要特征，通?？梢猿掷m(xù)兩三個(gè)小時(shí)而不停頓。Taylor也錄制過一系列令人耳暈?zāi)垦５莫?dú)奏專輯，著名的有《Fly!Fly!Fly!Fly!Fly!》以及《The Live Double-set Garden》，顯示了Taylor是爵士史上最眩、最有力量的鋼琴演奏家之一。另外Taylor還出版過兩張令人難忘的雙重奏專輯，一張是與Mary Lou Williams合作的《Embraced》；另一張是和Max Roach合作的《Historic Concert》，這些成功的合作進(jìn)一步提高了他的知名度。1985年，Taylor出版了他的第一張大樂隊(duì)作品《Winged Serpent》，由Soul Note唱片公司出品。1986年，Jimmy Lyons死于肺癌，Taylor失去了他最親密、最忠誠(chéng)的音樂合作伙伴。Taylor充滿巨大能量的演奏以及猛烈的氣勢(shì)使得許多聽眾認(rèn)為其音樂在結(jié)構(gòu)上沒有基礎(chǔ)，但是作家Ekkehard Jost在其《Free Jazz》一書中證實(shí)Taylor的作品中有些東西是有規(guī)律地重復(fù)出現(xiàn)的。除了錄制唱片以外，Taylor還為一些舞蹈、詩(shī)歌配樂，甚至還寫了一本名為《黑人音樂地方法論概念》的書。
Cecil Taylor是爵士音樂界第一個(gè)使用無調(diào)性表達(dá)的樂手。其實(shí)許多火樂的代表藝人基本上和他也是殊途同歸的。盡管，爵士樂在這時(shí)有了極大的進(jìn)步。當(dāng)時(shí)許多現(xiàn)代音樂家仍舊不能把爵士樂認(rèn)同為一種新音樂的重要形式。Taylor自己曾經(jīng)把鋼琴比喻為“有88個(gè)音的鼓”。他把鋼琴當(dāng)作打擊樂來玩。他的音樂充滿了刺耳的音簇和抽象、跳躍的結(jié)構(gòu)。他的音樂段落太多，初次聽他的音樂會(huì)有如墜五里霧的感覺?！禢efertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come》是張錄音粗糙的唱片，但確是一款具有重大意義的唱片。該專集于1962年錄制于哥本哈根，樂隊(duì)成員除Cecil Taylor外，還有次高音薩克斯手Jimmy Lyons以及鼓手Sunny Murray。音樂初起時(shí)，還是充滿了感傷主義、松散的結(jié)構(gòu)。30分鐘后，這支三重奏樂隊(duì)便徹底癲狂起來了。
Soon after he first emerged in the mid-50s, pianist Cecil Taylor was the most advanced improviser in jazz; five decades later he is still the most radical. Although in his early days he used some standards as vehicles for improvisation, since the early 60s Taylor has stuck exclusively to originals. To simplify describing his style, one could say that Taylors intense atonal percussive approach involves playing the piano as if it were a set of drums. He generally emphasizes dense clusters of sound played with remarkable technique and endurance, often during marathon performances. Suffice it to say that Cecil Taylors music is not for everyone.
Taylor started piano lessons from the age of six, and attended the New York College of Music and the New England Conservatory. Taylors early influences included Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck, but from the start he sounded original. Early gigs included work with groups led by Johnny Hodges and Hot Lips Page, but, after forming his quartet in the mid-50s (which originally included Steve Lacy on soprano, bassist Buell Neidlinger, and drummer Dennis Charles), Taylor was never a sideman again. The group played at the Five Spot Cafe in 1956 for six weeks and performed at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival (which was recorded by Verve), but, despite occasional records, work was scarce. In 1960, Taylor recorded extensively for Candid under Neidlingers name (by then the quartet featured Archie Shepp on tenor) and the following year he sometimes substituted in the play The Connection. By 1962, Taylors quartet featured his longtime associate Jimmy Lyons on alto and drummer Sunny Murray. He spent six months in Europe (Albert Ayler worked with Taylors group for a time although no recordings resulted) but upon his return to the U.S., Taylor did not work again for almost a year. Even with the rise of free jazz, his music was considered too advanced. In 1964, Taylor was one of the founders of the Jazz Composers Guild and, in 1968, he was featured on a record by the Jazz Composers Orchestra. In the mid-60s, Taylor recorded two very advanced sets for Blue Note but it was generally a lean decade.
Things greatly improved starting in the 1970s. Taylor taught for a time at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Antioch College, and Glassboro State College, he recorded more frequently with his Unit, and European tours became common. After being awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1973, the pianists financial difficulties were eased a bit; he even performed at the White House (during Jimmy Carters administration) in 1979. A piano duet concert with Mary Lou Williams was a fiasco but a collaboration with drummer Max Roach was quite successful. Taylor started incorporating some of his eccentric poetry into his performances and, unlike most musicians, he has not mellowed with age. The death of Jimmy Lyons in 1986 was a major blow, but Cecil Taylor has remained quite active up until the present day, never compromising his musical vision. His forbidding music is still decades ahead of its time.