Billy Taylor
William Taylor Sr. (April 3, 1906 – September 2, 1986) was an American jazz bassist. He was born Washington, D.C., and died in Fairfax, Virginia. Taylor began playing tuba but later picked up bass alongside it. After moving to New York City in 1924, he played with Elmer Snowden (1925), Willie Gant and Arthur Gibbs (1926), Charlie Johnson (1927–1929, 1932–1933), Duke Ellington (1928), McKinney's Cotton Pickers (1929–1931), Fats Waller (1934), and Fletcher Henderson. He recorded with Jelly Roll Morton on three sessions in 1930. From 1935 to 1940, he again played with Ellington, and it is for this association that he is best remembered; he often played with a second bassist in the orchestra, at times Hayes Alvis or Jimmie Blanton. During that time, he also recorded with Cootie Williams and Johnny Hodges. In the 1940s, he played with Coleman Hawkins (1940), Red Allen (1940–41), Joe Sullivan (1942), Raymond Scott (1942–43), Cootie Williams (1944), Barney Bigard (1944–45), Benny Morton (1945), and Cozy Cole (1945). Later in the decade he played freelance in New York before moving back to Washington, D.C., in 1949. He led his own ensemble for Keynote Records in 1944. |
Birth and Death Data: Born February 11, 1942 (Washington, D.C.), Died September 2, 1986 (Fairfax)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1930 - 1954
Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, string bass, leader, tuba, composer
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 51-75 of 128 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 76847 | 9/14/1950 | Blue again | Artie Shaw Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81092 | 5/25/1951 | Tra-la-la | Calvert Jones | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81093 | 5/25/1951 | Two timin' woman | Calvert Jones | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81281 | 7/13/1951 | Castle rock | Sy Oliver Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81282 | 7/13/1951 | Aboard the sentimental train | Sy Oliver Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81296 | 7/20/1951 | If, if, if you were mine | Gladys Bruce | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81297 | 7/20/1951 | I've got the blues for my baby | Gladys Bruce | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81298 | 7/20/1951 | Trinidad Daddy | Gladys Bruce | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81299 | 7/20/1951 | The right kind of feeling | Gladys Bruce | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81300 | 7/23/1951 | The morning side of the mountain | Arthur Prysock | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81301 | 7/23/1951 | Blue velvet | Arthur Prysock | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81302 | 7/23/1951 | The love of a gypsy | Arthur Prysock | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81303 | 7/23/1951 | A man ain't supposed to cry | Arthur Prysock | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81357 | 8/6/1951 | Lemme go | Tamara Hayes | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81358 | 8/6/1951 | Dreamy melody | Tamara Hayes | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81359 | 8/6/1951 | I got it bad | Tamara Hayes | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81360 | 8/6/1951 | The day isn't long enough | Tamara Hayes | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81394 | 8/14/1951 | untitled original | Sy Oliver Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81395 | 8/14/1951 | Kissing bug boogie | Sy Oliver Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 81396 | 8/14/1951 | Slick chick on the sly | Sy Oliver Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 82005 | 12/19/1951 | Somebody stole my darling | Connie Boswell | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 82006 | 12/19/1951 | I know what it means to be lonesome | Connie Boswell | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 82007 | 12/19/1951 | Begin the beguine | Connie Boswell | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 82008 | 12/19/1951 | Believe it beloved | Connie Boswell | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | 82179 | 1/22/1952 | Easy street | Hal Singer Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Taylor, Billy," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/110259.
Taylor, Billy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/110259.
"Taylor, Billy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Billy Taylor Sr.
Discogs: Billy Taylor
Allmusic: Billy Taylor
Grove: Billy Taylor
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Taylor, Billy, 1906-1986 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no96027391
Wikidata: Billy Taylor Sr. - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q863242
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/79168229
MusicBrainz: Billy Taylor Sr. - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/9c0e864c-f356-4ebc-98af-0a45cd7801b9
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.