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 126-128 of 128 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 86353 6/2/1954 A cottage for sale Jackie Paris instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 86354 6/2/1954 We'll be together again Jackie Paris instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 86355 6/2/1954 More than you know Jackie Paris instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 126-128 of 128 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Taylor, Billy," accessed November 9, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/110259.

Taylor, Billy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/110259.

"Taylor, Billy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/110259

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