I read yesterday that he had passed.
My recollection of when I first listened to Cecil Taylor is that there was something different about his approach to free jazz that resonated with me. In thinking about it now, and after watching some of the second link above, it seems to me that free jazz works best when it's a free emotional expression flowing from the heart, and not just an intellectual exercise. And for the listener, there can be a connection with that emotional expression, just as there is in other types of music. So, for instance, there can be a connection with the joyfulness and playfulness of the first piece in that second link.
Of course, before such emotional expression can flow so freely and skillfully, there comes first a mastery of the instrument and the theory.
Just musing out loud.
Thanks for posting the links, and for the opportunity to remember Cecil Taylor.
