At Ornette Coleman’s Memorial
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor’s quietly emotional piano solo
at Ornette Coleman’s memorial
While they never played together regularly Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor were two of the most important innovators in avant-garde and free jazz.
On June 27, 2015, 16 days after Coleman’s death at the age of 85, a memorial took place at Riverside Church in West Harlem.
Cecil Taylor, who was then 86, performs a mostly quiet and spiritual piano solo that is somber and filled with a surprising amount of space.
It is a historic and emotional performance.
– Scott Yanow