Billy Taylor
Legendary jazz pianist
plays University Theatre
The foremost jazz educator of our time will present the fifth installment
in the 1999-2000 President's Lecture Series at The University of Montana. Billy Taylor
will discuss "Jazz as a Metaphor for Democracy" and illustrate his talk with
selections from his jazz repertoire on Tuesday, Feb. 1, in the University Theatre. The
performance begins at 8 p.m. and is open to the public at no charge.
The lecture will be followed with a concert by the Billy Taylor Trio on Wednesday, Feb.
2, in the University Theatre. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $16 for students;
$17 for senior citizens, faculty and staff; and $18 for the general public. Tickets may be
purchased at Tic-It-E-Z outlets or by calling (888) 842-4830.
Taylor also will present a seminar, "Reflections on a Career in Jazz," at 2
p.m. Tuesday in the Music Recital Hall.
Taylor's visit is in conjunction with the "The Jazz Age in Paris: 1914-1940,"
a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit that will visit Missoula Feb. 10-March 23.
(See related story below.)
With more than 50 years in the field, Taylor has the distinction of living through the
history of the jazz he plays and teaches. He is renowned as a pianist, composer, author,
professor and broadcast personality.
In the 1940s and early '50s, he performed with legends like Charlie Parker, Miles
Davis, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie. Since then he
has performed primarily as leader of his own trios, including the current Billy Taylor
Trio with bassist Chip Jackson and drummer Steve Johns. Taylor has some 300 songs to his
credit.
Since 1994 Taylor has been artistic adviser for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. He is host of the National Public Radio show,
"Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center," his latest venture in a 20-year
public radio career. He also is an on-air arts correspondent for the CBS program
"Sunday Morning," for which he won an Emmy Award.
He has received many other honors, including two Peabody Awards, a Grammy nomination
and the National Medal of Arts. At age 78, Taylor is going strong as ever. He released
three albums in 1999 -- "Ten Fingers, One Voice," "Billy Taylor at Town
Hall" and "Easy Like" -- bringing his total number of albums to more than
50.
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