Cecil Taylor Unit
Cecil Taylor Unit is a 1978 album by American jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, released on New World Records. The album features Taylor with alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, trumpeter Raphe Malik, violinist Ramsey Ameen, bassist Sirone, and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson. The album was recorded during the same April 197 sessions that produced 3 Phasis. Taylor is heard on a 96-key Bösendorfer piano, which he stated could "stop you cold if you're not ready."
The album was the result of extensive rehearsals, culminating in a four-day session in the studio. Taylor attempted to transcend the limitations of the studio environment by gathering momentum in the hours leading up to the actual recording. In his liner notes, Spencer Richards recalled attending a five-hour rehearsal at Taylor's home, during which he was surprised to see the players reading from printed music. He wrote: "What followed was some of the most incredible music/sound I have ever heard... piano, trumpet, alto, and violin talked and chanted with each other, celebrating the joy of this music. What gorgeous sounds they made that afternoon!"
In his section of the liner notes, Ramsey Ameen wrote: "If you approach this music with the archaeologist's shovel, you will find yourself among temple ruins. Should you, however, journey into this music with your gift of hearing, you will discover the enduring promise of an inscription carved in stone, addressed to the sun: 'Come, you will see your temple. When you rise above the horizon, it blazes gold in your face.'"
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