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Toast Of The Nation

Listen Now: A Tribute To Billy Taylor

Billy Taylor.
Courtesy of the artist

Billy Taylor.

A Tribute To Billy Taylor: Live In Concert

January 1, 2012Pianists Geri Allen, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Cyrus Chestnut, Danilo Pérez and Christian Sands were among the all-star cast of musicians who gathered in Washington, D.C. to salute the late pianist and jazz ambassador.

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

Not long after he distinguished himself as a jazz pianist, the late great Billy Taylor became a broadcaster, educator and general ambassador for the art form he loved. After he died in late 2010, the Kennedy Center — where Taylor served as artistic advisor for jazz — gathered many of the musicians who had been touched by his legacy and mentorship. Naturally, it was an all-star cast. Pianists Geri Allen, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Cyrus Chestnut, Danilo Pérez and Christian Sands join other special guests — including Taylor's former bandmates — in a tribute performance from Washington, D.C., excerpted here for Toast of the Nation

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Set List

Recorded Nov. 11, 2011.

  • "One For The Woofer"
  • "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart"
  • "Titoro"
  • "Kim's Song"
  • "Theodora"
  • "Can You Tell By Looking At Me"
  • "Back Home"
  • "A Bientot"
  • "A Grand Night For Swinging"
Personnel
  • Geri Allen, piano/musical direcot
  • Toshiko Akiyoshi, piano
  • Cyrus Chestnut, piano
  • Danilo Pérez, piano
  • Christian Sands, piano
  • Terence Blanchard, trumpet
  • Chip Jackson, bass
  • Winard Harper, drums

Credits

  • Duke Markos, recording engineer
  • Big Mo Recording, recording engineer
  • Mark Schramm, onsite producer

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