Cecil Percival Taylor (born in New York City March 15 or 25, each date often cited, 1929) is an American
pianist and
poet now generally acknowledged to be one of the great innovative sources of
free jazz (along with the better known
Ornette Coleman). His first recording
Jazz Advance was released in 1956, and is described by Cook & Morton in the Penguin Guide to Jazz: "While there are still many nods to conventional
post-bop form in this set, it already points to the freedoms which the pianist would later immerse himself in".