THE WORLD OF CECIL TAYLOR

This collection of some 40 pieces brought together by writer, translator, and filmmaker Valente offers up an eclectic, daunting overview of the life and career of the singular free-jazz composer, performer, and poet Cecil Taylor. As Gary Giddins puts it in his fine essay, “The Avant-Gardist Who Came in From the Cold,” Taylor inherited a tradition of “unending discovery.” Marc Edwards contributes a personal piece on his “transformative experience” playing drums with Taylor. John Bruschini describes Taylor’s music as “always controversial, groundbreaking, and revolutionary.” Valente himself prov