Dr. Billy Taylor was a pianist, composer, broadcaster and music educator. He was born on July 24, 1921 in North Carolina, but grew up in Washington, D.C. His family was quite musical and young Billy played guitar, drums and saxophone before settling on piano as his instrument.

After graduating from Virginia State University with a degree in music in 1942 Taylor moved to New York City where he was employed by tenor man Ben Webster within a week of Billy’s arrival in town. Taylor also played with Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach during his early years in New York, and pianist Art Tatum became something of a mentor for the young pianist.

At the end of World War II Taylor was a member of the first American jazz group to tour Europe after the war. Upon his return to the states Billy became the house pianist at Birdland, the legendary New York jazz club named in honor of Charlie Parker. Taylor was the longest serving pianist in the club’s history and afforded him the opportunity to play with a great many of the era's jazz greats.

Billy Taylor earned a Ph.D. in Music Education at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst and shortly thereafter founded the Jazzmobile program in New York. Jazzmobile was the first non-profit arts and cultural organization created just for jazz. To this day it provides arts education experiences like workshops, master classes and free concerts across New York. Taylor was also the first Black man to lead a television studio orchestra in the United States, did radio work with NPR and profiled musicians for “CBS Sunday Morning.”

During his life Dr. Billy Taylor received an Emmy, a Grammy, the National Medal for the Arts, two Peabody Awards and was the artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He was elected to the International Association for Jazz Education Hall of Fame and was appointed to the National Council of the Arts. Taylor passed away from a heart attack at age 89 in 2010.

Here is a link to a television appearance Dr. Billy Taylor in his jazz educator mode explaining how jazz musicians improvise:

"IMPROVISATION"