Unit Structures

1	Steps 10:20
2	Enter, Evening 11:06
3	Enter, Evening 10:11
4	Unit Structure/As of a Now/Section 17:47
5	Tales (8 Whisps) 7:14

Barnes & Noble

Arcane ideas usually crystallize at some point, and when Cecil Taylor recorded for Blue Note in the mid-'60s his radical designs boasted a newfound clarity. Orchestrating trumpet, reeds, basses, drums and his own piano, Taylor devised the genteel "Enter, Evening (Soft Line Structure)" to express a kind of abstract poetry that lives by its own rules. Iconoclastic, sure. But approachable and sturdy, too. As UNIT STRUCTURES presents its impressionistic world, the tumblers click into place: There's nothing random about these compositions. That said, the leader's progressive action creates the kind of interplay that seems to be perpetually migrating. As Jimmy Lyons's alto sax bubbles and Andrew Cyrille's drums rumble, Taylor's graceful piano figures dance unencumbered. Between the shifting tones and lyrical filigree, this septet creates a fierce élan. Exploration may be central to the roiling "Steps," but it's ultimately poise that defines its character. The same can be said for every tune on this masterpiece of abstraction. Jim Macnie

All Music Guide

After several years off records, pianist Cecil Taylor finally had an opportunity to document his music of the mid-'60s on two Blue Note albums (the other one was Conquistador). Taylor's high-energy atonalism fit in well with the free jazz of the period but he was actually leading the way rather than being part of a movement. In fact, this septet outing with trumpeter Eddie Gale, altoist Jimmy Lyons, Ken McIntyre (alternating between alto, oboe and bass clarinet), both Henry Grimes and Alan Silva on basses, and drummer Andrew Cyrille is quite stunning and very intense. In fact, it could be safely argued that no jazz music of the era approached the ferocity and intensity of Cecil Taylor's. Scott Yanow