Join David Sutter, Creed Taylor’s authorized biographer, and me as we discuss his book “Creed Taylor – The Man Who Put Jazz on the Pop Charts” – Sept 19th, 2 PM Eastern – free and online.
Sounds: Supermarket Jazz
It’s fairly well-known that Creed’s production techniques were not universally liked. Creed himself knew that and was often quite dismissive of critics in general. I’ve often quoted Creed himself on this, as early as 1963 he said: These men[musicians], no longer concern themselves with critical limitations, imposed by journalists within the jazz fraternity. More and more of them are looking […]
Creed Taylor: The Man Who Put Jazz On The Pop Charts
David Sutter’s authorized biography of Creed Taylor is now available for pre-order, set for release on October 29, 2026. The book details Taylor’s influential role in jazz history, drawing on extensive research and interviews. Pre-orders are available in multiple countries, with formats including hardback, eBook, and audiobook.
OTD: The Record Men: Creed Taylor
The January 1965 issue of Jazz magazine highlights Creed Taylor’s influential role as a jazz A&R producer. Known for his commercial success and artistic sensitivity, Taylor shaped numerous significant jazz recordings. The article discusses his innovative techniques, including unique project concepts and collaboration with artists, emphasizing his foresight in navigating the evolving jazz landscape.
Peak Creed Taylor, 1974?
Today, May 13th, marks what would have been Creed Taylor’s 96th birthday. While I continue to organize and catalog my archive, I frequently come across articles I think are worth sharing. I’ve used and quoted Mary Campbell before. She is known as a music reporter for the Associated Press. Campbell had transferred to the AP headquarters in New York in […]
Creed Taylor Month 2024
Creed Taylor Month, established by A&M CTI in 1968, celebrates the influential music producer Creed Taylor. This year features a 1994 audio interview with Taylor by Michael Jarrett, detailing his craftsmanship in album production. Jarrett, a retired music scholar, contributed to various music publications, highlighting Taylor’s significant role in jazz.
Creed Taylor in 1979
Today marks what would have been the 95th birthday of Creed Taylor, a producer celebrated for his subtle yet impactful influence in the jazz music industry. Despite facing significant challenges, including CTI’s bankruptcy in 1978, Taylor’s dedication to crossover music has left a lasting legacy, exemplified by his nurturing of artists like Wes Montgomery. His approach, blending commercial elements with jazz, aimed to broaden the genre’s appeal without compromising its essence, a reflection of his deep commitment to both the art and its artists.
Remembering Creed Taylor On His Born Day
It’s late on May13th, 2023. I didn’t want today to pass without remembering Creed Taylor on the anniversary of his birth in 1929. The feedback, comments and subscriptions to this website from social media have far exceeded the original number I thought might be interested in Creed Taylor’s work. More than 2,000 receive notifications and emails for each post. I’m […]
Creed Taylor Has Left The Studio
News reached me earlier today that Creed Taylor has passed away. My sincere condolences and sympathy to Creed’s family. A a life well lived is a life worth living. Creed’s life was more than well lived, and his legacy will be with us forever. Creed Bane Taylor, Creed Taylor V, Creed Taylor, Jr.Born 13th May, 1929 – Died 22nd August, […]
Happy Birthday Creed Taylor
33,967 days ago, Creed Taylor was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on May 13th, 1929, , Happy 93rd birthday Creed. The more I learn about Creed Taylor, the more it’s obvious that Creed let his productions speak for him and the artists. There are remarkably few videos or film that include Creed, that’s both a statement about the time where his […]
The ABC of Specialty Recording
[This post was originally written as part of the 2021 post, Happy Birthday Mr. Taylor and also continues and replaces an earlier post on the specialty recording period of Creed Taylor’s career.] After graduating from Duke University, 2-years in the Army, one year of which was spent in Korea, Creed Taylor arrived in New York City in 1954, aged 24-years […]
Happy Birthday Mr Taylor.
33,602 days ago, Creed Taylor was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, Happy 92nd birthday Creed. Note: This post originally included a detailed post about Creed’s early, “specialty years” at ABC Paramount. This post includes early details of Mr Taylor’s career, including as far as I’m aware, for the first time, a picture of Mr Taylor in the Duke Cavaliers from 1949. […]
Snapshots and Creed Taylor
Update: September 1st, 2022. A link to the finished video can be found here[1]http://ctproduced.com/the-music-came-first/. The Snapshots Foundation has been posting clues for a while that they were working on something related to Creed Taylor. As well as the more recent teaser promo about their Creed Taylor project, which they originally posted back in January. In August 2019, Snapshots announced that […]
September is Creed Taylor month
The August 26th, 1968 issue of “Records, Promotion, Music” (RPM) Magazine, page-4 declared “September is Creed Taylor month in Canada”. The campaign was announced by Quality’s National Promotion Manager, Ed Lawson. The campaign and messaging must have worked to spread the music and work of Creed, because come September, a similar campaign was announced for October 1968 to be “Creed […]
Happy Birthday Creed Taylor!
Today, May 13th, 2020 marks Creed Taylor’s 91st birthday. Hopefully Creed is still well and keeping safe during the current pandemic. I personally owe Creed a debt of gratitude for all the great music and musicians he enabled during his career. Creed is/was a controversial producer, and as Creed himself has said: The critics, that’s what they get paid for, […]