Cecil Taylor Unit Live at Antioch College, April 3, 1971

[@gartherasmus8992]

Dear Don THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT!!!

[@steverickenbacher7110]

Yikes! What a first experience, seeing this particular version of the Unit. Ask any Cecil Taylor fan - this is some serious holy grail stuff! Thanks for sharing....and for staying up (almost) all night to make it happen.

[@jaymo8206]

I attended Antioch College in the early 80's. I used to live with my GF in town, the awesome Yellow Springs. During my time at Antioch, I remember going to Kelly Hall to see a performance by two drummers. One of them was Andrew Cyrille. Great fun and memories of that special unique place, people and town. The comedian Dave Chappelle also lives there, his dad was a professor at Antioch College.

[@williamtkoltek1350]

How very lucky you were! Thank you so much for sharing this priceless recording!

[@rustybeltway2373]

Far out, man! I was listening to Coltrane and some Sun Ra this week, so this will be perfect. Your dedication to your craft, even as a college kid, is admirable sir!

[@bb10k]

Just in time for my PDF update to my book (The Sam Rivers Sessionography). This is gold, the only recording (suddenly!) of this quartet after 1969.11.10-so we're talking a year-and-a-half! Sam also played w/ CT & The Mendota Players (City University of New York, NYC) on May 13th of '71 before leaving the group, so this is the last gig this version of the Unit ever played. THANK YOU!!!

[@dongiller]

Thanks! It’s been a long time coming.

[@hideouslyhilarious]

This sounds incredible. Thank you!!

[@youtoobfarmer]

Thank you, Don Giller, for this treasure!

[@bertramdingshoff9943]

wow, amazing! great sound quality. thank you!

[@gillesdalbis]

Yes ! Thanks !

[@JohnRedshaw]

The mix is flawless.

[@m____8345]

Thank you for sharing!

[@PeterCherches]

Sam Rivers said something to the effect that working with Cecil Taylor completely realigned his way of thinking about making music.

[@ricardomendoza3685]

Thank you so much for this!!!!

[@thelatearthurdent]

What an amazing document, Don. Thank you for all the supporting info as well. You should really get in touch with Zev Feldman to discuss making this beautiful music available in a tangible package. He and his team focus on detailed, HQ jazz reissues, with input from the participants, or their estates. Cheers.

[@dongiller]

Thanks! Perhaps you might let him know, and he can then contact me. My email is in the “About” page of my YT channel.

[@ClevelandLiveMusic]

very cool Donz

[@dubyamd]

Amazing! I was just reading his new biography and they mentioned that WYSO had a couple hours of recordings that haven’t been released before, I’m assuming this is it? Thank you so much for uploading it! I went to Antioch in the early 00’s and was introduced to his music in my History of Modern Jazz class. Immediately blew me away and made me a lifelong fan.

[@dongiller]

I made a dub for WYSO overnight immediately following the concert, but I’m near-certain it was lost over the years. So most likely this concert isn’t in their archives. Per his request, I sent an .mp3 file to the college’s archivist, Scott Sanders. May I ask who your instructor was at the time, in which building was it taught, and if you might remember the state of the Music Department then? Who was in the faculty?

[@justme8592]

So... Not just a Letterman superfan, I see. The sound of this recording is impeccable, and the performance is priceless. Makes me wonder what other goodies on reel to reel you have stashed away. And I really appreciate the extensive background notes. As a fellow live concert music fan, in the 80's and 90's I was actively, furtively recording concerts. I actually got busted by the FBI for openly, yea stupidly selling cassettes through my used record store. (They thought they'd stumbled across a major, international pirating operation. I wasn't arrested... but did appear in court, where I was fined $500.00). My how times have changed. Most shows are now openly recorded on Smartphones, and shared with the world through KZbin. And I'm thrilled that so many classic concerts from the past are surfacing...like this priceless performance. I'm currently trying to figure out what to do with my extensive collection of concerts. They're on quality cassettes, recorded with excellent equipment, have pristine sound... and many are one of a kind unique. Unfortunately unlike Don, I'm not a techie, and have no idea how to digitize. Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to seeing (and hearing) whatever you next decide to gift us with.

[@dongiller]

Thanks! And hang on to your collection. There’s bound to be someone who’ll be able to digitize your treasures. A few years ago I uploaded all of Leo Kotke’s concert, also in Kelly Hall that same Spring 1971, as separate songs. And a Poco medley when they performed at an outdoor concert in late May that year. Also have some radio gems from the mid- to late-‘60s that I hope to get to. I’ve uploaded Tom Rush’s 1966 demo of “Urge for Going” that WBZ in Boston would air in the wee hours. And the long-version acetate of Buffalo Springfield’s “Bluebird” in far better quality than previous boots over the years, acquired from WBCN in Boston, early June ‘71. And, more recently, concerts of my own Ockeghem Choir that I had directed while living in San Francisco in the mid-‘70s. And a few selections from a concert my pal Tad Lathrop and I had given at Antioch, late November ‘72. Vital to get all this stuff out there, because they don’t exist anywhere else.

[@justme8592]

@dongiller My collection is in secure professional storage...and I've made first contact with a local college radio station about possibly bequeathing it to them. I have uncirculated Dylan masters of local performances, Carrie Underwood's first concert after winning American Idol (also local), early local appearances of Paula Cole, Alanis Morrisette's local performance on the Jagged Little Pill tour, J. Geils & Magic Dick playing old blues tunes for 2 1/2 hours in an intimate club before a small audience of 50 (I was literally right in front of the stage), a show where folk artist Iris Dement keeps breaking down emotionally because earlier in the day she learned a family member had died (yet after taking a break, pulls it together, and finishes the show strong), over 100 rare Bruce Cockburn shows, (my favorite artist)... including a one-off local benefit concert featuring Cockburn, Dar Williams, and Richard Thompson (they sing together on the encore of Cockburn's song 'Waiting for a Miracle'... uncirculated soundboards of national artists who played in my state (some of whom have since disbanded like The Story)... and especially a fair sounding audience tape of Elvis performing locally...shortly before he died. And so much more... patiently waiting to be shared with the world.

[@justme8592]

@dongiller Forgot to mention... Your mention of Poco brought back a memory of a show they did locally... almost. They were performing for free at a local outdoor festival... played three songs (the sound was pristine)... before an unexpected thunderstorm sent everyone running for cover. After waiting a half hour for the storm to subside... the rest of the show was canceled. And one more memory. At the same festival (though in a different year), Bruce Cockburn performed solo for free, before a packed audience outdoors. It was a very humid night, and his guitar strings kept snapping, giving him impetus to tell personal stories while he replaced them. I invested in an expensive quality cassette player and mikes, so I could record the show...which was the start of my bootlegging career. That tape and show has since been widely circulated. Ah, memories...

[@dongiller]

Wow and wow! You preserved amazing history. All I ask is that you make sure your collection never ends up in a dumpster. At least before they’ve all been digitized. We ain’t getting any younger.

[@treyounger6546]

Wow! Thanks! This is fantastic stuff. Are you planning a video for the other ensemble? A friend of mine played alto in the otherwise undocumented Mendota Players - we would love to hear it!

[@dongiller]

I’m not sure about putting together a video, as there are so few online photos of the ensemble. I even already used two of them here from that Hunter College article.

[@darrylwolfe7331]

Was an original member of the Mendota Players who moved to YS/Antioch to continue performing w the ensemble. Nice to hear this recorded performance again. Do you or do u remember if anyone recorded the afternoon Players performance?

[@dongiller]

I recorded that as well. (I talk about it in the description.) I’ve shared it with someone who’s writing a biography on Cecil. He’ll present it on his podcast soon.

[@darrylwolfe7331]

Mr. Freeman and “The Brewing Luminous” ?? That just came out this Summer. Or perhaps Dexter Edge? ( who played ln the ensemble at Antioch while a student there)

[@dongiller]

Both have contacted me, but no - Ben Young.

[@darrylwolfe7331]

@@dongiller Oh, OK! Thanks for the heads up! Appreciated….