Conquistador! Explained

Conquistador!
Type:studio
Artist:Cecil Taylor
Border:yes
Released:March 1968[1]
Recorded:October 6, 1966
Studio:Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre:Free jazz
Length:37:14
Label:Blue Note
Producer:Alfred Lion
Prev Title:Unit Structures
Prev Year:1966
Next Title:Student Studies
Next Year:1966

Conquistador! is a 1968 studio album recorded in 1966 by free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, released by Blue Note Records.[2]

Critical reception

Writing for AllMusic, Scott Yanow gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "During the two lengthy pieces, [Jimmy] Lyons' passionate solos contrast with [Bill] Dixon's quieter ruminations while the music in general is unremittingly intense."

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 4 stars, calling it "an all but flawless record," and commenting: "Dark, difficult, unique, yet operating at an artful tangent to some of the other 'difficult' Blue Note music of the period, this is Taylor at his most devious."

Writing for Vinyl Me Please, Brian Josephs stated: "Conquistador!... swerves away from Unit Structures fire and evokes the coolness of its cover, which features a turtlenecked Taylor slightly out of focus, hiding behind shades as he mysteriously stares into the distance. The musical elements don’t combust as much as they melt into each other: Horns swell shrilly at the borders to add haunted textures, while Andrew Cyrille's amorphous rhythms tie the masterwork together. Even without Unit Structures as its contrast, Conquistador! still stands as a great testament to this sui generis collective."[3]

In 2008, The New Yorker placed it at number 87 on the "100 Essential Jazz Albums" list.[4]

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Notes and References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=DUUEAAAAMBAJ&dq=mobley+Voltage&pg=PA50 Billboard Mar 9, 1968
  2. Web site: Free Jazz Innovator Cecil Taylor Has Died. Clash. Robin. Murray. April 6, 2018. July 29, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180406151330/https://www.clashmusic.com/news/free-jazz-innovator-cecil-taylor-has-died. April 6, 2018. live.
  3. Web site: A Cecil Taylor Primer . Josephs . Brian . September 12, 2018 . Vinyl Me Please . February 2, 2022.
  4. 100 Essential Jazz Albums. The New Yorker. David. Remnick. May 19, 2008. July 29, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20140905074649/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/05/19/100-essential-jazz-albums. September 5, 2014. live.