Unit Structures Explained

Unit Structures
Type:	studio
Artist:	Cecil Taylor
Cover:	Cecil Taylor-Unit Structures (album cover).jpg
Border:	yes
Released:	October 1966^[1]
Recorded:	May 19, 1966
Studio:	Van Gelder Studio (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey)
Genre:	Free jazz
Length:	(CD reissue)
Label:	Blue Note
Producer:	Alfred Lion
Prev Title:	Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come
Prev Year:	1962
Next Title:	Conquistador!
Next Year:	1966

Unit Structures is a studio album by American jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, released in October 1966 by Blue Note Records.

Background

Unit Structures was Taylor's first album on Blue Note; he would record Conquistador! for the label later the same year with a similar lineup, though it was not released until 1968.^[2] Jesse Jarnow of Pitchfork described Unit Structures as "among the most intense of the early free jazz albums".^[3]

The album was accompanied with an essay written by Taylor entitled "Sound Structure of Subculture Becoming Major Breath/Naked Fire Gesture".

Critical reception

AllMusic gave the album five stars, with reviewer Scott Yanow opining that "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...it could be safely argued that no jazz music of the era approached the ferocity and intensity of Cecil Taylor's". The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded it three and a half stars of a possible four, writing: "Unit Structures is both as mathematically complex as its title suggests and as rich in colour and sound as the ensemble proposes, with the orchestrally varied sounds of the two bassists — Grimes a strong, elemental driving force, Silva tonally fugitive and mysterious — while Stevens and McIntyre add other hues and Lyons improvises with and against them."^[4]

In 2008, webzine Cokemachineglow included Unit Structures on their "30 'Other' Albums of the 1960s" list.^[5] In 2013, Spin included it on their "Top 100 Alternative Albums of the 1960s" list.^[6] In 2017, Pitchfork placed it at number 197 on their list of the "200 Best Albums of the 1960s".^[3]

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.^[7]

Performers

• Eddie Gale – trumpet
• Jimmy Lyons – alto saxophone
• Ken McIntyre – alto saxophone, oboe, bass clarinet
• Cecil Taylor – piano, bells
• Henry Grimes – double bass
• Alan Silva – double bass
• Andrew Cyrille – drums

Production and additional personnel

• Alfred Lion – producer
• Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer
• Francis Wolff – photography
• Reid Miles – design
• Cecil Taylor – liner notes
• Michael Cuscuna – reissue producer (1987 CD reissue)
• Ron McMaster – digital transfer (1987 CD reissue)

References

• 833708. Cecil Taylor, Identity Energy, and the Avant-Garde African American Body. Perspectives of New Music. 33. 1/2. 274–293. Bartlett. Andrew W.. 1995.

Notes and References

1. . October 22, 1966 . New Album Releases . Billboard . 66 . August 10, 2021.
2. Morton . Brian . Brian Morton (Scottish writer) . April 2004 . 242 . The Primer: Cecil Taylor . . 48–49.
3. Web site: The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s. 1. Pitchfork. August 22, 2017. January 24, 2018.
4. Book: Richard. Cook. Richard Cook (journalist). Brian. Morton. Brian Morton (Scottish writer). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. 7th. Penguin Books. 2004.
5. Web site: 30 "Other" Albums of the 1960s (page 1 of 3). Cokemachineglow. July 5, 2008. January 24, 2018.
6. Web site: The Top 100 Alternative Albums of the 1960s (page 22 of 101). Spin. March 28, 2013. August 14, 2018.
7. Unit Structures . . liner notes . 1987 . . CDP 7 84237 2.