Join us as we remember the legendary jazz producer Creed Taylor - who was behind the glass for many iconic sessions with Impulse! and Verve, before starting his own label CTI.
On this program which was originally broadcast in 2019, we delve into tunes produced by Creed Taylor - an avid trumpeter with a keen ear for jazz that was both forward thinking yet still accessible to wider audiences.
Taylor started out making records with Bethlehem - recording Carmen McRae and Charles Mingus. It wasn't long before he joined the much larger ABC/Paramount team - where he helped start Impulse! Records. He led some memorable sessions for the new jazz offshoot - which was set on documenting new movements in improvised music. Taylor rather famously signed John Coltrane to Impulse!, before being snapped up by Verve in 1961.
It was at Verve that he brought Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim into the studio to lay down the iconic Bossa Nova LP Getz/Gilberto - and also made albums with Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith.
In the 1970s, Creed headed up his own independent label CTI - showcasing a balance of stalwart players alongside up-and-coming musicians like George Benson and Herbie Hancock. We'll sample some of these CTI releases on this episode with albums from Freddie Hubbard, Jim Hall and Airto Moreira.
Creed passed away in August, 2022.
Presented by Henry Rasmussen