creedtaylor-b.JPG A Few Words About a Living Legend-- creedtaylor.JPG
Creed Taylor

I'd like to say something personal about one of the most famous names in all of music recording industry. His trademark signature graced the back cover of many an LP I owned while growing up in the 1960s and 1970s. That same signature now graces many of the CD reissues of those same albums I now own and enjoy. That signature, of course, belongs to the one and only legendary producer Creed Taylor.

While I was enjoying countless hours listening to my LP collection beginning as early as back in my grade school years, I spent probably as much time looking at album covers and reading the liner notes as I did listening to the music. In so doing I was trying to get as close to the recorded music and to the artists who made that music as one could possible do--without actually being in the recording studio. That signature captivated me because it happened to be on so many of my albums and various labels of my favorite recording artists whose work I followed. It is certainly no coincidence that Creed Taylor produced albums which featured or starred 6 out of the 10 musical artists whose discographies make up the domain of bjbear71.com.

A lot has already been written about Creed Taylor and his influence on American pop and especially, jazz music. A lot of praise, anger, criticism and resentment has also been voiced concerning whether or not what Creed did - in producing all the albums he did - was good for music and good for those artists who recorded that music. And whether or not he only produced albums for the sake of the almighty dollar. That's not what this statement from me is about, however. This statement is a sincere "thank you" from me to Creed for all the hours of listening enjoyment he has helped to give me over the past decades and for helping to shape my own musical tastes. Especially for listening to Tony Bennett and bringing The Walter Wanderley Trio from Brazil to the U.S. to record in 1966. But also for pairing up Antonio Carlos Jobim with arranger/conductor Claus Ogerman three years earlier.

--B.J. (Barbara J.) Major
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