Dr. Billy Taylor
Dr. Billy Taylor, a Washington music legend who performed with legends such as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and earned 23 honorary doctoral degrees, two Peabody Awards, an Emmy, a Grammy and the National Medal of the Arts in his 60-plus-year career, died last night after suffering a heart attack in New York. Taylor was 89.
Taylor, a piano prodigy, grew up in Washington, graduating from Dunbar High School before moving to New York in the 1940s to go pro. His career included stints hosting shows on both CBS and NPR, and he was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1988. In his later days, after retiring from actively touring and performing, Taylor worked as the Artistic Director for the Kennedy Center’s jazz series, where he focused on presenting unique programming and up-and-coming artists who were deserving of wider recognition, but weren’t necessarily getting it. —dcist daily.com
..:: Source: DCIST Daily ::..
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