The next year, Taylor traded Impulse for Verve, where his love of Brazilian music burst forth. In 1960, ABC-Paramount allowed him to start a subsidiary, Impulse, where he signed John Coltrane and produced Ray Charles. There he spotlighted Quincy Jones as a big-band arranger and launched a historic singing trio, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. After producing other budding greats, including Charles Mingus and Carmen McRae, he moved on to a startup company, ABC-Paramount. He gave the company a lifesaving boost when he launched Chris Connor, a frosty-voiced ex-band singer, as Bethlehem's First Lady of cool jazz. In 1954 he volunteered to produce records for a floundering label, Bethlehem.įrom there, says jazz historian Dan Morgenstern, Taylor "proceeded according to his own taste." After earning a degree in psychology he headed to New York, eager to join the jazz scene. Growing up in rural Virginia, Taylor sat by the radio, addicted to late-night broadcasts from Birdland. "But he was hands-on," notes James, "with very definite ideas about how he wanted his projects to go." To Herb Alpert, Taylor looked "like an accountant" his speech was measured and soft. "Every time I go anyplace to tour," James says, "I have instant credibility because I was so involved with the CTI sound." "I credit my career to Creed," says keyboard player Bob James, a pillar of smooth jazz and fusion Taylor had launched him on CTI with four albums and made him a house arranger. "He was a visionary," says trumpeter and A&M Records co-founder Herb Alpert, who along with the Snapshots Foundation is helping to finance a forthcoming Taylor documentary.Īt his own company, CTI Records (Creed Taylor Incorporated) - whose daring and grandiosity defined jazz at its most extravagant - Taylor produced impactful work by George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Wes Montgomery, Stanley Turrentine, Hubert Laws, Airto Moreira and other masters. Taylor's productions sent numerous jazz stars, including saxophonist Stan Getz and organist Jimmy Smith, onto the pop charts. His death was confirmed in a statement from Verve Records.
He packaged his artists' work in stylishly illustrated gatefold jackets that bespoke class.
Employed at the Verve label in the '60s, Taylor backed pianist Bill Evans with a symphony orchestra he took bossa nova, a music created by the Rio de Janeiro elite, and gave it to the world. From 1953 through the '90s the record producer Creed Taylor, who died Monday at the age of 93, brought a regal touch to jazz, showcasing its players like aristocrats.
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