Having already dedicated half of 1953's
Cross Section to numbers with
Machito's band, it was no surprise that
Bill Taylor's 1954 follow-up,
Trio with Candido, would feature more Latin touches -- this time with star Cuban conga player
Candido. In line with fellow jazz pianists
George Shearing and
Red Garland,
Taylor doesn't incorporate the Cuban clavé beat so much as he includes the percussion for accentuation. In spite of this,
Candido offers up some provocative solos, especially on the fast-paced
Taylor original "A Live One," which features the pianist and percussionist trading an energetic set of fours. Medium to slow-tempo
Taylor originals, though, dominate the program, including "Bit of Bedlam," where the chaos is decidedly cool. Throughout the album,
Taylor uses his fleet,
Teddy Wilson-informed solo chops to pleasant effect, even stretching out a bit on "Mambo Inn" to complement
Candido's own lengthy workout. A very nice program of Latin-tinged bop numbers which unfortunately has not found its way to CD, but occasionally can be found on LP. For at least some of
Taylor's Latin forays, there is the CD reissue of
Cross Section.